Brief Spiritual Lessons and Koans Database Project

Master Subject Index

Brief Spiritual Lessons, Brief Religious Teaching Stories,
Brief Philosophical Lessons, Brief Reflections
Brief Essays, Sermons, Tales, Koans, Meditations, Lectures
Brief Dialogues, Encounters with Sages, Puzzling Questions

Taoist, Chan Buddhist, Zen Buddhist, Philosophers
China, Japan, American Pacific West Coast
Brief Spiritual Lessons Database Project
Koan Database Project
Master Subject Index

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
Green Way Research, Vancouver, Washington
Second Draft, April 4, 2023. PDF File, 94 Pages

Blue Cliff Record (BCR), All 100 Cases Buddhist
Tao Te Ching, Daodejing (DDJ), All 81 Cases Taoist
Gateless Barrier (GB), All 48 Cases Buddhist
Book of Serenity (BOS) All 100 Cases Buddhist
Transmission of Light: Keizan Biographies (TOL) All 53 Biographies Buddhist
365 Tao (DMD) 99 One-Page Meditations Taoist
Dogen's Shinji Mana Shobogenzo Koans (DSMS) 10 Cases Buddhist
Lieh-Tzu: Guide to Practical Living (TGPL) 7 Cases Taoist
Fireplace Records (TFR) 15 Cases Philosopher

Master Subject Index of the Koan Database Project. PDF File, 94 pages.
Second Draft, April 4, 2023. Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
Green Way Research, Vancouver, Washington

Brief Spiritual Lessons and Koans Database Projects Information

PDF files are searchable. Use the keyboard strokes: Ctrl + F This will open the Search or Find box.
Cases = Brief spiritual teaching stories, dialogues, koan puzzles, wisdom tales, Chan/Taoist teaching, Lore, Fables, Records, Cases, One-Page Meditations
Internet Links in PDF Files are clickable/searchable.

Database Software: Microsoft Access

 I have used the Microsoft Access database software since 2001.  I used Access for work at my places of employment and at home for database applications.  

I had not used Access since 2017, and had used Microsoft Excel since 2017 for related simple home database applications.  

To my surprise, Access is not included in my current low budget Microsoft Office package.  I had to shell out $175.00 today for the Microsoft Access software.  I've used database software since the 1990's.  I like this kind of power user database software.  

I am currently working on a major database Project in 2023.  I call it:
"The Subject Index to Cases in Koan Collections."

The Access database for this project on my C: hard drive is called:
Koan Case Database.

The Folder on my C: hard drive where I store the various files, reports, backups, images, documents, downloads, etc., for this project is at:
C:\Koan Database. 

I was able to import all my existing Excel data into a new database called: Koan Case Database.  

Brief Spiritual Stories, Dialogues, and Encounters
Zen Buddhist Koan Collections
Catching Phrases, Inspiring Verses, Hard Questions
Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Research by Michael P. Garofalo

The Fireplace Records By Michael P. Garofalo

Studying Classic Texts

The task and daily practice of studying classic philosophical, spiritual, or religious texts is called "Svadhyaya" by B.K.S. Iyengar and others from the Hindu, Pantanjali, Raja and Hatha Yoga texts, sources, and traditions.

It is the education of the self via the wisdom literature.  

"To make life healthy, happy and peaceful, it is essential to study regularly divine literature in a pure place. The study of the ancient books of the world will enable the sadhaka to concentrate upon and solve the difficult problems of life when they arise.  It will put an end to ignorance and bring knowledge.  Ignorance has no beginning, but it has an end.  There is a beginning but no end to knowledge. By svadhyaya the sadhaka understands the nature of his soul and gains communion with the divine.  The sacred books of the world are for all to read.  They are not meant for the members of one particular faith alone.  As bees savor the nectar in various flowers, so the sadhaka absorbs things in other faiths which will enable him to appreciate his own faith better."
- B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, 1966, p. 39

Pantanjali
Gonardiya or Gonikaputra
The Yoga Stura
Circa 200-400 CE

An Enduring State of Satisfaction

Yesterday, I really enjoyed reading:  Happiness: A Philosopher's Guide.  By Frederic Lenoir, Ph.D.  Melville House, 2015.  208 pages. A very readable introduction to many different theories and viewpoints about the nature of happiness. 
{A Cloud Hands Blog repost from April 2020.}

"At the same time, as the great Scottish philosopher David Hume notes, "The great end of all human industry, is the attainment of happiness.  For this were arts invented, sciences cultivated, laws ordained, and societies modeled, by the most profound wisdom of patriots and legislators."  The whole of history is made up of dreams or utopias drawn up by individuals and societies.  It is because human beings have sought a better life and done all in their power to achieve it that all the progress of mankind has been accomplished.  The same is true of our personal lives: it's because we want to make progress, to be happier, that our lives improve and give us ever more satisfaction.  The obsession with happiness or the quest for a too-perfect happiness can produce the opposite result.  The art of happiness consists entirely in not setting goals that are too high, unattainable and overwhelming.  It's a good idea to set more gradual goals, to reach them step by step, to persevere without getting stressed while being able sometimes to let go and accept life's failures and ups and downs.  Montaigne and the Taoist sages understood this clearly and expressed it well: we need to allow our attention to act effortlessly; never to confront a situation with the aim of forcing it; to be able to act and not to act.  In short, to hope for happiness and pursue it while being supple and patient, without any excessive expectations, without stress, with hearts and minds in a state of constant openness."
-  Happiness: A Philosopher's Guide.  By Frederic Lenoir, p. 106.  

"I would say that happiness is the awareness of an overall and enduring state of satisfaction in a meaningful existence founded on truth.   Obviously, the contents of this satisfaction vary from one individual to another, and depend on their sensibility, their aspirations and the phase of their life they are going through.  Without hiding the unpredictable and fragile nature of happiness, the aim of wisdom is to try and make it as deep and permanent as possible, irrespective of the ups and downs of existence, external events and the pleasant or unpleasant events of everyday life."
-  Frederic Lenoir, p. 35  

Hypertext Notebooks by Michael Garofalo:

Happiness: Quotes, Good Reads, Sayings   

Virtue Ethics

How to Live a Good Life: Advice From Wise Persons