“The believer will open his mind to the truth on condition that it fits in with his preconceived ideas and wishes.
Faith, on the other hand, is an unreserved opening of the mind to the truth, whatever it may turn out to be.
Faith has no preconceptions; it is a plunge into the unknown.
Belief clings, but faith lets go. In this sense of the word, faith is the essential virtue of science,
and likewise of any religion that is not self-deception,” fr. “The Wisdom Of Insecurity.”
Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes.
Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.
We try to pretend, you see, that the external world exists altogether independently of us.
We identify in our experience a differentiation between what we do and what happens to us.
The relationship of self to other is the complete realization that loving yourself is impossible
without loving everything defined as other than yourself.
Underneath the superficial self, which pays attention to this and that, there is another self more really us than I.
You and I are all as much continuous with the physical universe as a wave is continuous with the ocean.
The trouble is, that we have one-sided minds, and we notice the wave of life when it is at its peak or crest.
And the more you become aware of the unknown self – if you become aware of it -
the more you realize that it is inseparably connected with everything else that is.
I find that the sensation of myself as an ego inside a bag of skin is really a hallucination.
Well actually, when you look out there and see all these people and things sitting around,
that’s how it feels inside your head.
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.
The Bodhisattva saves all beings, not by preaching sermons to them, but by showing them that they are delivered,
they are liberated, by the act of not being able to stop changing.
So then, in Buddhism, change is emphasized.
You must understand as one of the fundamental points of Buddhism, the idea of the world as being in flux.
The reason we have poverty is that we have no imagination.
There are a great many people accumulating what they think is vast wealth, but it’s only money…
they don’t know how to enjoy it, because they have no imagination.
The reason we want to go on and on is because we live in an impoverished present.
“The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it
becomes. It is like trying to clutch water in ones hands. The harder we
grip, the more it slips through our fingers.”
Technology is destructive only in the hands of people who do not realize
that they are one and the same process as the universe.
In known history, nobody has had such capacity for altering the universe than the people of the United States of America.
And nobody has gone about it in such an aggressive way.
What I think we could aim for in the way of human civilization and culture would be a system
in which we are all highly aware of our existing interconnection and unity with the whole domain of nature,
and therefore do not have to go to all sorts of wild extremes to find that union.
A person who is fanatic in matters of religion,
and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe,
becomes a person who has no faith at all.
To have faith is to trust yourself to the water.
When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown.
Instead you relax, and float.
the attitude of faith is to let go, and become open to truth, whatever it might turn out to be.
Faith is a state of openness or trust.
And the attitude of faith is the very opposite of clinging to belief, of holding on.
The religious idea of God cannot do full duty for the metaphysical infinity.
the point is that God is what nobody admits to being, and everybody really is.
nothing – the negative, the empty – is exceedingly powerful.
Buddhism has in it no idea of there being a moral law laid down by some kind of cosmic lawgiver.
Religion is not a department of life; it is something that enters into the whole of it.
My metaphysics, let me be perfectly frank with you, are that there the central self,
you can call it God, you can call it anything you like, and it’s all of us.
Buddhism is not saying that the Self, the great Atman, or whatnot,
it isn’t denying that the experience which corresponds to these words is realizable.
Omnipotence is not knowing how everything is done; it’s just doing it.
If you awaken from this illusion, and you understand that black implies white, self implies other,
life implies death – or shall I say, death implies life – you can conceive yourself.
reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.
“The only Zen you’ll find on mountain tops is the Zen you bring up there with you.”
~ Krishna from The Bhagavad Gita:
It is better to strive in one’s own dharma than to succeed in the dharma of another.
Nothing is ever lost in following one’s own dharma. But competition in another’s dharma breeds fear and insecurity.
He alone sees truly who sees the Lord the same in every creature…seeing the same Lord everywhere,
he does not harm himself or others.
As long as you have attachment to the body and attachment to objects, fear and suffering will be with you.
Therefore, Krishna told Arjuna to develop his discrimination and rid himself of body consciousness.
He told him that once he was free of body consciousness he would be able to develop integral vision.
The awakened sages call a person wise when all his undertakings are free from anxiety about results.
Abandon all attachment to the results of action and attain supreme peace.
~ J.C. :
I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.
–
If we follow these principles, there is now to be found a short path available to technical mastery of mortality and mortal sufferings for earthlings, a reunification with our environs.
