tag > Mindful
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The Danger of Knowledge - Zhuangzi - Chapter 3 (The Basics of Nurturing Life)
CC Tsai illustration: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Way_of_Nature/1ZuBDwAAQBAJ
Full text Translated by Burton Watson: https://terebess.hu/english/chuangtzu.html -
Quiet Is More than Words - Essay by Lu Shirong
The practice of Health Qigong is inseparable from the quiet, and the “three regulations” also need the quiet. People can talk about the quiet freely in the non-practicing status, but all language activities will disappear or fade when entering into the meditation state. At this point, practitioners will feel pleasant and wonderful, caused by the integration of the body, mind and breathing, which is the meaning of “Quiet Is More than Words” talking about in this article.
First of all, the “quiet”, which usually talked about, is the review of the pleasant experience in the meditation after the practice. As we all know, the meditation state of the practice is beyond description, which is a character of quiet. The quiet described in the words is not the original ecology. In terms of general practitioners, the cognition of quiet is mostly from the oral transmission of teacher before participating in the practice and the cognition of quiet also needs to be found with the guide of the predecessors after participating in the practice. While entering into the meditation state, the cognition of quiet is beyond description, or the mentality in the meditation state has disappeared without a trace before opening the mouth. Thus, the quiet expressed by language has been away from its nature and converted to the quiet in the language environment, which can be expressed as fleeting or brief stopover or enduring caused by penetrating into all aspects of daily life. Therefore, practitioners still miss the wonderful quiet after leaving the meditation state. So they try to find some words to praise that kind of quiet. For example, quiet is a basic condition of Health Qigong, quiet is an essential kind of temperament of practitioners, and quiet is an accomplishment of practitioners. All these are the reviews and aftertastes of the meditation state. That is true. Quiet is the key factor to observe all things, so as to practice in high spirits. Most people cannot feel the taste of quiet, because of being capricious and busy. Unquiet mind leads to ineffective ideal condition. The so-called meditation refers to the quiet mind rather than the quiet physical condition, and the physical condition is never quiet. In this sense, the integration of three regulations in the practice of Health Qigong is to pursue the quiet of the body, mind and breathing, achieving the state of quiet and emptiness and observing all things with that kind of mentality. Then all things will exhibit the natural charm, and the exercisers can focus on the most subtle place, or even the infinity vast universe, caring deeply about all tings. As Su Shi said, “To make wonderful poem, poet must keep quiet and empty, so as to take in all things”, which is a kind of pleasant experience of meditation.
Secondly, the survival conditions for human language have gone in the meditation state, which is the essence of “Quiet Is More than Words”. Language is a tool for thinking and communication, closely linking with thinking, which is the carrier of thinking, substances housing and pattern of manifestation. Language is a symbolic system, which is a system combining with voice, semantic, vocabulary and grammar organization law.
On the one hand, after entering the language system, people have to express their mind through speaking or writing. Precisely at this link, "talking and writing” are contrary to “forgetting everything” required by the meditation. In that case, exercisers must only choose one of the two. So, to choose meditation, the language must be given up. The pattern of “Quiet Is More than Words” is formed. The Chinese character “Jing ( Quiet)” is composed by two characters, namely “Qing (blue)” and “Zheng (scramble)”. How to scramble the blue? Raise head to see the blue sky, which is the original quiet. How wonderful it is! On the other hand, from the beginning, conversion and implementation stage of meditation and formation of language, we can find that the formation of language is completely opposite to the direction of meditation. In the initial stage, language is used to express thoughts according to the purposes, while the meditation is to eliminate distractions. In the conversion stage, convert the thoughts into the form of language conform to the syntactic rules, while the meditation is to achieve the state of the integration of three regulations. In the implementation stage, the language is used to speak or write the contents in their own forms, while the meditation is to be tranquil and nothingness. In short, there are insurmountable barrier between the meditation and language, the mutual exclusiveness makes the view of “Quiet Is More than Words” sensible, reasonable and logical. Of course, exercisers may not be able to enter the meditation state without words, which is not in the scope of this paper.
