Archived Readings from late August and September 2000
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We use the word "love" but we have no more understanding of love than we do of anter or fear or jealousy or even joy, because we have seldom invesitgated what that state of mind is. What are the feelings we so gquickly label as love? For many what is called love is not lovely but is a tangle of needs and desires, of momentary ectasies and bewilderment. Moments of unity, of intense feelings of closeness, occur in a mind so fragile that the least squint or sideways glance shatters its oneness into a dozen ghostly paranoias.
When we say love we usually mean some emotion, some deep feeling for an object or person, that momentarily allows us to open to another. But in such emotional love, self-protection is never very far away. Still there is "business" to the relationship: clouds of jealousy, possessiveness, guilt, intentional and unintentional manipulation, separateness, nad the shadow of all previous "loves" darken the light of oneness.
But what I mean by love is not an emotion, it is a state of being. True love has no object. Many speak of their unconditional love for another. Unconditional love is the experience of being; there is no "I" and "other" and anyone or anything it touches is experienced in love. You cannot unconditionally love someone. You can only be unconditional love.
It is not a dualistic emotion. It is a sense of oneness with all that is. THe expereience of love arises when we surrender our separateness into the universal. It is a feeling of unity. You don't love another, you are another. There is no fear because there is no separation.
The higher Order of the RDNA are varied and interesting. Their ostensible purpose is to explore a deepening relationship with Nature. Some of them are very difficult, like the newest order below.
Name:Order of the Volcano
founder:Irony sade
patron:?
prerequisites:faith
Initiation:Find an active volcano, ascend to the crater, strip naked, jump in.
Powers: Yet to be explored.
Restrictions:Surrogate jumpers are not acceptable. Membership (in this life) limited to survivors. All others relegated to the Order of the Suicidal Martyr.
Current Members:Patriarch Irony sade, Archdruid of Tonga
pathways
Septmeber 17th ,2000 (Day 48 of Foghamhar, Year 38 of the Reform) Carlos Castaneda The Teachings of Don Juan, Submitted by Irony
All paths are the same: they lead nowhere... They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. In my own life I could say I have traversed long, long paths but I am not anywhere. My benefactor's question has meaning now. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.
You try being alone, without any form of distraction, and you will see how quickly you want to get away from yourself and forget what you are. That is why this enormous structure of professional amusement, of automated distraction, is so prominent a part of what we call civilization. If you observe, you will see that people the world over are becoming more and more distracted, increasingly sophisticated and worldly. The multiplication of pleasures, the innumerable books that are being published, the newspaper pages filled with sporting events- surely, all these indicate that we constantly want to be amused.
Because we are inwardly empty, dull, mediocre, we use our relationships and our social reforms as a means of escaping from ourselves. I wonder if you have noticed how lonely most people are? And to escape from loneliness we run to temples, churches, or mosques, we watch television, listen to the radio, read, and so on...
If you inquire a little into boredom you will find that the cause of it is loneliness. It is in order to escape from loneliness that we want to be together, we want to be entertained, to have distractions of every kind: gurus, religious ceremonies, prayers, or the latest novel. Being inwardly lonely we become mere spectators in life; and we can be the players only when we understand loneliness and go beyond it. Because beyond it lies the real treasure.
Here is the translation of Ryokan's poem that reminds us very much of Emmon Bodfish, the founder of the Live Oak grove of Orinda Ca. who passed away this year in a violent death. All who knew him, remember him as a wise person with much to share with his grove. Stacey pictures Emmon's grave much like this this poem as he is buried among the redwoods. Ryokan's translated poem is taken from "Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf" translated by John Stevens
An old grave hidden away at the foot of a deserted hill,
Overrun with rank weeds growing unchecked year after year;
There is no one left to tend the tomb,
And only an occasional woodcutter passes by.
Once I was his pupil, a youth with shaggy hair,
Learning deeply from him by the Narrow River.
One morning I set off on my solitary journey
And the years passed between us in silence.
Now I have returned to find him at rest here;
How can I honor his departed spirit?
I pour a dipper of pure water over his tombstone
And offer a silent prayer.