The principles have a simple base:
Do not confuse the map with reality – mind is a powerful map, but it is just a map.
Treat Others as though they were self, for we are all waves in one ocean.
Do not believe, see.
Do not hope, have faith in ourselves and The Allness.
Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Congresswoman and the 2008 Green Party presidential candidate.
Adam Shapiro, documentary filmmaker, human rights activist and Palestinian rights activist. Adam was a co-founder of the ISM in Palestine. He was filming the voyage of the Arion for the Free Gaza Movement last week.
AMY GOODMAN: Former Congress member Cynthia McKinney arrived back in the United States Tuesday following her deportation from Israel. McKinney was one of 21 activists seized by the Israeli military in international waters last week as they tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Also aboard the Free Gaza boat was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire. Last week’s trip was the Free Gaza movement’s first since it aborted an attempt in January after the Israeli navy threatened to shoot the civilian passengers on board. That sailing had come just weeks after an Israeli Navy vessel deliberately rammed another of its boats, almost forcing it to sink. Cynthia McKinney joins us now in Washington D.C. We are joined here at the Firehouse by Adam Shapiro. He was filming the Free Gaza trip last week. He is a Palestinian human rights activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. Both former Congress member McKinney and Adam were detained for the past week and just deported back to the United States.
Cynthia McKinney why did you go? What happened to you in the Israeli jail?
CYNTHIA McKINNEY: I went because there’s a gross injustice being carried out everyday. This is my second attempt to get into Gaza with the Free Gaza organization. And for the two times I attempted to get in, two times I have been thwarted by the Israeli military. The cause is the human rights of the Palestinian people. The world saw the operation Cast Lead where the United States supplied white phosphorus, depleted uranium, cluster bombs, DIME weapons, were rained down on the defenseless people of Gaza. Of course, we desperately wanted to get in to take humanitarian relief supplies. And both times I have tried to go with Free Gaza, they’ve been thwarted—we have been supported thwarted by the Israeli military.
AMY GOODMAN: Now were you on one of the boats that was rammed?
CYNTHIA McKINNEY: I was on the Dignity. And yes it was rammed in international waters…
AMY GOODMAN: When was this?
CYNTHIA McKINNEY: ..This was in December, just a day or so after the outbreak of Operation Cast Lead. I was contacted by Free Gaza and asked to go within 24 hours and I said, yes, I would go.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to play a comment made last week by Israeli government spokesperson Mark Regev who dismissed the humanitarian mission of the Free Gaza Movement.
MARK REGEV: Israel every day is allowing humanitarian support to reach the people of Gaza. Food stuffs, medicines, energy and so forth. This boat was not about that. This boat was about political activists who have been apologists for the Hamas regime who have nothing whatsoever to say about Hamas’s brutal treatment of the people of Gaza.
AMY GOODMAN: Former Congress member McKinney, your response?
CYNTHIA McKINNEY: Well, clearly, we just had a visit to Gaza by President Carter, Former President Carter. Basically, he acknowledged that with the complete and utter devastation that the people of Gaza experienced at the hands of weapons that were supplied to Israel by the United States, he said that unfortunately the Palestinians are treated worse than human beings. I challenge the Israelis to respond to what President Carter had to say.
AMY GOODMAN: Former Congress member McKinney, tell us about the jail. Were you able to reach the Obama administration while you were there?
CYNTHIA McKINNEY: Well, the jail was very interesting. In fact, the first most interesting thing I witnessed was the seemingly endless stream of people of color who are being processed as we were being processed. And on my cell block, there were women from Africa and Asia who thought they were going to Israel because Israel was the Holy Land. And many of them, not all of them, but many of them had United Nations refugee status. They have been certified by UNHCR as refugees, but what they were told as they faced the threats and intimidation from the police is that the United Nations is not in Israel.
AMY GOODMAN: Adam Shapiro, you are Palestinian rights activist long known for this. You were on the boat. You were roughed up, you were filming when the Israeli military came on board. Describe what happened.
