Given how poor I was at math and science, my interest in quantum theory is surprising. A dozen or so blog posts and some reading. This video explores intersection of quantum physics, consciousness and Eastern philosophy (Zen and Buddhism), as put forth by Erwin Schrodinger. If you’re looking for an explanation of how The Whole Shebang works, this is it for me.
Tag Archives: zen
Three Things
“Zen pretty much comes down to three things– everything changes; everything is connected; pay attention.”
Stacking stones
There are a lot of articles on stacking stones. Why some people stack them… and at least as many on why you should not.
Because stone stacks are built using unaltered stones, they require your full attention on the task of the present moment to find the perfect connection of the stone’s centre of gravity to its foundation to balance the next layer. The process is meditative; it heightens present moment awareness/mindfulness. Even the simple act of choosing the stones heightens mindfulness!
I have no interest in balancing stones (the fad that seems to piss off conservationists everywhere). I just like making a little pile. I do find the process meditative.
Emptiness
“Pike was good at waiting, which was why he excelled in the Marines and other things. He could wait for days without moving and without being bored because he did not believe in time. Time was what filled your moments, so if your moments were empty, time had no meaning. Emptiness did not flow or pass; it simply was. Letting himself be empty was like
putting himself in neutral: Pike was.”
— The Last Detective (Robert Crais)
And stack rocks
Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water; after enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. — Zen proverb.
Clearing brush
Reply
I don’t think we can understand zen or explain it but from time to time we can experience zen. Clearing brush can sometimes do it for me.
We’re All Monastics Now
“In this global pandemic, we’re in an era of isolation, retreat. We’re also in an era of heightened uncertainty. This can be a terrible thing, and drive us to loneliness and distraction … or it can be a time of practice, reflection, and deepening.”
Stillness
Sit Down and Shut Up
Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, & Dogen’s Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye
Amazon: “In Sit Down and Shut Up, Brad Warner tackles one of the great works of Zen literature, the Shobogenzo by 13th-century Zen master Dogen. Illuminating Dogenâs enigmatic teachings in plain language, Warner intertwines sharp philosophical musings on sex, evil, anger, meditation, enlightenment, death, God, sin, and happiness with an exploration of the power and pain of the punk rock ethos.”
This book got a lot of my highlighter. A few examples below:
“There are two basic kinds of thought. There are thoughts that pop up unannounced and uninvited. These are just the results of previous thoughts and experiences that have left their traces in the neural pathways of our brains. The other kind of thought is when we grab on to one of these streams of energy and start playing with it.”
“Effort is far more important than so-called success because effort is a real thing.”
“Thoughts are nothing more than electrical activity, changes in the organic chemistry of the brain.”
“Words cannot capture what your life really is. […] All humankind’s problems today stem solely from our inability to see that words are just words.”
“Everything you ever do is always, always, always a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
700 Days
I started meditating in 2008 but didn’t make it a regular (daily) part of my life until November 30, 2014. At least that is the date I started keeping track. Since then — as noted here previously — I have missed just two days, for a total of 1,343 days on the cushion. Today’s practice was 700 days without missing.
I sit for either 30 minutes or 45 minutes depending on what’s going on. I am a firm believer in making meditation a daily part of one’s life, if only 10 minutes.
I hope to share “1,000 Days” with you next year.