The sun suddenly disappears behind the hill
And I'm enveloped by the roar of the wind in the pines.
I try to pull myself away but cannot;
A flood of tears soaks my sleeves.
Mark Twain once asked a neighbor if he might read a set of his books. The neighbor replied ungraciously that he was welcome to read them in his library, but he had a rule never to let a book leave the house. Some weeks later the same neighbor sent over to ask for the loan of his lawnmower.
"I shall be very glad to lend you my lawnmower," said Mark Twain, "but since I made it a rule never to let it leave my lawn, you will be obliged to use it there."
A soldior and a professor were on a plane. Tiring of conversation, the professor suggested a game of riddles to pass the time.
"A riddle you can't guess, you give me a dollar and vice-versa."
"Okay," agreed the soldior, "But you are better educated. I'll only give you fifty cents."
"All right", said the professor, "you go first."
"Well, what bird has four legs swimming and two legs flying?"
The professor thought hard. He did not want to miss the very first question. The soldior's face lit up with a wide grin. Finally the professor said, "I don't know; here's a dollar. What's the answer?"
The soldior hesitated for a moment, then said slowly, "I don't know either; here's your fifty cents!"
That ended the game.
The late columnist Arthur Brisbane declined to accept William Randolph Hearst's offer of a six-month paid vacation in appreciation of his good work.
"There are two reasons why I will not accept your generous offer, Mr. Hearst." said Brisbane. "The first is that if I quit writing my column for half a year, it might affect the circulation of your newspapers. The second reason is that it might not!"
Reminds me of some preachers.
"Speaking of old families," said the aristocrat of the party, "One of my ancestors was present at the signing of the Magna Carta."
"And one of mine," said another, "was present at the signing of the Ten Commandments."
A lawyer was cross-examining a witness. "You have just testified that you heard the shot at exactly 11:32 P.M. How did you know what time it was? Did you look at your watch?"
"No," the witness said, "I looked at the sundial in the garden."
"That's stupid," accused the lawyer. "How could you tell time by a sundial at 11:32 at night?"
"Well, I had a flashlight," the witness admitted.
Jim: Some rich people seem to think they can buy their way into heaven by leaving a million dollars to a church when they die.
John: I don't know but they stand as much chance as some people who are trying to get in on the installment plan of one dollar a Sunday while they're living
"The Grass is always greener on the other side." If you were a judge how would you deal with this human belief?
A very famous and affluent official died and left equal portions of his wealth to his two daughters and sons-in-law. However, there were no precise prices on the land and homes that he passed on to them, each had a unique market value. Dissatisfied with the arrangement, each daughter believed the other party got the lion's share.
After the grandiose burial ceremony, the daughters filed civil lawsuits against each other, claiming that their own shares were less than the other's. In court, the judge asken them, one after the other, whether they thought they were treated unfairly. They each gave a firm "Yes. The clerk recorded every word and let sign all the statements. The judge then asked them to provide an inventory and turn in a list of the inherited properties. They gladly complied with this request. After they finished, he announced his decree; "These two daughters must exchange their inheritances with one another." The daughters were shocked. Each had hoped to gain more than the other. However, they could do nothing but accept this ruling.
P.T. Barnum, the great showman, usd to exhibit a happy family. This family consisted of a lion, a tiger, a wolf, a bear, and a lamb, all in one cage.
"Remarkable," a visitor said one day to Mr. Barnum. "Remarkable, impressive. How long have these animals dwelt together in this way?"
Eight months," Barnum replied. "But the lamb has to be replaced occasionally."
A sailor after placing some flowers on a grave in a cemetary, noticed an old Chinese man placing a bowl of rice on a nearby grave, and asked: "What time do you expect your friend to come up and eat the rice?"
The old Chinese man replied with a smile:"Same time your friend comes up to smell the flowers."
In the 3rd Century A.D. during the 3 Kingdoms period there was a statesman named Lu Shiun who was famous for his shrewdness and far-sightedness. One day he was chatting with a friend.
