good day to do nothing

[oxtail]

It appears to be a good day to do nothing.

forsythias are in full bloom
early flowers before leaves
easily propagated by cuttings
never seen their winged seeds

--
oxtail

[{:-])))]

oxtail wrote:

>It appears to be a good day to do nothing.

It is a great thing, for me, when nothing
appears, out of the blue, so to speak,
and to be, something to do.

>forsythias are in full bloom
>early flowers before leaves
>easily propagated by cuttings
>never seen their winged seeds

From nothing to some one,
and, from there, also two.

Ten
thou sand things
are as castles made
out of shades of no thing.

Life appears to me to dance on light
waves fantastic beyond knowing
how nor why except, perhaps,
by cutting.

Consciousness flowers as well
from depths beneath under
standing atop, on the surface,
remaining, for a spell.

Until the wave returns,
subsumed by its particular
ocean of a notion
having broken
open.

Unfolding
the present
itself as a gift
at times, for now.

[noname]

What must be done cannot be avoided.
The rest offers a way to get into trouble.

[oxtail]

Can you usually stop worrying about things that cannot be avoided?

--
oxtail

[oxtail]

Do you eat bamboo shoots?

--
oxtail

[noname]

In order to stop something you must first start it, so that answer would
be "no".

What cannot be avoided may safely be ignored and forgotten, because it
will not simply go away; it is the trivialities coughed up by the
thinking mind that must be written on a list since they have no inherent
value to begin with and once forgotten only the thinking mind can
resurrect them.

Thus one can be as ignorant and forgetful as is comfortable; when it is
time to carry water, your thirst will remind you.

[{:-])))]

oxtail asked:

>Do you eat bamboo shoots?

At times, yes.

[oxtail]

Just wondering whether you harvest them yourself.

--
oxtail

[oxtail]

Do you ever worry about things you cannot change?

--
oxtail

[noname]

Does that mean there are things I can change? What is already as it
must be can not be improved by inventing imperfections. Within the
moment of presence there is only what is done without doing, there is no
space there for what cannot be done at all.

I used to worry though, and managed to dis-improve things until finally
it tied such a knot around me that I could only give up. May everyone
encounter that happy misfortune.

[{:-])))]

Normally, no.

Although, it's possible,
given our south forty
yards of bamboo grove.

Guess I don't love them enuf
or haven't been that hungry.

But, perhaps you are speaking
about something metaphorically?

Next time I need to weed them
out of wherever they are unwanted,
the least I could do is chew on a few.

- thanks!

[oxtail]

What kind of bamboo do you have?

--
oxtail

[oxtail]

No idea what it is that eats for you?

--
oxtail

[noname]

Nothing "eats for me"; the body eats for itself, I am along for the ride.

[{:-])))]

oxtail wrote:
> {:-]))) wrote:
>
>> But, perhaps you are speaking
>> about something metaphorically?
>

>What kind of bamboo do you have?

I've been told
more than just one type
are growing.

No idea of what kind or kinds.

Are some better than others?

[{:-])))]

Upon going to the doctor, many years ago,
with a complaint about various unwells being,
he told me that it isn't what you eat
but what is eating you.

The stomach eats for the brain.
The brain finds food for the stomach.
I am theirs and they are mine.
All told, we are not alone.

People do not exist in a vacuum.

No body simply floats in space
without a suit, nor without
many others involved.
Not for long, not
while being alive
so to speak, of life.

Thinking of oneself as an individual
tends to be a form of delusion,
a very abstract learning.

To think there is no me,
or that there are not many of me,
many bundles of neurons, many minds,
as well as many subsystems at work
and at play, inside and outside
of a skin full of holes, tend
to be interesting ways
of thought, to me.

At least,
to at least one of me.

Language might eat for me.
Consume words and digest them.
As if they were not mine.
Nor my body me.

[oxtail]

Do you mean that you are not your body?
Any idea what it is that worries?

--
oxtail

[oxtail]

I heard that some are edible but others are too bitter.
I got some bamboo from a neighbor several years ago.
I haven't figured out what kind it is.
Just wondering whether fresh bamboo shoots
taste different from canned ones.

--
oxtail

[noname]

Yes.

> Any idea what it is that worries?

The thinking mind.

When you live entirely within the present the thinking mind is too busy
writing things down for later worrying to have any time to worry.

[{:-])))]

oxtail wrote:
> {:-]))) wrote:

>> oxtail wrote:
>>>
>>>What kind of bamboo do you have?
>>
>> I've been told
>> more than just one type
>> are growing.
>>
>> No idea of what kind or kinds.
>>
>> Are some better than others?
>
>
>I heard that some are edible but others are too bitter.
>I got some bamboo from a neighbor several years ago.
>I haven't figured out what kind it is.
>Just wondering whether fresh bamboo shoots
>taste different from canned ones.

I don't recall ever having ones from a can.

The little one I tried yesterday, at first slice
seemed to have little taste but a fine crunch.
It was rather delightful.

The second bite was a bit bitter
but perhaps the outer leaves were
insufficiently removed.

The third bite was okay.
It was a small shoot.
Threw the rest away.

