Preparing for Halloween

 

 

Here is how our front porch looked when decorated for Halloween Day.  
We decorated our home in Red Bluff, California, from 1998-2017.  
Notice the five spherical white spectral (ghostly) visitors coming to "trick or treat" at our front door.    

"To all the ancient ones from their houses, the Old Ones from above and below. In this time the Gods of the Earth touch our feet, bare upon the ground. Spirits of the Air whisper in our hair and chill our bodies,  and from the dark portions watch and wait the Faery Folk that they may join the circle and leave their track upon the ground. It is the time of the waning year. Winter is upon us. The corn is golden in the winnow heaps. Rains will soon wash sleep into the life-bringing Earth. We are not without fear, we are not without sorrow...Before us are all the signs of Death: the ear of corn is no more green and life is not in it. The Earth is cold and no more will grasses spring jubilant. The Sun but glances upon his sister, the earth..... It is so....Even now....But here also are the signs of life, the eternal promise given to our people. In the death of the corn there is the seed--which is both food for the season of Death and the Beacon which will signal green-growing time and life returning. In the cold of the Earth there is but sleep wherein She will awaken refreshed and renewed, her journey into the Dark Lands ended. And where the Sun journeys he gains new vigor and potency; that in the spring, his blessings shall come ever young!"
-  Two Samhain Rituals, Compost Coveners, 1980 

  

"Tonight as the barrier between the two realms grows thin,
Spirits walk amongst us, once again.
They be family friends and foes,
Pets and wildlife, fishes and crows.
But be we still mindful of the Wee Folke at play,
Elves, fey, brownies, and sidhe.
Some to trick, some to treat,
Some to purposely misguide our feet. 
Stay we on the paths we know 
As planting sacred apples we go.

This Feast I shall leave on my doorstep all night.
In my window one candle shall burn bright,
To help my loved ones find their way
As they travel this eve, and this night, until day.
Bless my offering, both Lady and Lord
Of breads and fruits, greens and gourd."
-  Akasha, Samhain Ritual  

Samhain

Halloween,

The Day of the Dead

 

October: Poems

Quotes

Lore

  

The entrance to our front driveway in Red Bluff featured a seasonal display that Karen prepared from 1998-2017. 
Karen is petting our cat, King Tut, in the early morning hours. 

We now (2020) live in Vancouver, Washington.  

Swimming in the Same Stream

             The Fireplace Records, Chapter 34

Swimming In the Same Stream

Does the same person
swim twice
in the same stream?
Or, in hours,
is Everything New
or a fleeting dream?
New person, New stream;
the price of Tomorrows' Being!

Mind moving or stream moving?
Two monks cane's tap
The Master starts to rap
Cut an apple in half
On your head wear a cap
Use one hand to clap
Let the cat take a nap

Comments, Sources, Observations, Koans, Poems, Quips:

The Heraclitus River flows today into Philosopher's Bay.
Of course, much stays the same--- flowing memories' games.
Nansen's hands are very bloody--- he's quite simply nutty.
We remember mistakes; sometimes that is what it takes.

Koans:
Nansen's Cat GB 14, BOS 9, BCR 62, DSMS 181
Mind Moving: GB 29, ENT 83, DSMS 146, WWSF 212
Chao Chou's Sandals on His Head: BCR 63, BOS 9
Rivers or Streams: DSMS 283, BOS 100, GB 29, ENT 83

Keys to Koan Databases

"The days the weeks pass by beyond our ken
Neither time past
Nor love comes back again
Under the Mirabeau Bridge there flows the Seine
Let night come on bells end the day
The days go by me still I stay."
-  Guillaume Apollinaire, Mirabeau Bridge
Translated by Richard Wilbur

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

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Zen Buddhist Koans: Indexes, Bibliography, Commentary, Information

The Daodejing by Laozi

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings, Quips, Maxims, Humor

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

The Fireplace Records (Blog Version) By Michael P. Garofalo

The Fireplace Records (Text Version)

