I can't sleep…
Who binds you?
A monk asked Seng ts’an, “Master, show me the way to liberation.”
Seng ts’an replied, “Who binds you?”
The monk responded, “No one binds me.”
Seng ts’an said, “Then why do you seek liberation?”
Credits: Image – Madam Scherzo. Quote: whiskeyriver.blogspot.com. This is an Ancient koan / teaching story. Seng Ts’an is the third Zen ancestor in China.
“Patient acceptance is often considered a weak and passive response to problems that we do not have the power or courage to solve. In reality, however, being patient is far from being passive. There is nothing strong or courageous in reacting to hardship or insults with anger – all we are doing is being defeated by our delusions.”
~ Geshe Kelsang Gyatso (from “How to Solve Our Human Problems”)
Kelsang Gyatso is a Buddhist monk, “meditation master, scholar, and author” of 22 books based on the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Tibet in 1931 and ordained at the age of eight. After leaving Tibet, he spent eighteen years in retreat in the Himalayas in India. He subsequently became a teacher and founder of spiritual centers. He retired as General Spiritual Director of the NKT-IKBU in August 2009 but continues to write books and practice materials. (Source: Wiki)
Note to Self: Patience (Still seeking). Acceptance (Try it. Just once.). Delusions (Thank you Monk Master for the ah ha moment.)
Credits: Image – kadampa.org. Quote – Thank you Sun Dog
9:15 pm. June 26, 2012.
Zeke, our four-year old Vizsla, has excellent hearing and smell. But not for the bird hunting discipline that he was bred for – – but for California Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds. From a room away, he can hear a 1/2 turn on the top of the plastic Almond container. If he’s outside and comes inside, his nose goes 911 when he sniffs a whiff of a single nut.
Zeke and I have a routine each night. He waits for Dad’s snack time before bed time when Dad and Zeke share a heaping handful of almonds. Most days, it’s one for Zeke, one for Dad, one for Zeke, one for Dad. (OK, sometimes Dad cheats on the allocation when Zeke isn’t looking. OK, OK, more than sometimes.)
Zeke wolfs down his Almond without breaking his eye lock with Dad. No chewing. Straight down the gullet. 1 Almond. 2 Almonds. 3 Almonds. Same pattern. He gives me the same desperate look that he might miss out on his share if he breaks his stare. (Those eyes are telling me that he knows that I’m cheating him out of his allocation.)
I proceed to tell him that “maybe you should chew your almonds and enjoy them rather than just scarfing them down without tasting them – maybe you won’t keep begging for more.” (I’m no different that you other dog owners. I believe he understands me but he just doesn’t want to cooperate.)
Continue reading “Zeke + Buddhist Monk + Almonds = Enlightenment!”