The ones I recall from restaurants
tend to be of about an inch in size
width-wise. They're usually so soaked
in whatever sauce is used for cooking
their fresh-cut taste is swamped out.

If they were even fresh at all.
Not to mention them being cooked
which sorta takes the freshness out of them.

[oxtail]

No idea how to make good memories? ;)

--
oxtail

[noname]

One can reminisce about what he's experienced in the past,
or he can experience now; you can't really do both at once.

[oxtail]

Why not?
What makes you think
you cannot experience your reminiscing now.

--
oxtail

[noname]

Trying to slide away won't get you out of anything.

[oxtail]

You seem to think you have to
do something special to experience now.
Care to give us an example?

--
oxtail

[noname]

Well, I don't know about that; it does seem to me that you can't
experience now and last week at the same time. You can try to ignore
now and live in the past, or you can try to ignore now and dream of the
future, but you really can't ignore now.

> Care to give us an example?
>

Of how to experience now? Do nothing, now won't let you get away.

Most of the time it seems like people are trying to do. They try to do
this, or they try to do that. They have a goal, that comes from desire.
They want to accomplish something so they try to do in that direction.

Man is not capable of outright doing. You might not accept that just
because I say so, but if you try to do a walk across town you are
subject to the unexpected. Maybe a bridge will be out. Maybe a dog
will chase you home. Things can interfere and prevent your doing. If
you can't do 100% of what you set out to do 100% of the time, then
you're really not capable of doing. You're just trying, not doing.

But we can do by not-doing. We can choose whether to be still or
twitch. We can choose whether to answer the phone or just let it ring.
That's our free-will, our ability to choose.

The world is not-you. Which means that you and not-you are having a
transactional interaction. Not-doing does not mean that nothing gets
done, it just means that you don't do it.

Hope that helps, it might not, who knows. In the TTC chapter 1 it says
something like,

"ever desiring one sees the manifestation, ever desireless one sees the
mystery"

There is real meaning in that. Desire leads to doing, but not-doing
needs restraint, not desire, not being jerked into trying to do, but
instead letting the world do on your behalf. It's hardly possible to
not-do without observing the mysterious way that things come about.

[oxtail]

How about letting whatever that comes to your mind,
even if that is just reminiscing what you did yesterday,
flow away without getting too attached to it?

--
oxtail

[noname]

Do whatever suits you, I'm not your mommy so you don't need my permission.

[oxtail]

Just wondering what you are actually doing
when you think you are experiencing now.
What you said would make more sense
if you are a hunter-gatherer.

--
oxtail

[noname]

Ah, well, letting the thinking mind do what it will (as you mentioned
above) is part of it, I suppose... basically you've described a
meditation technique that soaked into my bones decades ago.

> when you think you are experiencing now.

Thinking has little to do with it.

> What you said would make more sense
> if you are a hunter-gatherer.
>

I suppose you could call me that if you wanted to stretch definitions;
living in the present is a lot like stalking, the awareness is very similar.

[oxtail]

Really?
I usually think what I'm doing is
basically like this painting.
"Fishing Boat Anchored on Moonlit Night"
http://arts.cultural-china.com/en/63Arts6883.html

What is there to stalk
when you can doze off?

--
oxtail

[noname]

You've never been a hunter, have you. Not everyone has.
Stalking-mind is not thinking-mind, nor is it dozing-off.

When stalking one seeks, observing intently everything, recognizing the
small events that stem from what is sought... a sound, a movement, any
tiny thing that is not part of the background, and everything pours in
to your senses.

Usually stalking-mind comes to an end, the kill. But when stalking Tao
it does not come to any end, except when you lose stalking-mind. Once
you have found it, there is interaction, a sort of talking between entities.

It is not something that lends itself to description.

[oxtail]

I used to enjoy fishing.
Not any more for whatever reason.
Now I just shoot some arrows at home.
Are you going somewhere or
just enjoying the life as it is?

--
oxtail

[noname]

Try not to break any windows. <g>

> Are you going somewhere or
> just enjoying the life as it is?

Not really, I guess. The way seems not to be about enjoyment, though
there is something there one might call "joy". It's mostly just what it is.

[oxtail]

I enjoy making wooden self-bows.
I just got some hickory logs and
split them into 20 bow staves.
They need to be seasoned
for a couple of years.
Plenty of Dao in bow making.
Patience is the most mentioned virtue.
What are you making nowadays?

--
oxtail

[noname]

Creating something difficult can be a way of finding Tao.

Patience is useful, especially a patience of dedication.

I found that acceptance is more useful, what some might call "humility".
We are taught as children (at least children were taught this in the
US when I was young) to "make" things happen. Our children are largely
taught to have a "can do" attitude, be positive, work hard... basically,
they are taught to delude themselves into believing they are gods
incarnate who deserve a mansion with a Mercedes in the garage.

Until it is learned that man cannot make, do, force things to his will,
Tao remains a myth one might believe in but will not find.

> What are you making nowadays?

Here are some of the things whose creation helped me find Tao,

http://www.pipesetbouffardes.com/bureau/random.jpg

Nowadays... I think this summer I might have the creation of a workshop
in front of me. Most of my creative time nowadays is spent with computers.