ADAM SHAPIRO: Well, they boarded us, four zodiac ships as well as eight naval warships, they surrounded our boat and can immediately towards the wheel house where I was along with the captain and one other crew member. I was documenting the whole trip and filming as they boarded the ship. Two soldiers came after me immediately, recognizing I think that they don’t want any footage of what was happening and they don’t want the world to know how they behave. I tried to keep the camera as long as I could. But I was pummeled repeatedly in the back and arms and choked and eventually they got the camera out of my hands. They have since taken all of our tapes, all of our flashcards and all of that, so we don’t have a record to show the world of what happened on board. The rest of the time we were detained in one room of the ship as we spent the better part of six hours navigating back to an Israeli port where we were processed and ultimately jailed.
AMY GOODMAN: There was another Al-Jazeera reporter on board as well ?
ADAM SHAPIRO: There was an Al-Jazeera reporter and cameramen. They lost all of their footage and camera as well.
AMY GOODMAN: Their computer was taken?
ADAM SHAPIRO: Yes, it was taken, completely reformatted and erased. And so again, we don’t seem to have a record to show the world what happened.
AMY GOODMAN: Your response to Israeli Spokesperson Regev?
ADAM SHAPIRO: Well Mark Regev is known for his colorful descriptions of how great life is in Gaza as far as Israel is concerned. However, all of the reporting, including the most recent International Committee for the Red Cross, shows the number of trucks Israel is allowing into Gaza is completely insufficient for what is needed. And so yes, it is true, he can say Israel allows foodstuffs and medicines to get in, but two trucks a day or 20 trucks a day is far inferior to what is needed. And we have seen, since the international outcry following January’s attack has subsided the number of trucks Israel has allowed in has decreased. And so, what we are saying, Free Gaza is a humanitarian effort to bring in the kinds of medicines and foods that are needed. But the Free Gaza movement is also a political organization in the sense we are human rights organization, And human rights for Palestinians is inherently political. And we are challenging Israel politically too, and this week I think has been a success for those of us who are fighting for Palestinian rights. We were not able to get into Gaza but we have shown the world the true colors of the Israeli occupation, and the double standard by which the United States and other countries are dealing with Israel.
AMY GOODMAN: Former Congress member McKinney, we only have ten seconds. But, you’ve just been deported. What are your plans right now?
CYNTHIA McKINNEY: Well, I would like to see the children of Gaza have the coloring books and crayons that we had on board with us. I would like to see the houses that have been destroyed rebuilt. I would like to see the lives rebuilt for the people of Gaza and I would like to see the people of Palestine have, and enjoy their human rights.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think president Obama is headed in that direction?
CYNTHIA McKINNEY: I think you can probably answer that as well as we can, because while we were in detention, the Foreign Ministry of Ireland made protests and asked the government of Israel to release its nationals, several Members of Parliament
AMY GOODMAN: …We have 5 seconds….
CYNTHIA McKINNEY: from the United Kingdom…
AMY GOODMAN: … 5 seconds….
CYNTHIA McKINNEY: …also wanted to censure Israel. Nothing from the United States.
AMY GOODMAN: Cynthia McKinney, Adam Shapiro, Thank you so much. I’m Amy Goodman. Thanks for joining us.
An American hero, she gave her life working towards a day when we
stop paying for shooting children to terrorize whole other peoples for others’ interests.
Watch ‘How It All Ends’ – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF_anaVcCXg
It’s about making big decisions into simple ones; not about whether the globe is warming,
much less why, it’s about doing nothing, or not.
An excellent science teacher avoids all the science to look at the simplest logic.
There is not much that is more wrong with the world than what you will learn about
from this video; i usually try to focus on the up side, on what is good,
all the things that can be done to make things right, on prescriptive info about what to do,
but it is vitally important you not let Monsanto do to you and yours.
It is vitally important to know what we must stop, especially the wholesale poisoning of us,
our food, and the Earth .
A Few Thoughts on the Coup in Honduras – Jeremy Scahill Junne 29, 2009 “Rebel Reports” –
There is a lot of great analysis circulating on the military coup against Manuel Zelaya in Honduras.
I do not see a need to re-invent the wheel. (See hereherehere and here). However, a few key things
jump out at me. First, we know that the coup was led by Gen. Romeo Vasquez, a graduate of the
US Army School of the Americas. As we know very well from history, these “graduates” maintain ties to
the US military as they climb the military career ladders in their respective countries.
That is a major reason why the US trains these individuals.
Secondly, the US has a fairly significant military presence in Honduras.
Joint Task Force-Bravo is located at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras.