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Poem by the 12th century Chinese Buddhist master Hongzhi Zhengjue
All things originate from the mind. When the whole mind is silent, all appearances end. Which is other, which is self? When there is no sign of differentiation, not even a single atom can be established. When not a single thought is born, you penetrate through before the womb and after the skin bag; one point of inconceivable illumination, whole and undifferentiated, without corners, edge or traces that cannot be dimmed. What cannot be dimmed is called inherent knowledge; the point of inherent knowledge is called the fundamental endowment.
When you realize all things are empty you are free in all states of mind and penetrate beyond through every atom of dust. The primordial beam of light pervades everywhere and transforms according to the energies and situations. Everything it meets is the source, subtly illuminating all things. Empty, the wind in the pines and the moon in the water respond outwardly without getting confused. Live in clear harmony, without a wandering mind, not sticking anywhere. With a mind like spring bearing flowers, like a mirror reflecting images; in the midst of floods of tumult, you will naturally stand serene above it all.
When your state is thoroughly peaceful and your livelihood is cool and serene, you will see the emptiness of the ages; there is nothing to be troubled by, nothing that can obstruct. Empty, absolute and radiant; clear, complete and shining; it clearly exists for all ages, never dimmed. If you want to remain tranquil, cover and uphold in the same way as sky and earth -- appearing or disappearing, shutting down or opening up, all are up to you.
Clean, pure, perfectly clear; the power of the eye cannot reach its bounds. Still, silent, empty and vast, the ken of the mind cannot find its edges. One who investigates sincerely and really arrives considers this the fundamental ground; neither buddhas nor demons can enter; neither dust nor dirt can defile it.
There is utterly no way to study this matter; the essence lies in emptying and opening body and mind so they are vast as space, then you will naturally be complete everywhere. This awareness cannot be dimmed, this clarity cannot be confused. The moon follows the flowing waters, the rain goes with the moving clouds. Each and every sense and sensation is immediate and absolute. Therefore it was said that a saint has no self, but there is nothing that is not himself. It is so obvious, so clear; you realize that gathered in or let out, it has become a white bull on open ground, which you cannot drive away even if you try.
Written by the 12th century Chinese Buddhist master Hongzhi Zhengjue. English translation by Thomas Cleary published in Timeless Spring: A Soto Zen Anthology. Found via naturalawareness
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Desiderata - Poem by Max Ehrmann (1920s)
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
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Onsen (温泉) - the highly advanced relaxation culture of japan is simply astonishing
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Question: Does the human experience of life (a comprehensive view on well-being etc.) linearly improve, the more energy we use?
This should be a central point of investigation when dealing with radical perspectives and agendas, such as this: Tesla CEO says electric cars will double global electricity demand
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“Experience remains, of course, the sole criterion of the physical utility of a mathematical construction. But the creative principle resides in mathematics.” - Albert Einstein 1934
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There’s a revolution happening in global mental health
Global mental health is still controlled by an elite club of funders, researchers, practitioners located in high-income countries. [...] In other words, global mental health has ended up becoming exactly what it sought to resist: a neo-colonial echo chamber. [...] But there's a revolution happening.
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How I Spend My Attention - essay by Kenta Nagamine
"What you pay attention to becomes your life."
"Attention is like energy in that without it no work can be done, and in doing work it is dissipated. We create ourselves by how we invest this energy. Memories, thoughts, and feelings are all shaped by how we use it. And it is an energy under our control, to do with as we please; hence, attention is our most important tool in the task of improving the quality of experience." - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
"Examining my life with the measurement of attention tells me who I am. Checking how much time I spend doing things I do in life is one way to see how much attention I am giving to each of them.
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"Similarly, when I try to pay more attention to the good in others, I would be able to enjoy the camaraderie of them more. Trying to be nice makes me nicer."
"Another dimension to attention that's not tied with time is the depth of attention."
"Everything has to be a choice, or else it’s a form of addiction. I always want to 'choose' to use my phone because otherwise, it might be equivalent to doing nothing. "
"You can have more experiences in life by simply paying more attention. What you pay attention to is going to be your life. It's so basic that it hits me."
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NeuroMeditation Report Writer stabililty analysis tutorial - A new entry in the bullshit comedy show that features classics such as "Competitive Meditation" and "Meditation Deathmatch".
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If you understand, things are just as they are…
If you do not understand, things are just as they are.
- Zen proverb
