A warmth that expands and demands and drives steam into the mind’s chambers. A hot wind carrying flakes of brittle rust, curling around the chest; abrasive. A tube carrying ease and motion, behind the heart between the lungs, strangled and pinched and squeezed. A driver of power, planning and scheduling confidence and assurance and recurring pride. Schemes and checkmates and victory parades...
The search for answers is fueled by curiosity, directed by questions, and treads along a pavement of non-delineated possibility. I have turned to Buddhism to learn about meditation. I meditate to unfurl the self, clean the glass darkly, and strengthen the mind. The Buddhists promise only an understanding of suffering and a means to its end, though there are many milestones along this road. I wish...
The topology of progress is frustrating in the revelations of its unexpected troughs, and heights that transcend themselves into plateaus. The revelation of progress is frustration, proving itself only by the quagmire of unfamiliar stretches, yet (do not fear, for) they hide in their shadows easy slopes of epiphanies spurring euphoria. New lessons earn new vistas promising fresh territories for...
Right view is a way of knowing what it is that we experience. It is approached by a collaboration of labeling and interpretation. To know samma ditthi (right view) means to know that we exist in a maelstrom of phenomenon that include choices, and that their relationships and unfolding are manifestations of a calculus of conditioning along a river of time and suffering. Autobiography I read the...
Editor's Note: This post was found in 'Draft' mode in the original blog and may be incomplete. It is published here in its original state. It was last updated on 23/01/2016. Perspective of samma ditthi Right view is an achievement of comprehension, regarding the nature of experience. It is the answer to the question, “What is reality”, and also “What is the nature of...
Editor's Note: This post was found in 'Draft' mode in the original blog and may be incomplete. It is published here in its original state. It was last updated on 15/01/2016. To motivate oneself consistently to walk the eightfold path it may not be enough to pursue its truths since those truths may not be fully intuited before certain liberations. Tradition recommends that a follower take up a...
I do not presume that my relationship with my emotions are standard. But any presumed deviance reminds me that every person develops their own, idiosyncratic relationship with their emotions. “Emotions” is a variegated and complex concept, being composed of so many layers and distinctions. Even when just briefly considered. For example emotions as physical sensations, as...
In a reality and society that are predicated and empowered by numbers, logic, and their interactions, it is enticing to the explorer to research and learn these domains of knowledge and practice. By learning to program I expect to discover many unknown unknowns. By learning to program I also hope to discover an appreciation for logical hierarchies that combine into interactive meaning; to...
To lift myself out of darkness I had to deal with the life that I had. My body was a prison, and my mind a prisoner who had memorized a schedule of submissions to avoid the electrified bars. I could sense my body’s dimensions in the points of pain that decorated my limbs and torso like chains of stretched glass encompassing countless minuscule cracks and burns. To move was to transform one...
There was a time when my body was a great anchor wrapped around my mind, and my mind a tired and hungry mole, hard of sight and seeking the light. I awoke without refreshment, acknowledging the pain and the persistence of time that demanded a whole day before another respite. Every night I would lay down my body to sleep without hope of respite, acknowledging the restlessness and paranoia that...