Podcasts from Manzanita Village: Caitriona Reed and Michele Benzamin-Miki
The brighted the light the darker the shadows. Western culture projects fantasies on the real and imagined world.Vampires, Human Sacrifice, Martyrdom
The simple truth is more along the lines of our longing for connection with the life of the world that we have so alienated ourselves from.
A short talk by Caitriona Reed
A solstice meditation on the cycles of life. inter-connection, and love.
By Michele Benzamin-Miki – with our dog Bashu – doing some heavy breathing at the window tat the end of the recording, (in case you wondered what that sound was)..
The pattern printed in my breathing here
Has not been seen before.
Let the moment’s condensation vanish without trace:
The cherished pattern no one can efface. Osip Mandelstam
In Buddhist teaching impermanence (anicca) is one of the three universal characteristics, sometimes referred to as the Three Marks of Existence, along with no-self (anata) and suffering (dukkha).
It is important to remember that the Buddha emphasized practical tools for change, and steered away from metaphysics and theoretical speculation. “I teach one thing.” he said, “suffering and freedom from suffering.” In addition, he recommended that we question and test received beliefs and teachings—including the ones that came from him.
In the West, however, we are not used to challenging beliefs, especially in a religious context. Despite many signs to the contrary, we have a deeply conformist tendency. Challenging authority is still associated with heresy. So teachings that are intended as practical instructions become inadvertently turned into fixed principles.
This distinction may seem subtle, but it is an important one. It is not hard to understand that everything does indeed change, and that everything is impermanent. But when you turn Impermanence into a fixed principle you limit your ability to actually assess your experience of impermanence, and you miss some important distinctions.
The article from which this is taken can be found at
http://www.sweepingzen.com/Article_by_Caitriona_Reed.html
The pattern printed in my breathing here
Has not been seen before.
Let the moment’s condensation vanish without trace:
The cherished pattern no one can efface.
Osip Mandelstam
In Buddhist teaching impermanence (anicca) is one of the three universal characteristics, sometimes referred to as the Three Marks of Existence, along with no-self (anata) and suffering (dukkha).
It is important to remember that the Buddha emphasized practical tools for change, and steered away from metaphysics and theoretical speculation. “I teach one thing.” he said, “suffering and freedom from suffering.” In addition, he recommended that we question and test received beliefs and teachings—including the ones that came from him.
In the West, however, we are not used to challenging beliefs, especially in a religious context. Despite many signs to the contrary, we have a deeply conformist tendency. Challenging authority is still associated with heresy. So teachings that are intended as practical instructions become inadvertently turned into fixed principles.
This distinction may seem subtle, but it is an important one. It is not hard to understand that everything does indeed change, and that everything is impermanent. But when you turn Impermanence into a fixed principle you limit your ability to actually assess your experience of impermanence, and you miss some important distinctions.
