Sit Quietly: Focus and Forget

"Teach us to care and not to care.
Teach us to sit still."
- T.S. Eliot

"You are sitting on the earth and you realize that this earth deserves you and you deserve this earth.  You are there - fully, personally, genuinely."
-  Chogyam Trungpa

"Remain sitting at your table and listen. 
Do not even listen, simply wait, 
be quiet still and solitary. 
The world will freely offer itself 
to you to be unmasked, 
it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy 
at your feet."
-  Franz Kafka


"Sit quietly
focus and forget
rest with the great achievement.
The ancient child asks
"what is the great achievement?"
It is beyond description in any language
it can only be felt intuitively
it can only be expressed intuitively. 
Engage a loose, alert, and aware
body, mind, and sound
then look into the formless
and perceive no thing.
See yourself as a sphere
small at first
growing to encompass
the vastness of infinite space. 
Sit quietly
focus and forget then
in a state of ease and rest
secure the truth of the great achievement.
Employing the truth will not exhaust its power
when it seems exhausted it is really abundant
and while human art will die at the hands of utility
the great achievement is beyond being useful.
Great straightness is curved and crooked
great intelligence is raw and silly
great words are simple and naturally awkward. 
Engaged movement drives out the frozen cold
mindful stillness subdues the frenzied heart.
Sit quietly
focusing
forgetting
summon order from the void
that guides the ordering of the universe."
-  Tao Te Ching, Chapter 45, Translated by John Bright-Fey, 2006



"There are many matters and many circumstances in which consciousness is undesirable and silence is golden, so that secrecy can be used as a marker to tell us that we are approaching the holy."
-  Gregory Bateson, Angels Fear




Sitting in the Garden

Zuowang Meditation

Spirituality and Nature

Using the Center

 

For some, finding one’s “center” is very problematic.  Either you have no “center” and feel lousy about the emptiness or chaos; or, you have a “center” and dislike the way the “center” is now.  Or like me, you just don’t care at all about having or not finding an illusive “center.”  Yes, I’m the smiling uncaring yellow cupcake, just enjoying a nice moment of pleasant relaxation while sitting centered on my wide butt.     

August Gardening Chores

Repost from August 2014:

August Gardening Chores

Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA
USDA Zone 9
Typical Weather for Our Area
Red Bluff, California.  Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens
The Spirit of Gardening

August Gardening Chores for Us

Water plants: take advantage of cool early morning hours, use daytime shade, water plants deeply and less frequently. 
Avoid watering leaves during the heat of the day.
Water in the early morning. 
Use any ditch water carefully and wisely. 
Conserve water during our drought in California. 

Move potted plants to areas that get some shade in the afternoon, e.g, along the east side of a fence that runs north/south. 
Water potted plants carefully on very hot days.
Mow lawns infrequently with high cut settings.
Prune branches of trees; remove dead limbs and branches. 
Mulch and compost: cuttings, leaves, twigs, chips, shredded paper, garbage.
Water compost pile areas.
Manage cutworms, larva, grasshoppers and other garden pests.
Weed around vegetables.
Use mulch to help control weeds and cool soil.
Maintain the lawn mowing equipment and power tools.
Work on carpentry projects.
Pick and save or eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
Thin out excess fruit on trees.
Mulch with straw, chips, compost.
Train vines on support structures.
Read, listen to music, relax and rest in the shade during the heat of the day.
Tend to and enjoy annuals in bloom.
Maintain lawn: water, fertilize, mow, clean, plant, spray, etc..
Mulch, mulch, mulch, mulch....
Harvest and preserve fruits and vegetables.
Paint outdoor art objects. 
Cut and stack wood so it can dry thoroughly. 



 
"Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven with repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes."
-  Robert Louis Stevenson, Summer Sun 

August: Quotes, Poems, Sayings


Lammas: Extensive Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Quotes, Notes

Why Did the Bodhidharma Walk So Far Away?

The Fireplace Records, Chapter 3

The Young Bodhidharma Walks Back to India from China
He did not sit for seven years in a cave.
Where is his Backpack?
Why are his clothes not dirty?
Is he a Fang-shih?

Why Did the Bodhidharma Walk So Far Away? 