Columbia River, Washington State
Ilwaco, WA

Diatonic Harmonica Studies: A Beginner's Notes, Research, Resources, Practices, and Comments

 Diatonic Harmonica Studies

A Beginner's Notes, Research, Resources and Comments

By Michael P. Garofalo

Books
Blog Posts
Blues
Chords
Chromatic Harmonicas
Discoveries
Goals
Hardware, Electronics, Software
Harmonicas
Improvisation
Internet
Links
Listening
Low Key Harmonicas
Music: Albums MP3 Videos
Musicians, Harmonica Players
Objectives
Other Harmonicas
Percussion
Positions
Progress Reports
Psychology
Quotations
Software DAWs
Teachers
Techniques, Tips

 

Dao De Jing, Chapter 6

 Dao De Jing, Laozi

Chapter 6

"The manifestations of Infinity never cease manifesting.
Infinity is the primal creator, the oneness of male and female.
Infinity is the gate though which heaven and earth manifested.
It is invisible to the senses, yet totally permeates all things.
It is inexhaustible and eternally available for any purpose."
-  Translated by John Worldpeace, Chapter 6

"The Tao is called the Great Mother:

empty yet never-ending,
it gives birth to unlimited worlds.
It is always at hand within you.
Use it gently, and without force."
-   Translated by Rivenrock, Chapter 6 


"The spiritual valley can never be extinguished.
It is correctly referred to as the mysteries of the receptive.
The entrance to mysterious receptivity is correctly referred to as
the origin of the whole universe.  
It is continuous and unbroken!
Its usefulness seems to persevere without effort."
-  Translated by Nina Correa, 2005, Chapter 6


"The valley spirit not expires,
Mysterious woman ’tis called by the sires.
The mysterious woman’s door, to boot,
Is called of heaven and earth the root.
Forever and aye it seems to endure
And its use is without effort sure.”
-  Translated by D. T. Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 6 



"Like the sheltered, fertile valley,
the meditative mind is still,
yet retains its energy.
Since both energy and stillness,
of themselves, do not have form,
it is not through the senses
that they may be found,
nor understood by intellect alone,
although, in nature, both abound.
In the meditative state,
the mind ceases to differentiate
between existences,
and that which may or may not be.
It leaves them well alone,
for they exist,
not differentiated, but as one,
within the meditative mind."
-  Translated by Stan Rosenthal, Chapter 6   


"The concept of Yin is ever present.
It is the Mystic Female from whom
the heavens and the earth originate.
Constantly, continuously, enduring always.
Use her!"
-  Translated by C. Ganson, Chapter 6    

"The valley spirit dies not, aye the same;

The female mystery thus do we name.
Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,
Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain,
Used gently, and without the touch of pain."
-  Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 6    

"The valley spirit dies not, aye the same;
The female mystery thus do we name.
Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,
Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain,
Used gently, and without the touch of pain."
-  Translated by Stephen McIntyre, 2009, Chapter 6 

谷神不死, 是謂玄牝.
玄牝之門.
是謂天地根.
綿綿若存.
用之不勤. -  Chinese characters, Chapter 6, Tao Te Ching


ku shên pu ssu, shih wei hsüan p'in.
hsüan p'in chih mên.
shih wei t'ien ti kên.
mien mien jo ts'un.
yung chih pu ch'in.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Chapter 6, Tao Te Ching  


"The valley spirit that doesn't die we call the dark womb
as real as gossamer silk and yet we can't exhaust it.
The valley spirit that doesn't die we call the dark womb the dark womb's mouth
we call the source of creation as real as gossamer silk and yet we can't exhaust it."
-  Translated by Red Pine, Chapter 6


"The spirit of the valley does not die
It may be known as the mysterious feminine
The gateway of the mysterious feminine
May be known as the source of heaven and earth
Endless, continuous, seeming to exist
To practice this is not effort."
-  Translated by Bradford Hatcher, 2005, Chapter 6  

