The Buddha Diaries

This just in ... … a Doctor Noe's Gadgets b...

2012-05-26T00:15:23.593-07:00

This just in ...
… a Doctor Noe's Gadgets blog post here:

Doctor Noe's Gadget: Mick Taylor – Return of the Boo-Ga-Wee

I love "a man among onions"-- wonderful ...

2012-05-24T07:49:57.136-07:00

I love "a man among onions"-- wonderful pic. Luka is such a cutie!

while we are waiting for the music professor life ...

2012-05-22T18:15:33.691-07:00

while we are waiting for the music professor life goes on

while we are waiting for the instruction book life...

2012-05-22T18:14:00.614-07:00

while we are waiting for the instruction book life goes on.

I'm sorry if any of this repeats info spoken a...

2012-05-18T20:06:46.810-07:00

I'm sorry if any of this repeats info spoken already. But. I'm going to start with buddhism, not necessary being held above ones head as a religion. Which is what miseducated typically do. Buddhisms main concept is that everyone suffers, try to eliminate the source of suffering. And also not holding one self above any other living being. To judge a Buddhist on their tattoos. Is not true to Buddhist practice. There are many schools of Buddhism. To me for examPle, genuinely appreciate meeting another compassionate person. We are not harming our bodies to speak. We are not ingesting poisons. We are not making absent minded decisions. We have an appreciation for what we believe for our way of living. We like art. And beauty. And while the human body is beautiful as is, I also believe tattoos. An art form so precise, is beautiful. And the bond of trust. And it goes deeper for me. But. There are plenty of monks who tattoo others. If a monk is tattooed and tattooing. Who are we to question? With our own minds, we make present decisions. Permanent markings, for a lifetime. Shall not follow me to my next lifetime. It's not attachment. It is not cried over when faded. It's living. And experiencing modern American life, with zen, Buddhist, idealisms. Buddhism is to see beauty in all beings. Ink does not change this. Nor would any aspect of Buddhism "punish" or inflict further suffering just for wearing beautiful art.

Hello, Cynda, thanks for stopping by. Our daughte...

2012-05-18T06:31:52.719-07:00

Hello, Cynda, thanks for stopping by. Our daughter, Sarah, now living in Highland Park with her new baby, Luka. It's a great area. Come down and visit one of these days!

Lovely image, Mugo. Thanks for stopping by.

2012-05-18T06:30:18.665-07:00

Lovely image, Mugo. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy days pouring water or sand or stones from on...

2012-05-18T03:44:08.543-07:00

Happy days pouring water or sand or stones from one receptacle to another. Bucket to dumper truck and then repeat. Over and over and over again. Again.

Happy hour, happy days.

wow,peter,our old stomping grounds; Glenn and I li...

2012-05-17T21:21:53.407-07:00

wow,peter,our old stomping grounds; Glenn and I lived off 64th in Highland Park and G was shot just feet away from the new facility you visited(it sounds like it anyway)...Highland Park and East LA were wonderful communities back when we lived there (know that might seem ironic considering what happened to G; but that was definitely the exception and not the rule). When we lived there the area was made up of wonderful old timey neighborhoods full of multi ethnic families living in the same cool old california bungalows their grandparents did. Highland Park had hills and canyons to roam in with hawks, foxes and (unfortunately!) rampaging skunk families; much more wildlife than you'd expect to find in LA. Amazing gardens with vintage landscaping still intact and Eucalyptus everywhere and the most amazing vistas; from the hilltops you can see all the way to downtown. Yeah there were parts that had alot of crime and gang activities, but many neighborhoods were like ours; full of good (and wonderfully eccentric!) people looking out for each other. I miss it sorely to this day, and whenever I think of where home is, i envision our little bungalow on Elder St in Highland Park. Infact we often think of returning to the area to live, and Glenn would love to be at General Hospital again, though we're both heartbroken to hear the beautiful old hospital has been closed. LOVE TO EAST LA AND HIGHLAND PARK WE MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lovely post, Peter.

2012-05-17T08:31:06.064-07:00

Lovely post, Peter.

Perhaps the ghost of Ed is in the web who's fi...

2012-05-13T10:15:30.357-07:00

Perhaps the ghost of Ed is in the web who's finally come back to you!
My grandma used to play her grand piano while I lay under it and recited Lear's poems to nonsense tunes she would invent. Many summer afternoons were spent this way and reading those you've shared here bring smiles to me. I imagine Luka will enjoy them as his ability to understand grows. I'd just love to taste some Calico Pie and Jam some day!

I love Barefoot Books!

2012-05-12T06:38:17.342-07:00

I love Barefoot Books!

Lucky Luka Luka is a very fortunate fellow in tha...

2012-05-10T10:19:56.857-07:00

Lucky Luka

Luka is a very fortunate fellow in that your establishing the pattern of reading while he sits in your lap with his head near your heart. I remember enjoying this same activity with my boys. The connection to seeing, smelling and the vibration of your voice, as I'm certain you know, is instilling a fascination that will be one of the best investments of time and love that he will ever receive. I imagine the sounds of music are being imparted by all his family members and especially his mom.
Sweet and endearing moments like this are what creates the finest behavior in young people. My grandpa did the same thing as did my dad a to this day I enjoy reading as much as breathing.

While living in Macau I read: WILD SWANS by Jung C...

2012-05-09T11:40:01.809-07:00

While living in Macau I read: WILD SWANS by Jung Chang.

