Your Life.....

Your Life is the Whole Universe

by Elihu Genmyo Smith

Your life is the whole universe.

Our practice opportunity now is embodying this.

You are the boundless universe, this endless dimension life, this not-two – whether we recognize this or not. Unfortunately, self-centeredness leads us to miss this, even to deny this with actions, words, thoughts and reactions. This is called dualistic delusion. Please look closely at what is so for you – what are the consequences of your beliefs? This flower here now is the whole universe.

There is no you except “including” this universe – and ongoing practice nurtures awakening to this. Yes, we can and must be this awakening right now.

You are not “you” inside a container of skin and bones, inside emotions, thoughts and so forth; you are not “you” going about in a separate universe. And if you believe otherwise, if you believe that life is “you” going about in a separate universe, what are the consequences of that for you?

There is no you without the universe as is right now. Of course, provisionally there is no problem with all sorts of dualistic statements, beliefs and behaviors as long as we remember their provisional nature. There are consequences of using them as anything more than provisional.

Our life is ongoing Bodhisattvic Vows and Bodhisattvic effort - nurturing and supporting all we encounter in awakening as this universe moment now....

For the rest of this piece, see articles here:

http://prairiezen.org/Dharma.html

July 2015 Sesshin Dharma Talks

Opening Remarks  5/16/15
See This, Hear This   7/17/15
Pilgrimaging   7/18/15
Closing Remarks   7/19/15

http://prairiezen.org/Sesshin_audio.html

"If addiction is a brain disease, addicts are mad, sick and defective; if addiction is a failure of will, users are bad, immoral and weak."

The following review of  The Biology of Desire explores important aspects regarding addiction - which in its many forms from self-addiction onward we all face in coping with the stress and dissatisfaction of impermanence.

Here are some major points:

"All of Mr. Lewis’s case studies end well or at least optimistically. At the heart of the recoveries are new, more constructive habits, identities and relationships—and, in the brains of the subjects, the sculpting of new synaptic patterns. As Mr. Lewis shows, the physiology behind the addiction process can be intentionally engaged by addicts to put them on the path to recovery. By exploiting the neuroplastic capacities of the brain, individuals can develop strategies for self-control.

It may well be, as Mr. Lewis says, that addiction is a form of normal habit formation. But isn’t it more like a normal process gone awry? When outcomes are so dire, how is this not a pathological state? Mr. Lewis is deeply humane in his regard for people trapped in compulsive habits, so much so that he seems reluctant to impose any rules on their behavior and ends up treating them more like patients than he might like to admit. He is big on the so-called Vancouver model in which addicts are guided to safer drug-using methods and gently encouraged to get themselves together. But he de-emphasizes the importance of behavioral shaping through external incentives and sanctions, which are at the core of drug treatments that divert addicts from the criminal-justice system."

For the full review see:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/kicking-the-habit-1437522178

"Seeing God Through My Patients"

 A moving story of a patient's strength and joy in the midst of working with life-threatening illness, debilitation and fear. Highlighted as well is how the doctor takes it, especially seeing some his own assumptions. Interesting also are the varied comments, some  hostile and, to me, quite surprising.


http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/09/seeing-god-through-my-patients/?em_pos=small&emc=edit_hh_20150714&nl=health&nlid=12528759&ref=headline

Authors hoping that their "novel will help focus U.S. strategy on deterring war."

Does preparing for war deter war? Or does it arouse potential opponents and lead to war?

What deters war? Not preparing for war does not seem to prevent war, nor do treaties and international bodies such as the UN, NATO or European Union  prevent war - witness the invasions of Georgia and Ukraine by Russia or the current wars in Africa, Syria and Iraq, to name just a few.

“Ghost Fleet” portrays Beijing paralyzing the U.S. military by inserting malware into chips manufactured in China for use in American warships and planes. When the Chinese activate the chips to cripple U.S. fighters, planes from the 1970s are redeployed because they don’t have Chinese chips.

Just as the Pentagon turned to Detroit to build armaments for World War II, in the novel Silicon Valley returns to its defense-industry roots to win the cyberwar. Among the characters is a high-tech billionaire who launches himself into orbit to reclaim the international space station after it is seized by Russians and used by the Chinese to destroy U.S. satellites. The hacking group Anonymous helps by defeating a Chinese cyberattack on the U.S. electrical grid.

The novel includes almost 400 endnotes with citations showing even the most far-fetched technologies in the book are based on reality."

From a review in: http://www.wsj.com/articles/portents-of-world-cyberwar-1436740393#livefyre-comment

The online comment section is especially interesting.

Confederate Battle Flag and a way to national healing

"The indelibly tainted battle flag came down in South Carolina, but in context, other Confederate monuments can help teach history for all Americans....." 

 The following is from a very interesting article about the South, the Confederate battle flag and how to use this time as a way forward for compassion and connectedness:

"in the 1940's opponents of the emerging civil-rights movement raised the old banner for a new battle.

Soon, former Confederate states incorporated it into their state flags, and militant white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan began deploying it as a symbol of resistance to integration and voting rights. The worst proponents of white supremacy displayed that emblem while committing unspeakable violence against African-Americans and white supporters of civil rights. They still do: Witness Charleston. Symbols matter. They say at a glimpse what words cannot, encapsulating beliefs and aspirations, prejudices and fears. Having no intrinsic value, they take meaning from the way we use them, changing over time along with our actions."

 For further exploration of a healing strategy for the nation in these matters and racial conflicts, see:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-right-way-to-remember-the-confederacy-1436568855 

 

Freedom - A Dharma talk for July 4th

http://prairiezen.org/Sunday_audio.html