To keep away from trouble, you must be humble all the time,"Lu Shiun sincerely advised,"I honestly respect and learn from the person who is more intelligent than me. I do my best to assist thos who are less clever than me. Unfortunately, according to my observation, you do otherwise. You alienate yourself from the former and sneer at the later. Consequently, intelligent people won't give you their valuable advice, and others will dispise you. You will have many opponents and not one single genuine compatriot. In the long run, you will be in big trouble."
His friend was dumbfounded by this frankness and refused to listen. A few years later he was mercilessly slaughtered in a political struggle.
After achieving some measure of success, a foolish person may become arrogant. His egotistical attitude will discourage and disgust his true friends, who will forsake him. Sycophants will replace his friends. Eventually, he will be ruined by his own arrogance. As an old saying goes, "No matter how smart you are, you could always find someone who is smarter than you are." Confucius lectured, "In a group of three persons, they must have something that is worthwhile for me to learn." The bible claims,"Where three people meet, I am there." The lesson is to be humble.
After winning a few battles and overthrowing the previous dynasty, King Jeb overheard that there was a wise man who dwelled in the capital, and decided to pay the man a visit.
The wise man was surprised to meet the king, but courteously conducted the king into his shabby lodge. After brief amenities, the noble visitor politely asked the wiseman about his opinion for the collapse of the previous dynasty. Pondering for a moment, the man said he could not answer that question right away, and suggested the king come back tommorow. The king agreed.
The next morning, the king arrived punctually. Knocking on the door, he received no answer. After patiently waiting for a few moments, the king began to be disturbed. Then some neighbors told him that this old man had fled the house last night in a hurry. The emperor felt cheated and betrayed.
"Your Majesty," his prime minister remarked," I believe I know the reason. He is indeed a fine, old-fashioned gentleman, who didn't want to openly criticize the last emperor, who technically was his master. By intentionally breaking his promise with us, he cleverly conveys some of teh most important causes of the previous dynasty's downfall. I think his deliberate abscence indicates that trust and credibility are essential for the prosperity of an empire. Abusing both, the previous emperor lost his huge dynasty as well as his precious life. Your Majesty must always keep that in mind."
The emperor agreed with this perceptive analysis and with satisfaction left. His own dynasty was to last 200 years.
Preacher: Do you say your prayers at night, little boy?
Jimmy: Yes, sir.
Preacher: And do you always say them in the morning, too?
Jimmy: No, sir. I ain't scared in the daytime.
Artist: That, sir, is a cow grazing.
Visitor: Where is the grass?
Artist: The cow has eaten it.
Visitor: But where is the cow?
Artist: You don't suppose she'd be fool enough to stay there after she'd eaten all the grass, do you?
A government minister very much enjoyed eating fish. Every morning, many people lined up at his front doors, eagerly presenting gifts of expensive and exotic fish to him. Observing this, with great uneasiness, he calmly thanked them for their kindness but flatly refused to receive any one of those fish. This lack of social courtesy deeply surprised and annoyed his young brother, who lived with him. One night, after dinner he curiously asked his elder brother for the reason.
"Its very simple," the minister revealed. "To avoid potential trouble, a wise man should never let his inclinations or hobbies be known by the public. I fail miserably on that point because my taste for fish is common knowledge. Knowing my likes, those gift-givers will try to satisfy them. If I accept their gifts, I owe them favors. When making a decision, I would inevitably or subconsciously have their concerns on my mind. I might bend a law to return a favor. If this continues, I risk getting caught and losing my position and reputation. Who then will bother to give gifts to a disgraced and powerless prisoner? Therefore, I must vigorously decline their generosity. Without owing them any gratuity, I am my own master. Making appropriate and unbiased decision, I can keep my post much longer and continue to buy my own fish." His brother promptly apologized for his short sightedness.
A young school teacher was telling a small boy about a lamb that had strayed from the flock and had been eaten by a wolf.
"You see, Billy," she said, "Had the lamb been obedient and stayed in the flock, it would not have been eaten by the wolf, wouldn't it?"
"No," the youngster answered quickly. "It would have been eaten by us."
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