"The unlimited capacity of valleys;
the unbelievable power of Spirits;
and the unending life of immortality are called the Profound Origin Mother.
The beginning of the Profound Origin Mother is the root of Heaven and Earth.
Endlessly, endlessly!
It is existing.
Yet its usefulness is invisible."
-  Translated by Tang Zi-Chang, Chapter 6

"The Tao never dies;
It is a deep womb.
And the opening of the womb
Is called the root of heaven and earth.
It exists for ever,
And its use can never be exhausted."
-  Translated by Gu Zengkun, Chapter 6

"The mystery of the valley is immortal;
It is known as the Subtle Female.
The gateway of the Subtle Female
Is the source of Heaven and Earth.
Everlasting, endless, it appears to exist.
Its usefulness comes with no effort."
-  Translated by R. L. Wing, 1986, Chapter 6

"La Esencia del Todo no muere.
Es la Mujer Misteriosa, Madre del Universo.
El camino de la Mujer Misteriosa
es la raíz del Cielo y de la Tierra.
Su duración es perenne, su eficiencia infatigable."
-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Capítulo 6  


Valley Spirit, Gu Shen, Concept, Chapter 6 

"Der Geist des Tals stirbt nicht,

das heißt das dunkle Weib.
Das Tor des dunklen Weibs,
das heißt die Wurzel von Himmel und Erde.
Ununterbrochen wie beharrend
wirkt es ohne Mühe."-  Translated by Richard Wilhelm, 1911, Chapter 6

"The spirit of the valley never dies. 
It is called the subtle and profound female. 
The gate of the subtle and profound female 
Is the root of Heaven and Earth. 
It is continuous, and seems to be always existing. 
Use it and you will never wear it out."
-  Translated by Chan Wing-Tsit, 1963, Chapter 6   

"The spirit of emptiness is immortal.
It is called the Great Mother
because it gives birth to Heaven and Earth.
It is like a vapor,
barely seen but always present.
Use it effortlessly."
-  Translated by John H. McDonald, Chapter 6 

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.  These are hypertext documents, and available online under Creative Commons 4.

  
Chapter 6, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.  Complied by Mike Garofalo.  

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

A Solitary Daoist Neopagan's Final Journey  

An Old Philosopher's Notebooks

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

Soccer: Skyview High School Women's Varsity Soccer Team 2024

Karen and I have attended hundreds of sporting events since 2017 at our two grand daughter's schools and at their community team league play. 

Chinook Elementary, Alki Middle School, and Skyview High School are all a block away from our grand daughter's home in Salmon Creek, Vancouver, Washington. Both of our grand daughters played on soccer, volleyball, basketball, and track teams, both at their schools at on community league teams. 

Katelyn Flinn graduated from Skyview HS in June of 2024, with both a high school diploma and a Clark Community College A.A. degree. She played volleyball her senior year. Katelyn now attends Washington State University in Pullman, Eastern Washington; and is majoring in business/marketing.

Makenna Flinn is now a junior at Skyview HS. She lettered as a sophomore in both varsity soccer and varsity track. She has also been a successful long distance runner. She is also an honors A student, and wants a career in medicine. Most important, she is a kind and decent and thoughtful person.

This year, Karen and I have attended 6 soccer games of the Skyview High School Women’s Varsity Soccer Team, in the Salmon Creek area of Vancouver, Washington. Our grand daughter, Makenna, plays the entire game as the center defender position directly in front of the goal keeper.

The Skyview Storm women's varsity soccer defense has played 4 shutouts this year, and the Storm team is undefeated (8-0-2, 2-0).

Here is a very good article about our last game against Camas HS. From the Columbian Newspaper, Vancouver, Washington, October 9, 2024:

https://www.columbian.com/news/2024/oct/09/late-goal-leads-skyview-girls-soccer-team-to-consequential-1-0-win-over-camas/

“The title of top big-school girls soccer program in Clark County has long resided in Camas, where the Papermakers have won four straight 4A Greater St. Helens League titles and put two 4A state championships in their trophy case since 2016.