Two old friends were resting after morning chores on the farm.  They sat and watched the busy traffic on the dirt road from Wuhan to Huarong. 

Seigen asked Obaku: "What was Master Bodhidharma's intention in walking west from India to China?"

Obaku, a Taoist scholar, answered: "He likely preferred the warmer winters of  Wuhan to the blizzards in Tibet.  Or, he just enjoyed backpacking for great distances back and forth."

Seigen, a Chan man, said: "Really, Obaku, don't you believe he traveled to spread the Buddha Dharma to our Chinese people?"

Obaku replied: "Maybe, but why then did he choose to sit in silence facing a stone wall for seven years in China? How could he help others in so doing? He could have died from such extreme austerities.  And, he could have saved Dazu Huike's arm. He should have spent the time learning to speak, read, write, and teach in Chinese."

Seigen, a bit annoyed, said; "But, Obaku, was he not a great leader at the Shaolin Temple in Luoyang and the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism?"

Obaku retorted: "He could have been more gracious towards the generous and kind Emperor Wu. Was he not sort of a rough Tibetan hardened fellow, a Foreigner?  His alleged name, "Bodhidharma," seems suspicious to me."

Seigen would not give up, and said: "What? Did not the Bodhidharma bring vital bodily exercises and martial arts to those lazy Shaolin monks?"

Obaku replied: "The Chinese people were doing many longevity exercises and internal alchemy practices a thousand years before the Bodhidharma arrived.  Hua Tuo and He Gong were more influential in this respect for more people."

Seigen said: "The Bodhidharma lived for 150 years to show his great healing powers."

Obaku snorted: "50 years or 150 years ... In the end we all rot in our graves.  Only but a few are reborn as the fictions of legends."

Seigen responded: "Obaku, you are full of harsh judgments today.  I sense a bit much of the judgmental thinking of the Action and Karma brothers of your creed; also, your being rather chauvinistic about our beloved Chinese heritage."

Obaku replied: "You are correct, Seigen!  Too much judging distorts our greater awareness, and threatens wisdom.  Also, I should be more respectful of the Patriarchs and our shared new insights. I'm sorry old friend.  

Seigen said: "You are also correct, Obaku. I must curb my hero worship and simple love of legends.  Anyway, back to some quiet sitting, my brother."

Obaku's daughter brought them both a cup of hot tea.  They sipped in silence.  They listened to the oxen carts rattling by on the road, and watched the many walkers traveling west.  A smattering of being enlightened occurred for both of them.  

Considerations 

Too much sitting stiffens the body-mind.
Even the Bodhidharma made the monks work more.
Many Chan monks distained learning and reading,
and because they could not read.
Beware of overgrown imagination and legends.
Question the scriptures and tales.
Don't read with one eye blind.
Beliefs can disrupt sound judgments.
Without right judgments we cannot flourish.
Friendships close the door to petty arguments.  

Comments, Sources

Refer to Master Dogen's Shinji Shobogenzo, Case 10.

Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Stories. 

The Daodejing by Laozi

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings by Mike Garofalo

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

Refer Also to Fireplaces, Hearths, Campfires, Stoves

The painting shown at the top of this post is from the book: The Chinese Art Book, p. 182.  It was a famous oil on canvas painting made in 1967 by the artist Liu Chunua.  It is titled: Chairman Mao Goes to Anyuan.   

The Fireplace Records By Michael P. Garofalo

"A monk asked Joshu in all earnestness, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?"  Joshu said, "The oak tree there in the garden."
- Gateless Barrier, Case 37

"A monk asked Xianglin, "Why did the Patriarch come from the West?" Xianglin said, "Sitting for a long time becomes tiresome."
- Blue Cliff Record, Case 17

A monk asked Master Ma, "Please, directly point out to me the meaning of the coming from the West?" Master Ma replied, "I'm tired today and can't explain it to you."
- Blue Cliff Record, Case 73

A monk asked Master Wei, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming to the West?" Master Wei replied, "Please pass me the meditation cushion."
- Blue Cliff Record, Case 20

Now, I understand that the Bodhidharma traveled from India to China.  He would be coming from the East, and thus traveling and coming in or to a Westerly direction.  He traveled to the West from India by the Silk Road from India to China on foot or horseback; or, he traveled by sea. 

