One of the paradoxes of the mystical life is this: that a man cannot enter into the deepest center of himself and pass through that center into God, unless he is able to pass entirely out of himself and empty himself and give himself to other people in the purity of a selfless love.
Thomas Merton
Monday, September 10, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
The Woodcarver
Khing, the master carver, made a bell stand
Of precious wood. When it was finished,
All who saw it were astounded. They said it must be
The work of spirits.
The Prince of Lu said to the master carver:
"What is your secret?"
Khing replied: "I am only a workman:
I have no secret. There is only this:
When I began to think about the work you commanded
I guarded my spirit, did not expend it
On trifles, that were not to the point.
I fasted in order to set
My heart at rest.
After three days fasting,
I had forgotten gain and success.
After five days
I had forgotten praise or criticism.
After seven days
I had forgotten my body
With all its limbs.
"By this time all thought of your Highness
And of the court had faded away.
All that might distract me from the work
Had vanished.
I was collected in the single thought
Of the bell stand.
"Then I went to the forest
To see the trees in their own natural state.
When the right tree appeared before my eyes,
The bell stand also appeared in it, clearly, beyond doubt.
All I had to do was to put forth my hand
and begin.
"If I had not met this particular tree
There would have been
No bell stand at all.
"What happened?
My own collected thought
Encountered the hidden potential in the wood;
From this live encounter came the work
Which you ascribe to the spirits."
- Chuang Tzu
from The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton
Of precious wood. When it was finished,
All who saw it were astounded. They said it must be
The work of spirits.
The Prince of Lu said to the master carver:
"What is your secret?"
Khing replied: "I am only a workman:
I have no secret. There is only this:
When I began to think about the work you commanded
I guarded my spirit, did not expend it
On trifles, that were not to the point.
I fasted in order to set
My heart at rest.
After three days fasting,
I had forgotten gain and success.
After five days
I had forgotten praise or criticism.
After seven days
I had forgotten my body
With all its limbs.
"By this time all thought of your Highness
And of the court had faded away.
All that might distract me from the work
Had vanished.
I was collected in the single thought
Of the bell stand.
"Then I went to the forest
To see the trees in their own natural state.
When the right tree appeared before my eyes,
The bell stand also appeared in it, clearly, beyond doubt.
All I had to do was to put forth my hand
and begin.
"If I had not met this particular tree
There would have been
No bell stand at all.
"What happened?
My own collected thought
Encountered the hidden potential in the wood;
From this live encounter came the work
Which you ascribe to the spirits."
- Chuang Tzu
from The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton
The Archer
Chuang Tzu
When an archer is shooting for nothing he has all his skill.
If he shoots for a brass buckle he is already nervous.
If he shoots for a prize of gold
he goes blind
or sees two targets
- he is out of his mind!
His skill has not changed. But the prize
divides him. He cares.
He thinks more of winning than of shooting
and the need to win
drains him of power.
When an archer is shooting for nothing he has all his skill.
If he shoots for a brass buckle he is already nervous.
If he shoots for a prize of gold
he goes blind
or sees two targets
- he is out of his mind!
His skill has not changed. But the prize
divides him. He cares.
He thinks more of winning than of shooting
and the need to win
drains him of power.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Joseph Campbell
People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we are seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance with our innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Extreme Religion
I have heard it everywhere the past couple weeks; extreme religion, extreme beliefs or lack of beliefs. From God's Warriors to Christopher Hitchens stepping on the back of Mother Teresa.
From the makers of Extreme Makeover (Not Really) we are brought Extreme Belief. In which we kill, beat, jab, poke, belittle, and basically strip a person naked in the name of belief/religion. These activities more resemble an animal attacking prey than it does a true concerned believer. Do you walk into a job interview with the intent to belittle, do you go to dinner with your mom and poke fun of her, do you go out with friends and kill them if they don't believe? So why do some act like animals when it comes to faith, belief/lack of belief, religion and God? Let me break it down a bit:
1. Belief/Faith is a huge step to take not only in the mind, but more importantly in the heart.
2. God aside (although my beliefs believe God is the point of this) we all have an inherent need to feel comfort, to feel safe, to feel needed/worth while.
3. Animals hunt out of a need and impulse in their mind. There is no heart or soul requirement for an Animal. It is just an impulse driven creature.
So we are left with Heart/Soul vs. Mind/Impulses. If I rely solely on my mind I believe that I will not only be a shallow person but also miss the mark on what it means to be a full person/human being. I can't rationalize love, compassion, friendship, caring, forgiveness. These are things of the heart and soul not the things of the mind. I know what my dog looks like yet I find more enjoyment out of petting him and caring for him. My mind can rationalize love but if my soul never feels it was it really worth it or there? I know what compassion is but if I never extend with a true heart is it worth it or true?