But the Papermakers are beginning to see a fast-rising program narrow that margin.

Skyview continued its emergence with a 1-0 win at home Wednesday over Camas, a result that came to pass after Dea Covarrubias scored a go-ahead goal assisted by Reese Harrison in the 71st minute.

The undefeated Storm (8-0-2, 2-0) moved into sole possession of first place in the 4A GSHL with four games left to play in the regular season.

Skyview High School:  Goals (assists) — Dea Covarrubias (Reese Harrison). Match standouts — Makenna Flinn, Quinn Lundy, Scottie Crooks.”

Makenna Flinn #16
Center Defender
Makenna is our grand daughter.

Chi Omega Sorority Event

Karen and Alicia flew from Portland to Spokane.  Then, they drove 75 miles south to the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. Katelyn Flinn is a junior at WSU. Go, Cougars!

Katelyn is being initiated into the Chi Omega Sorority at WSU tomorrow.  Alicia was a Chi Omega sister at California State University at Pomona. Both will attend the secret initiation ceremony.

Karen got to tour the campus. They attended the women's soccer match against the University of Portland. They dined at a nice Italian restaurant in Moscow.

On Sunday afternoon they may take a boat tour on Lake Coeur D'alene in Idaho.

Katelyn, Karen, Alicia
Dining in Moscow, Idaho

Alicia was a Chi Omega member at California State Polytechnic
University at Pomona and has stayed in regular contact with
her sorority sisters in Los Angeles. She attended Katelyn's
initiation ceremony into Chi Omega at WSU.
and she she was allowed to att

Who Gathers and Chops Firewood for the Cook's Kitchen?

 The Fireplace Records, Chapter 8

Huineng Chopping Bamboo
Ink on paper by Liang Kai
Circa 1200 CE

Who Gathers and Chops Firewood for the Cook's Kitchen?
When he leaves, somebody new will take his place. 

Huineng (638-713 CE) was an hardworking monk who quietly followed all the Temple lifestyle rules.  His job was to gather firewood to use in the kitchen or elsewhere at the Temple.  He pulled a little cart and gathered sticks, driftwood, wood donations, and downed limbs.  He sawed, split up, and cut up dried wood to give to the cooks in the Temple kitchen or others tending fires.  He did this humble task well for many years.  

Huineng is remembered for emphasizing the power of simple useful work activities as a valid path to enlightenment (e.g., gardening, Temple maintenance, cooking, chores, firewood working, samu = work, transcribing, etc.)  Huineng became enlightened while chopping up bamboo.  He later became a leading Zen Master featured in many stories.  

Also, we all have roles, duties, work, and responsibilities to others and to ourselves. This is an underlying reality.  

"The kitchen was a hell of heat.  Woks large enough to bathe a child in sat on roaring, wood-burning brick stoves.  Young monks fed the insatiable fires, while others stirred the boiling rice.  Some chopped vegetables or prepared them for pickling. They were all under the direction of a senior priest, who was known only as "the Old Cook.""
- By Deng Ming Dao;, Chronicles of Tao, p. 166
The Kitchen of a Daoist Temple Monastery in the Huashan Mountains of China, circa 1930's.  

Somebody is still chopping wood for a fireplace stove, or providing you with the electricity or gas or coal for you kitchen ovens and stoves and cooking appliances.  

Without the fire in the kitchen for cooking we could not survive. 

So, who chops the firewood for your kitchen stove?

Comments, Sources

Refer to Cases ??? in Koan Classics.  OK. find any?  

Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Mondos/Tests

The Daodejing by Laozi  

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

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans 

Fireplaces, Campfires, Stoves

The Fireplace Records By Michael P. Garofalo

Dao De Jing, Chapter 5

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 5


"Nature is non-benevolent. 
It regards the masses as straw dogs.
The Holy Man is non-benevolent.
He regards the masses as straw dogs.
The space between the heaven and the earth is like a bellows;
though unsupported, it does not warp; when in motion the more it expels.
Though words could exhaust this theme, they would not be so profitable
As the preservation of its inner essence."
-  Translated by C. Spurgeon Medhurst, 1905, Chapter 5

"Nature is indifferent to life.
It realizes everything is as a straw dog
(a sacrificial animal-image).
The truly wise are also indifferent to life.
They realize humanity is as a straw dog.
The universe is like a bellows:
empty, yet quite full.
As it proceeds, it produces.
Much talk, much exhaustion.
Keep your thoughts within!"
-  Translated by C. Ganson, Chapter 5 

"Heaven and Earth do not claim to be kindhearted or pitiful.
To them all things and all creatures are as straw dogs brought to the sacrifice and afterwards discarded.
Nor is the Sage kindhearted or pitiful.
To him to the people are as straw dogs.
But the space between Heaven and Earth may be likened to a bellows:
It seems empty, and yet it gives all that is required of it.
The more it is worked, the more it yields.
Whereas the force puffed up by words is soon exhausted.
Better to hold fast to that which dwells within the heart."
-  Translated by Herman Ould, 1946, Chapter 5  



天地不仁, 以萬物為芻狗.
聖人不仁, 以百姓為芻狗.
天地之間, 其猶橐籥乎.
虛而不屈.
動而愈出.
多言數窮.
不如守中.  -  Chinese characters, Chapter 5, Tao Te Ching


t'ien ti pu jên, yi wan wu wei ch'u kou.
shêng jên pu jên, yi pai hsing wei ch'u kou.
t'ien ti chih chien, ch'i yu t'o yo hu.
hsü erh pu ch'u.
tung erh yü ch'u.
to yen shu ch'iung.
pu ju shou chung.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Chapter 5, Tao Te Ching


"Heaven and Earth have no humanity;
They regard all things as straw-dogs.
The sage has no humanity;
He regards the people as straw-dogs.
Between Heaven and Earth, it is like a bellows or a flute!
Empty, but not exhausted;
With movement, more comes out.
Too much talk always exhausts;
It is better to keep to the inside."
-  Translated by Yi Wu, Chapter 5


"Heaven and earth are not merciful,
They treat all things as straw dogs;
The sage is not merciful,
He treats the people as straw dogs.
Does not the space between heaven and earth form like a bellows?
It is empty but the air in it can never be exhausted;
The more air it expels, the more comes out.
That is why too many government decrees only result in more failures.
It is better, therefore, to hold fast to moderation and the void."
-  Translated by Gu Zhengkun, Chapter 5


"Heaven and Earth are not humane.
They regard all things a straw dogs.
The sage is not humane.
He regards all people as straw dogs.
How Heaven and Earth are like a bellows.
While vacuous, it is never exhausted.
When active, it produces even more.
Much talk will of course come to a dead end.
It is better to keep to the centre."
-  Translated by Chan Wing-Tsit, 1963, Chapter 5   


"El universo no tiene afecciones humanas:
todas las cosas del mundo son para él como un perro de paja.
El santo no tiene affeciones humanas;
el pueblo es para él como un perro de paja.
El universo es iqual que un fuelle de forja;
vacío, pero no aplanado.
Cuanto máa se le mueve, más exhala,
cuanto más se habla de él, menos se le comprende,
más vale insertarse en el."
-  Translated by Alba, 1998, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 5 


"Heaven and Earth are impartial; 
They see the ten thousand things as straw dogs.
The wise are impartial;
They see the people as straw dogs.
The space between heaven and Earth is like a bellows.
The shape changes but not the form;
The more it moves, the more it yields.
More words count less.
Hold fast to the center."
-  Translated by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English, 1989, Chapter 5  