For all of these speakers, living in China, the Bodhidharma never came from the West.  He came from the East.

Maybe the Bodhidharma came from a place in China that was in Western China by the Pacific Ocean and then walked to a place in Eastern China in the mountains.  Then, he would be coming from the West.  No wonder Master Ma was tired of this koan.    

Many Patriarchs, over many centuries, many famous Taoist/Buddhist philosophers and spiritual seekers, traveled from East to West, from West to East, from North to South, and from South to North.  Why?  Pilgrimages by monks between Temples and famous scenery locales was a common practice. People like travel adventures. Monks wanted to study with different famous teachers. Civil and governmental strife and war caused the relocation of many monks. 

Falling Down, Then Sitting

I was cheerfully and energetically walking with my dog, Bruno, on Sunday morning (9/10).  The weather was cool and overcast, almost foggy. We both had spirit and liveliness in our quick walking pace. The evergreen pines were impressive borders to our morning jaunt, and many deciduous shrubs and trees added a few autumn colors to delight our views.  

Suddenly, a large black cat jumped out from some shrubs and scrambled directly in front of our path.  Bruno, predictably, lunged in pursuit of his longstanding DNA enemy. I gathered my strength and balance and controlled his aggressiveness via the leash. We walked another ten feet.  Then Bruno suddenly turned in front of me and ran into my legs. I quickly lost my balance and fell forward on to the asphalt street.

I injured my left knee, right hand, right shoulder, and overall sense of well-being.  Blood dripped from my hand and bruised knee. I slowly assessed the damage, and gradually returned to standing, supported by my cane.  We slowly and carefully walked back home.

Karen helped me bandage and treat my wounds.  I applied ice to my bruised knee. I rested and hoped for the best.

I had a scheduled a yurt camping trip to Pacific Beach State Park on the Southwestern Washington Pacific coast, from 9/11-9/14. I was quite disappointed that I could not go camping because of my leg injuries from the Sunday fall.  I lost the $150.00 I had spent on the Yurt reservations.

Now, for three days, I have been sitting, resting, doing some gentle massage and rehab movements for my bruised knee, icing, and reading.

Multiple injuries to my right hand, and arthritis, have resulted in permanent impairment, pain, and weakness in my dominant right hand. 

Injuries to my legs have resulted in fewer problems and more rapid recovery.  

I've been reading many books on 20th Century history.  I particularly enjoyed "The Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails" by Sarah Bakewell. The extreme challenges and choices of Europeans living from 1910-1960 are very disturbing to read about. Bakewell tells the story via the lives of many French and German intellectuals of that era. Eric Hobsbawn's "The Age of Extremes: A History of the World, 1914-1991" chronicles the influences of socialism, fascism, communism, capitalism, and the devastating Wars, and the Cold War, during that time period. 

I had anticipated adding reports, photographs, and poems about my yurt camping trip to Pacific Beach after I returned on Thursday (9/14). 

In the remaining three months ahead in 2023, I have scheduled Yurt camping beach trips to Nehalem Bay, Grayland, and Cape Lookout. Each month, I yurt camp four days and three nights at a State Park along the ocean shores. Hopefully, I will be physically able to enjoy these local adventures and retreats to the Pacific Coast in 2023 and 2024.

Lake Quinault

Ocean Shores State Park

Memories of Pacific Coast Places: Highway 101 and 1

Reports from Yurt Camping Retreats at the Ocean from 2021

Yurt Camping

Spaces for Home Meditation

 

Zafu, Blankets, Taijiquan Shoes, Altar
Home office area

Window in front on my big green recliner chair.

Reading in the Big Green Recliner Chair

Back Porch Tai Chi Chuan Practice Area

Back yard gardens around Tai Chi Chuan practice area.

Rinzai Zen Buddhist Studies

Tai Chi Chuan Studies

The Roshi's Clapping Cell Phone

The Fireplace Records, Chapter 19

The Roshi's Clapping Cell Phone

"What is the sound of one hand clapping? asked Hakuin Ekaku in 1740.

Thousands of monks and householders have introspected this famous Zen Koan Case since 1740.  They pounded on tables with one hand, tapped their staff against the floor with one hand, and came up with many wordy replies to reveal the sound of one hand clapping.  