The author reveals the history of her grandmother, her mother and herself. Jung Chang's grandmother's feet were bound as a child, and she was given to a warlord general as a concubine. As the general lay dying, she fled with her infant daughter. That daughter grew up to become active in the Communist movement's civil war against the Kuomintang. Following the Communist victory in 1949 she and her husband became senior officials. Jung Chang, their daughter, was raised in privileged circles of China's Communist elite, but was to take the unimaginable step of questioning Mao himself. Her parents were denounced and tortured, and she herself was exiled to the edge of the Himalayas.

WILD SWANS is the story of the brain-death of a nation.

Jung Chang worked as a 'barefoot doctor', a steelworker and an electrician before becoming an English-language student and , later, an assistant lecturer at Sichaun University. She was the first person from the People' Republic of China to receive a doctorate from York University in England where she obtained a PhD in Linguistics in 1982.
She and her husband Jon Halliday's biography of Mao Zedong, Mao: The Unknown Story was published in June 2005. She has been a British citizen since 1986.

Thanks for the explanation, Paul--and for repostin...

2012-05-08T11:23:01.018-07:00

Thanks for the explanation, Paul--and for reposting the piece. That does seem to shed some light on things!

Peter, I have a plausible explanation for the spik...

2012-05-08T10:00:25.510-07:00

Peter, I have a plausible explanation for the spike in traffic. I have personal friend who manages a Facebook group called Living Dhamma. It's a small, closed group with just 53 members. I posted to the group a comment about and a link to your Huffington post article about meditation and running.

But that doesn't explain much, right? How about this: My friend is heavily tattooed as are several in the group.

It may be a coincidence or...

RIGHT ON FULL COURT PRESS ON PASSION AND DRIVE

2012-05-08T09:48:01.407-07:00

RIGHT ON FULL COURT PRESS ON PASSION AND DRIVE

Thanks, Paul. There has been an unprecedented spi...

2012-05-07T14:54:59.150-07:00

Thanks, Paul. There has been an unprecedented spike in readership today. I'm not sure what to attribute it to, but I'm glad that people found me on one of my good days!

Terrific essay, Peter. You've summed up the di...

2012-05-07T13:59:47.167-07:00

Terrific essay, Peter. You've summed up the difference between passion and rage very well... and the differences that drive right and left.

Aside from being flexible reeds have many strength...

2012-05-04T12:55:35.193-07:00

Aside from being flexible reeds have many strengths and uses. I especially like their use in boat construction which is at least 7,000 years old.

Weakness is a strange perception when we attach such strength to concepts like "turn the other cheek". Is Cheng Guangchen weak when he can't decide to stay at the US embassy or leave to save his family? When we know we are going to fail because we don't have sufficient tools or resources to win a battle are we weak when we retreat?

Strength is complicated by ability and responsibility.
Obama is strong because he has the resources and the flexibility. One very clear measure of his
message each time he responds to a crisis is patience under fire. His gracious manner and confident consistency are powerful tools that others who would be KING do not posses.
His ship of state is like a reed boat that moves with the steady force of wisdom and conviction.

Charlie Rose grew up in rural North Carolina on a ...

2012-05-03T10:50:23.947-07:00

Charlie Rose grew up in rural North Carolina on a tobacco farm, attended Duke University, is a Democrat, owns a 575-acre farm in Oxford, North Carolina, an apartment overlooking Central Park in New York City, a beach house in Bellport, New York, an apartment in Washington D.C. and an apartment in Paris, France.
I'd say he is greatly influenced by his associations with corporate giants such as Coca-Cola and the William S. Paley family. Since 1993, his companion has been socialite and chairman of the New York City Planning Commission and director of the city department of planning Amanda Burden, a stepdaughter of CBS founder William S. Paley.
I was not surprised that Mr Rose avoided any penetrating or difficult questions that should be answered by any candidate. The cameo interview proves Mr Rose is weak puppet of special interests who wish to color Romney as a nice guy in a blue shirt who will make it all better. Hogwash! He supports the Ryan budge How can anyone support such an inane plan?. Even DUB-YA could see VOODOO in the plan, as you point out.
When the debates occur I believe that all Romney's weaknesses will be exposed and Obama will prevail.
I no longer expect the networks to represent the vast majority of the public. They exist to further the
advertising needs of the MICI. I did read the Rolling Stones Obama September 28th interview by Jann S. Wenner published this October 14th. My concern with that article is that it is OLD news.

We began moving everything below 36 inches when ou...

2012-04-30T13:22:38.693-07:00

We began moving everything below 36 inches when our first boy 6 months old. It took awhile so we were glad we started early. We discovered that at 12 months
climbing began and the word no gained value. However the word no is a two edged word for they used it almost as much as we did. There is no way to contain boys after 16 months with language. Get out the first aid kit and be thankful that his bones are very flexible unlike ours.

Metta

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what ...

2012-04-26T07:49:02.287-07:00

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Benjamin Franklin is still right on!

I just downloaded it twice! Once for me, and once ...

2012-04-24T18:41:09.052-07:00

I just downloaded it twice! Once for me, and once for my mom. Looking forward to reading it. Thank you for the heads up on this, Peter.

Sure looks intent on getting what he wants. It wi...

2012-04-24T10:59:40.853-07:00

Sure looks intent on getting what he wants. It will take some time to fill that hat!