"The Sage does not take sides,
He welcomes both saints and sinners.
The Tao works upon man as it works upon the grasses of the fields.
Sages act out of the need for rightness, not purely compassion.
The Tao is like a bellows, even though it appears empty, its workings are obvious,
Yet the more you use it the more it produces, it is inexhaustible.
Yet speaking of it will not increase the comprehension.
Hold to the center path."
-  Translated by John Dicus, 2002, Chapter 5 

"Heaven and Earth are not (willfully) benevolent
The myriad things are treated no differently
Than grass for dogs
Sages are not (willfully) benevolent
The hundred clans are treated no differently
Than grass for dogs

The gate of Heaven and Earth
Is it not like a bagpipe:
Empty yet not finished.
It moves, and again more is pushed forth

To speak countless words is worthless
This is not as good ad guarding balance within."
-  Translated by Dan G. Reid, 2016, Chapter 5 

"Heaven and earth are ruthless, and treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs;
the sage is ruthless, and treats the people as straw dogs.

Is not the space between heaven and earth like a bellows?
It is empty without being exhausted:
The more it works the more comes out.

Much speech leads inevitably to silence.
Better to hold fast to the void."
-  Translated by D. C. Lau, 1963, Chapter 5 

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.  These are hypertext documents, and available online under Creative Commons 4.

  
Chapter 5, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.  Complied by Mike Garofalo.  

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

A Solitary Daoist Neopagan's Final Journey  

An Old Philosopher's Notebooks

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

The Teacher Mentors His Students

The Fireplace Records, Chapter 7

The Teacher Mentors His Students

Some call it "teaching"; some call it "indoctrination."
Some call it "making another brick in the wall'; some call it "liberation."
Some call it "listening"; some call it "swallowing."
Some call it "learning"; some call it "unlearning."

What do you call it? 

A Teacher Mentoring His Students
Ink and Color on Paper by Yang Zhiguang, 1959
From the Chinese Art Book, p.77

How does the Watcher/Observer, from the outside,
me viewing the painting, make the distinctions?

How does the Insider/Experiencer, from the inside,
make the distinctions?

How does your place in history, your real life,
your existential circumstances,
make the distinctions?

Maybe there are few distinctions between the two options. 

I attended Cantwell Catholic High School from 1959-1963 in Montebello, California.  Our respected teachers were Irish Christian Brothers and a few lay teachers.  

The Brothers lived in a three story building next door to the High School and grounds.  Across the street north of our campus was the all girls Sacred Heart of Mary High School.

The Brothers wore black or brown uniforms.  Some were old men and a few were young.  I remember one tall and fit gentleman, Brother Parent, lecturing us in class, working as our coach in sports, and talking casually and mentoring to us small groups of men.  We learned from them, listened to them, and tried to model them in our lives.

Our fellow students were a mixture of lower middle class youngsters of Mexican-American and Anglo heritage families. A Latin combo dish spiced with fellows Homeboy, Kool-Serious, Fit/Fist, Surfer, and all Catholics. 

One friend of mine, from my Bandini neighborhood, Jerry Garcia, graduated from Cantwell and went to college to become himself an Irish Cristian Brother Teacher.  We rode in the back of a pick up truck, driven by two carpenters, each morning to high school; and we walked home together many times after school.  Jerry introduced me to  Latin jazz, good books, and Catholic mystics.  

The above painting reflects the mood of my youthful, serious, religious, and impressionable High School days.  My conscious and unconscious sense of learning, role models, respected teachers, and mentors was formed in those bygone days over 60 years ago. 

The special clothing, a teacher's uniform, a religious costume, a formal attire when teaching was standard.  In my college and university days, 1963-1968, the professors all wore suits with shirts and ties. I remember Professor Benson's crisp cleaned starched white long sleeved shirt and a perfect bow tie. In the above painting, the main taller speaker is the only one wearing a long white tunic.   

Some of my secular college philosophy teachers at California State University at Los Angeles influenced me in a similar manner: like Professor Burrill's ethics and history of philosophy classes or Professor Glathe's or Professor Benson's logic and philosophy of science classes. 
Many Gassho Bows to all of them!!!