After years of study with Hakuin, after satisfactory revealing the spiritual and psychic impact of the koans, after achieving enlightenment, and after following the Dharma Path thereafter, Hakuin would award his close friend/student, his Dharma heir, with a painting of a whisk and dragon staff.

 

Of course, the mind does the clapping itself, patting ourselves on the back with one hand, cheering us on, applauding our daily efforts.
Bravo! With one hand or two hands clapping, no matter, show your respect and appreciation for all our good work.  

Haikuin painted with one hand, and applauded his student's efforts and achievements.   

My Roshi has a Apple cellphone.  His ring tone is the sound of clapping. Naturally, he holds the phone with one hand.  

I applaud his Dharma efforts!  He needs a pat on the back.  

A Student's Considerations:

Different centuries, different ideas and things at hand.
Applaud, clap for, cheer on the good efforts of everyone.  
Talking is the father of metaphors.
Practical realists would say that a single hand makes no clapping sound; but, poets and mystics favor playing with entangling expressions. And,
we all hear the sound and know the direct meaning of a pat on the back.
Occasionally, the wrong answer is revealing in new ways. 
Even if a pat on the back is not forthcoming, keeping working.      

Related Links, Resources, References

Koans:

Virtue Ethics

Gratitude

Time Movement Change Transformation Mortality

Process Philosophy

Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Dialogues.

The Daodejing by Laozi    Best? 

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings by Mike Garofalo

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

Taoism

Buddhism

Fireplaces, Stoves, Campfires, Kitchens, Pots, Firewood

Chinese Art

Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong

Meditation Methods

Zen Koan Books I Use

Koan Database Project

Brief Spiritual Lessons Database Project: Subject Indexes

Sparks: Brief Spiritual Lessons and Stories

Matches to Start a Kindling of Insight
May the Light from Your Inner Fireplace Help All Beings
Taoist, Chan Buddhist, Zen Buddhist, Philosophers
Catching Phrases, Inspiring Verses, Koans, Meditations
Indexing, Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Research by Michael P. Garofalo

The Fireplace Records
By Michael P. Garofalo

Quietly Listening

 "Teach us to care and not to care.

Teach us to sit still."
- T.S. Eliot

"You are sitting on the earth and you realize that this earth deserves you and you deserve this earth.  You are there - fully, personally, genuinely."
-  Chogyam Trungpa

"Remain sitting at your table and listen. 
Do not even listen, simply wait, 
be quiet still and solitary. 
The world will freely offer itself 
to you to be unmasked, 
it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy 
at your feet."
-  Franz Kafka


"Sit quietly
focus and forget
rest with the great achievement.
The ancient child asks
"what is the great achievement?"
It is beyond description in any language
it can only be felt intuitively
it can only be expressed intuitively.
Engage a loose, alert, and aware
body, mind, and sound
then look into the formless
and perceive no thing.
See yourself as a sphere
small at first
growing to encompass
the vastness of infinite space.
Sit quietly
focus and forget then
in a state of ease and rest
secure the truth of the great achievement.
Employing the truth will not exhaust its power
when it seems exhausted it is really abundant
and while human art will die at the hands of utility
the great achievement is beyond being useful.
Great straightness is curved and crooked
great intelligence is raw and silly
great words are simple and naturally awkward.
Engaged movement drives out the frozen cold
mindful stillness subdues the frenzied heart.
Sit quietly
focusing
forgetting
summon order from the void
that guides the ordering of the universe."
-  Tao Te Ching, Chapter 45, Translated by John Bright-Fey, 2006


"There are many matters and many circumstances in which consciousness is undesirable and silence is golden, so that secrecy can be used as a marker to tell us that we are approaching the holy."-  Gregory Bateson, Angels Fear



Sitting in the Garden

Zuowang Meditation

Spirituality and Nature

The Buddha's Last Sermon

 

Back in 1985, I purchased a book titled “Zen Master Dōgen: An Introduction with Selected Writings.”  Translation and commentary by Yuho Yokoi with Daizen Victoria.  Weatherhill, 1984.  Later, I read Moon in a Dewdrop and other translations and commentary by Kazuaki Tanahashi about Master Dōgen, the founder of Soto Zen Buddhism in Japan.  These authors brought Dōgen to California for me ... a real Dharma treasure.    