When we let our minds control our soul I believe we do irrational things. Going back to my dog example (although this might be a bit extreme), if I look at my dog from a pure rational/mind point of view he is worthless to me. He doesn't bring me food or protection, he is lazy and stupid (compared to my mind) and he certainly doesn't further my life or quest for knowledge so I should probably just do away with him. Does this sound familiar? Extreme belief anyone?? But if I look in my soul I find a creature that I am amazed with everyday. My dog makes me laugh, smile and generally feel good and I know I love him and his value is immeasurable. If I can feel this way about my dog, why can't Extreme Belief stop using solely their heads but also their soul? Would we have the belittling, the killing, the beatings?
P.S. Take from this rambling what you can. I read this refreshing article this morning and read this excerpt from the Cherry Log Sermons last night:
But God took this creature made out of clay, held it up as a mother holds a baby, and breathed, and it became a living soul like God. And God said, "This one is like me. I am proud of the squirrel, I love the elephant, the horse is good, the mule is nice, and I do like these llamas, but the one that is exactly like me is this one. I have breathed into this one my own life." This is why human beings are not content, if they are real human beings, with just eating and drinking and working and showing off and bragging and dying. Real human beings long for God, search the heavens, write poetry, play music, spread art all over the world, and think the things of God. We human beings perhaps even spend time pondering if, after we die, we will live again, since we have the breath of God. This is extraordinary, so extraordinary, in fact that the most horrible thing that you can imagine is for the breath of God, the Spirit of God, to be taken away from you.
From the makers of Extreme Makeover (Not Really) we are brought Extreme Belief. In which we kill, beat, jab, poke, belittle, and basically strip a person naked in the name of belief/religion. These activities more resemble an animal attacking prey than it does a true concerned believer. Do you walk into a job interview with the intent to belittle, do you go to dinner with your mom and poke fun of her, do you go out with friends and kill them if they don't believe? So why do some act like animals when it comes to faith, belief/lack of belief, religion and God? Let me break it down a bit:
1. Belief/Faith is a huge step to take not only in the mind, but more importantly in the heart.
2. God aside (although my beliefs believe God is the point of this) we all have an inherent need to feel comfort, to feel safe, to feel needed/worth while.
3. Animals hunt out of a need and impulse in their mind. There is no heart or soul requirement for an Animal. It is just an impulse driven creature.
So we are left with Heart/Soul vs. Mind/Impulses. If I rely solely on my mind I believe that I will not only be a shallow person but also miss the mark on what it means to be a full person/human being. I can't rationalize love, compassion, friendship, caring, forgiveness. These are things of the heart and soul not the things of the mind. I know what my dog looks like yet I find more enjoyment out of petting him and caring for him. My mind can rationalize love but if my soul never feels it was it really worth it or there? I know what compassion is but if I never extend with a true heart is it worth it or true?
When we let our minds control our soul I believe we do irrational things. Going back to my dog example (although this might be a bit extreme), if I look at my dog from a pure rational/mind point of view he is worthless to me. He doesn't bring me food or protection, he is lazy and stupid (compared to my mind) and he certainly doesn't further my life or quest for knowledge so I should probably just do away with him. Does this sound familiar? Extreme belief anyone?? But if I look in my soul I find a creature that I am amazed with everyday. My dog makes me laugh, smile and generally feel good and I know I love him and his value is immeasurable. If I can feel this way about my dog, why can't Extreme Belief stop using solely their heads but also their soul? Would we have the belittling, the killing, the beatings?
P.S. Take from this rambling what you can. I read this refreshing article this morning and read this excerpt from the Cherry Log Sermons last night:
But God took this creature made out of clay, held it up as a mother holds a baby, and breathed, and it became a living soul like God. And God said, "This one is like me. I am proud of the squirrel, I love the elephant, the horse is good, the mule is nice, and I do like these llamas, but the one that is exactly like me is this one. I have breathed into this one my own life." This is why human beings are not content, if they are real human beings, with just eating and drinking and working and showing off and bragging and dying. Real human beings long for God, search the heavens, write poetry, play music, spread art all over the world, and think the things of God. We human beings perhaps even spend time pondering if, after we die, we will live again, since we have the breath of God. This is extraordinary, so extraordinary, in fact that the most horrible thing that you can imagine is for the breath of God, the Spirit of God, to be taken away from you.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Ahhh What A Saturday
Woke up watched some t.v., took wrigley to the doggie park (see his baby picture above), now watching some Big Ten football on the Big Ten Network. What a day.
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