The base is home to some 550 US military personnel and more than 650 US and Honduran civilians:
They work in six different areas including the Joint Staff, Air Force Forces (612th Air Base Squadron),
Army Forces, Joint Security Forces and the Medical Element. 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment,
a US Army South asset, is a tenant unit also based at Soto Cano.
The J-Staff provides command and control for JTF-B.
The New York Times reports that “The unit focuses on training Honduran military forces, counternarcotics
operations, search and rescue, and disaster relief missions throughout Central America.”
Significantly, according to GlobalSecurity, “Soto Cano is a Honduran military installation and home of the Honduran Air Force.”
This connection to the Air Force is particularly significant given this report in NarcoNews:
The head of the Air Force, Gen. Luis Javier Prince Suazo, studied in the School of the Americas in 1996.
The Air Force has been a central protagonist in the Honduran crisis.
When the military refused to distribute the ballot boxes for the opinion poll, the ballot boxes were stored
on an Air Force base until citizens accompanied by Zelaya rescued them.
Zelaya reports that after soldiers kidnapped him, they took him to an Air Force base,
where he was put on a plane and sent to Costa Rica.
It is impossible to imagine that the US was not aware that the coup was in the works.
In fact, this was basically confirmed by The New York Times in Monday’s paper:
As the crisis escalated, American officials began in the last few days to talk with Honduran government
and military officials in an effort to head off a possible coup. A senior administration official,
who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, said the military broke off those discussions on Sunday.
While the US has issued heavily-qualified statements critical of the coup
—in the aftermath of the events in Honduras—the US could have flexed its tremendous economic muscle
before the coup and told the military coup plotters to stand down.
The US ties to the Honduran military and political establishment run far too deep for all of this to have gone
down without at least tacit support or the turning of a blind eye by some US political or military official(s).
Here are some facts to consider: the US is the top trading partner for Honduras.
The coup plotters/supporters in the Honduran Congress are supporters of the “free trade agreements”
Washington has imposed on the region.
The coup leaders view their actions, in part, as a rejection of Hugo Chavez’s influence in Honduras and with
Zelaya and an embrace of the United States and Washington’s “vision” for the region. Obama and the
US military could likely have halted this coup with a simple series of phone calls.
For an interesting take on all of this, make sure to check out Nikolas Kozloff’s piece on Counterpunch, where he writes:
In November, Zelaya hailed Obama’s election in the U.S. as “a hope for the world,” but just two months
later tensions began to emerge. In an audacious letter sent personally to Obama, Zelaya accused the
U.S. of “interventionism” and called on the new administration in Washington to respect the principle
of non-interference in the political affairs of other nations.
Here are some independent news sources on this story: School of the Americas Watch NarcoNews
Eva Golinger’s Postcards from the Revolution
ALBA representatives reaffirm support to Hondura`s Legitimate Government http://mathaba.net/news/?x=620928
(the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America)
Much has been going on in Honduras this month leading up to this,
from a recent coup attempt (ablove), to an Earthquake, an OAS meeting,
and two important futball games.
soon to be up for a vote is a bill that could stop small and local producers;
HR-875 ‘Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009’
There is a U.S House Resolution…HR875…entitled “The Food Safety Modernization Act”…put forth by Rosa Deloro, a Dem. from CT, whose husband is Stanley Greenberg, who works with many corporations, including Monsanto, that wants EVERYONE who grows ANY food to register and report to the Feds.
Failure to do so results in large fines and potential seizure of property.
I’ve never been poisoned by anything at a farmers market, and it’s none of their business if i choose to grow a strawberry plant or a tomato!
feel free to plagiarize my wiseacre comment below left on one of these pages;
better yet, write your congress person!
i’m so scared of organic food that i think the government should arm us with assault weapons and rockets and train us to use such in self defense against rabid tomatoes and broccoli
it would probably also make us a whole lot safer if we spread all our nuclear waste evenly over all lands that might be used to grow food consumed in the US just to make sure that even if organic farming techniques are being used anywhere that i won’t have to be attacked by any actually organic food
as to those who would like to give me their extra homegrown zucchinis, i would be happy to entertain the idea of accepting them if you can submit triplicate copies of the paperwork required by this bill to ensure your food facility is safe enough for me and mine
growing vegetables next door without submission of this documentation will require a response from my assault weapons