The above painting by Yang Zhiquang was commissioned by the Communist Party in 1959. They wanted to glorify recent revolutionary Communist Chinese history.  The painting supposedly depicts "Mao Zedong at the Peasant's Training School" in 1925.  Mao Zedong was likely proselytizing.  

Comments, Sources

Refer to Cases ??? in Koan Classics.  OK. find any?  

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

The Daodejing by Laozi    Best? 

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

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

The Fireplace Records By Michael P. Garofalo

October Morning Mild

"O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away."
-   Robert Frost, October

October: Poems, Quotes, Sayings, Lore

"Gardening is the slowest of the performing arts."
-  Mac Keith Griswold

The month of October, for us, in Red Bluff, California, means cooler daytime temperatures, some rain, brisk mornings, falling leaves, ripening apples and persimmons, closing down the summertime vegetable garden, planting a winter garden, blooming chrysanthemums, longer walks, pruning, fertilizing, and cleaning up the yard and gardens.  

A few photographs of our garden are included below.  The photographs were all taken by Karen Garofalo in October 2013.

Taoist Immortals

Chronicles of Tao: The Secret Life of a Taoist Master. By Deng Ming-Dao. Harper One, 1993, 476 pages. VSCL. Biography of Kwan Sai Hung.  (1920-...)  A fictional Taoist Master/Immortal.  

"Some of the Masters of Mount Huashan were already addressed as "Immortal."  These were highly regarded individuals, agless in appearance.  Their titles meant "realized persons," signifying that the Masters has fulfilled, as a minimum requirement, the completion of internal alchemy for the sake of longevity, liberation from the cycle of transmigration, enlightened perception of the nature of life, astral travel, and the total memorization of the hundreds of volumes comprising the Taoist Canon." - Chronicles of Tao, p. 69  

Bat Immortal, Yin-Yan Immortals, Frog Immortal ...

Eight Immortals - Wikipedia

Xian - Wikipedia

Xian (Chinese: 仙/仚/僊; pinyin: xiān; Wade–Giles: hsien) refers to a person or similar entity having a long life or being immortal. The concept of xian has different implications dependent upon the specific context: philosophical, religious, mythological, or other symbolic or cultural occurrence. The Chinese word xian is translatable into English as:

• (in Daoist philosophy and cosmology) spiritually immortal; transcendent human; celestial being
• (in Daoist religion and pantheon) physically immortal; immortal person; an immortal; saint
• (in Chinese alchemy) alchemist; one who seeks the elixir of life; one who practices longevity techniques
  • (or by extension) alchemical, dietary, or qigong methods for attaining immortality
• (in Chinese mythology) wizard; magician; shaman; sorcerer
• (in popular Chinese literature) genie; elf, fairy; nymph; 仙境 (xian jing is fairyland, faery)
• (based on the folk etymology for the character 仙, a compound of the characters for person and mountain) sage living high in the mountains; mountain-man; hermit; recluse
• (as a metaphorical modifier) immortal [talent]; accomplished person; celestial [beauty]; marvelous; extraordinary
• (In new-age conception) seeker who takes refuge in immortality (longevity for the realization of divinity); transcended person [self] recoded by the "higher self"; divine soul; fully established being

Xian semantically developed from meaning spiritual "immortality; enlightenment", to physical "immortality; longevity" involving methods such as alchemy, breath meditation, and tai chi chuan, and eventually to legendary and figurative "immortality".

Victor H. Mair describes the xian archetype as:

They are immune to heat and cold, untouched by the elements, and can fly, mounting upward with a fluttering motion. They dwell apart from the chaotic world of man, subsist on air and dew, are not anxious like ordinary people, and have the smooth skin and innocent faces of children. The transcendents live an effortless existence that is best described as spontaneous. They recall the ancient Indian ascetics and holy men known as ṛṣi who possessed similar traits.^[1]