A Second Stroke

To all readers, 

The author of The Zennist has suffered a second stroke. He has been admitted to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta and is being treated with the best medical care available.  I spoke with him yesterday over the phone and he wanted me to remind his readers that the physical body is unavoidably subject to dissolution and disease. That while we inhabit it we become forgetful of our real body made of Spirit.

In this life we are in a battle, directing our attention to either the sacred (Arya) or the profane, common place concerns of sensuality. It is the spiritual path that unbinds us from the world of embodiment and suffering, leading to the end of evil. The Buddha has pointed out that Mara (evil) really is only this body of flesh and blood (the five skandhas). Also, the way to transcendence has been pointed out. The triumph of the Spirit is achieved when we awaken to the undying Light within our heart. Having been awakened we find that our spiritual nature is the real Self (Atman).  

I am a longtime student and friend of the author. I will post health updates on his condition when they become available. Thank you all for your support during this most difficult time.

Regretfully, Andy

Comments

[Jure]

He's well prepared for this.

[n. yeti]

A Song of Samvega

My path is a solitary one
No companions may accompany me
The task I have set before me
Is not won by the interventions of others
Neither can others impede my progress
I have been born and died many times
The remembrances are upon me

In my past life I woke in the hells
It was too frightful to mention
In this life too I paid karmic debts
And I have endured them

Long ago I was a monk
Who sat before a wall and penetrated
The truth of stillness
The joy of that moment transcends time
Unmoving my mind still carries the remembrances
Of that wall, of that grey robe
Of the grass in the cracks in the wall
Springing from dark loam
From all directions I could see
Myself sitting there in samadhi
And from any vantage point
I do not know what led to my downfall
And think it hardly matters

So many existences lost in the unfathomable
Embrace of death,
Some joyous, some sublime,
In dimensions vast of sweet vapors
Where no harm befalls anyone
And even the word for harm is not known to anyone
Realms of knowledge great, and laughter
Oh, places wondrous to behold!

All without substance like a dream
I confess I grow weary of transmigration
And have been sustained by one factor
By one sublime treasure inexhaustible
By the shining light of the heart-mind
Known to our world as compassion

Without abode or object or name for it
Such that not even the pains of this world can diminish it
The sorrows of this world cannot wash it away
The flames of rage and passion cannot burn it out
May it flow freely now
May this treasure inestimable be Unbound
May it light the path with its undying effulgence
Though the world is not kind
To those who are kind

Let it shine
Let it shine
In the infinite darkness
Let it shine

-n. yeti

[Coyote]

Any updates?

[Jung]

This is the day of Christmas and I suppose though not celebrated by Buddhists it is still suitable for a small gift and reminder of the ultimate goal of the dormant Buddha-to-be within the heart/mind of all sentient beings.

-------------------------------

Perfectly enlightened.

The sun had not yet set when Mara was defeated. Buddha remained seated beneath the Wisdom-tree. Gradually through the night the enlightenment for which he sought
dawned in his heart: at the tenth hour he perceived the exact conditions of all beings who have ever been in the infinite and endless worlds; at the twentieth hour he
gained the divine insight by which all things far or near
appeared as if close at hand.

Then he obtained the knowledge that unfolds the causes of the repetition of existence;then the privileges of the four paths and their fruition; and at dawn of day he became a Supreme Buddha, the Perfectly Enlightened.

Then rays of six colours spread far and wide from his shining body, penetrating to the uttermost bounds of space and announcing the attainment of Buddhahood. Not even a hundred thousand tongues could proclaim the wonders that therewith were manifested.

Then the Buddha himself proclaimed his victory in a song of triumph:

[Through many diverse births I have passed
Seeking in vain the builder of the house.

Ah, house-framer, now I have seen thee!
Never again shall thou, build me a house.
I have broken thy rafters, I have destroyed the king-post.
My mind is detached; Desire is extingiushed.]

Then Buddha remained seven days in meditation; for seven days more he fixed his gaze on the Wisdom-tree; again he walked seven days rapt in thought upon a golden
ambulatory prepared by the devas; then he sat for seven days in a golden palace,where every event of the remainder of his life became known to him and the whole of the dharma became clear to his mind, from the first to the last word of his teaching; in the fifth week he sat under the tree Ajapala and experienced detachment (Nirvana).

Source: MYTHS OF THE HINDUS & BUDDHIST 'BY THE SISTER NIVEDITA
(MARGARET E. NOBLE) - First published October 1913

[Scott (Curlife)]

Good fortune surveying the gate friend of horses.

I offer a chance to smile.

https://www.reddit.com/u/ewk