“The quality of our life depends on what seeds we water in our consciousness.”
-  Thich Nhat Hanh 

I watered the seeds of wisdom from Dōgen for many years, tended to my garden of life, and reaped many fruits.  I maintained correct remembrance of Dōgen's contributions.  

 

One of the sermons by Zen Master Dōgen (1200-1253 CE), was “The Eight Aspects of Enlightenment” (Hachi Dainin-gaku), written the year Dogen died.  In this lecture, Dōgen tells the story of the last sermon spoken by the Buddha Shakyamuni before he died around 400 BCE.    

Here is an abbreviated version of Dogen’s sermon:

 

“The various Buddha’s have all been enlightened persons.  Their enlightenment is designated hachi dainin-gaku because it has eight important aspects, the comprehension of which lead to Nirvana.  It was the Buddha Shakyamuni himself who, in his last sermon on the eve of his death, clarified these eight aspects.

The firs [important aspect] is freedom from greed.  This means to forsake the five desires.  Be a person of few wants.

The second is satisfaction.  This means to be satisfied with whatever one has. 

The third is to enjoy quiet.  This means to lead a solitary life, separated from all worldly disturbances.

The fourth is right speech, considered speech, avoidance of gossip and useless discussions. 

The fifth is diligence.  The means to do good single-heartedly and continuously.  If you are diligent in your practice of the Way, it will not be difficult for you to realize enlightenment. 

The sixth is correct remembrance.  This is also called the preservation of correct remembrance, the word “preservation” signifying the comprehension of the Law.

The seventh is the practice of samadhi.  Samadhi means to reside in the Truth, in an undisturbed state of mind.

The eight is the practice of Wisdom.  Wisdom stems from enlightenment, which is the result of having practiced the Law that one has heard and thought about. 

A person who possesses true Wisdom is like a stalwart ship sailing across the ocean of old age, sickness, and death; like a bright lamp dispelling the darkness of delusion; like a good medicine for all those who are sick; and like a sharp axe used to cut down the tree of illusion.  The Wisdom resulting from having heard, thought about, and practiced the Law can thus be used to increase your merit in the Way.  If a person has come into possession of the light of Wisdom, he has the power to see the Truth with his naked eyes.  Such is the nature of Wisdom.”

“These, then, are the eight important aspects of enlightenment.  Each of these aspects has eight different functions, for a total of sixty-four functions in all.  In a broader sense, however, these eight actually have an infinite number of functions, the figure sixty-four being merely an abbreviated form of the latter.  The Buddha Shakyamuni spoke the preceding, his last teaching on the essence of Mahayana, around midnight on February 15^th.  Thereafter, he said nothing more, being silent until his death.” 

Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha's Path  By Bhante Henepola Gunaratana.  Boston, Wisdom Publications, 2001.  Index, reading list, 268 pages.  ISBN: 0861711769.  VSCL, 6/2005.  A thorough explanation of Right or Skillful Understanding, Thinking, Speech, Action, Livelihood, Effort, Mindfulness, and Concentration.  A rational ethical system.  

Sitting Becomes Tiresome

A typical American watches and average of 34 hours of television each week.  A few people don’t watch television and, of course, many people watch television more than 40 hours a week.  Neilsen surveys report that children aged 2-11 watch over 24 hours of TV per week, while adults aged 35-49 watch more than 33 hours a week. The average American watches more than five hours of television every day. Once we pass 65, the typical person watches more than seven hours a day.

 

Sitting and watching television for seven hours each day?? ... how tiresome.  And, sitting for long periods is very bad for your health.  Even more, most television programs and their incessant commercials are, for me, just boring, repetitious, and tiresome. 

So, a secret revealed:  You will get, on the average, 21 hours of “free” time every week by not sitting and watching more than 2 hours of television each day.  Even better, turn off your television for a month and you will get 136 hours of free time in that month.  And, another benefit is that by not sitting you will improve your health. 

"A monk asked Hsiang Lin, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?"
Hsiang Lin said, "Sitting for a long time becomes tiresome."

-  The Blue Cliff Record, Case 17, Translated by Thomas Cleary and J. C. Cleary, 2005, p 110


Standing Meditation

Walking Meditation

Gardening

Taijiquan Moving Meditation