http://www.raeallen.net/blog a collection of minutiae Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:24:17 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Go to a quiet place, sit in lotus posture, and place one hand on top of the other. Without leaning to either side, bring your ears into alignment with your shoulders. Open your eyes only halfway and fix your attention on the tip of your nose. Rest your tongue on ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2009/09/17/the-essential-technique-of-zazen/ Rain, hail, snow, and ice: All are different, But when they fall They become the same water As the valley stream. - Ikkyu (1394-1481) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2009/08/10/the-valley-stream/ One grain of dust in the eye Will render the Three Worlds Too small to see ~ Muso Soseki (1275-1351) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2009/05/15/dust-in-the-eye/ The people's flag is deepest red, It shrouded oft our martyred dead, And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold, Their hearts' blood dyed its ev'ry fold. Then raise the scarlet standard high. Within its shade we'll live and die, Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer, We'll keep the red flag flying here. Look 'round, the Frenchman loves ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2009/05/04/red-flag/ My treasure is the cloud on the peak The moon over the valley Travelling east or west Light and free on the one road I don't know whether I'm on the way Or at home. ~ Muso Soseki (1275-1351) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2009/04/18/wandering/ The word That defines my life: Later. Mine has been A life that will be lived later. ~ Anurag Mathur http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2009/03/30/a-life-lived-later/ I live far off in the wild Where moss and woods Are thick and plants perfumed I can see mountains rain or shine And never hear market noise I light a few leaves in my stove to heat tea To patch my robe I cut off a cloud Lifetimes seldom fill a hundred years Why suffer for profit ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2009/03/19/lifetimes-seldom-fill-a-hundred-years/ I can tell by the way the trees beat, after so many dull days, on my worried windowpanes that a storm is coming, and I hear the far-off fields say things I can't bear without a friend, I can't love without a sister The storm, the shifter of shapes, drives on across the woods and across time, and ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2009/03/11/the-man-watching/ I’ve left the world far behind, My robe is covered with moss; A small bundle of firewood burns, Brightening the night. ~ Ryokan (1758-1831) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2009/02/18/leave-the-world-behind/ The moon rises slowly over the highest peak; I stand there quietly for a long time and My robe becomes moist with dew. ~ Ryokan (1758-1831) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2009/01/25/moon-rises-slowly/ Do not accept anything simply Because it has been said By your teacher, Or because it has been written In your sacred book, Or because it has been Believed by many, Or because it has been Handed down by your Ancestors. Accept and live only According to what will enable You to see truth face to face. ~ Buddha http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/12/08/see-truth-face-to-face/ You do not need to contemplate your action and to purify your mind. Let your mind be boundless and without any obstruction. ~ Fa-yung (593-657) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/12/01/boundless-mind/ Keep you in the dark You know they all pretend Keep you in the dark And so it all began Send in your skeletons Sing as their bones come marching in...again They need you buried deep The secrets that you keep are at the ready Are you ready? I'm finished making sense Done pleading ignorance That whole...defense Spinning infinity, boy The wheel is ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/10/09/the-pretender/ What was that song with Dave Stewart and the saxophone http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/10/09/lily-was-here/ Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius. "Slay them all. God will know his own." ~ attributed to Abbot Arnold Amaury before the massacre of Béziers during the Albigensian Crusade, http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/10/09/god-will-know-his-own/ Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love. ~ Charles Maurice de Talleyrand http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/10/03/336/ I have not bummed across America with only a dollar to spare, one pair of busted Levi's and a bowie knife. I have lived with thieves in Manchester. I have not padded through the Taj Mahal, barefoot, listening to the space between each footfall picking up and putting down its print against the marble floor. But I skimmed ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/07/26/it-aint-what-you-do-its-what-it-does-to-you/ All of you should penetrate your own minds; do not record my words. Even if principles as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are spoken of, the mind does not increase. And if nothing is said, the mind does not decrease. - Ma-tsu (709-788) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/07/22/the-mind-does-not-decrease/ Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them. - Henry David Thoreau http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/07/19/lives-of-quiet-desperation/ "The true practitioner of the Way completely transcends all things. Even if heaven and earth were to tumble down, I would have no misgivings. Even if all the buddhas in the ten directions were to appear before me, I would not rejoice. Even if the three hells ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/06/20/there-is-nothing-i-dislike/ An autumn night. Don't think your life, didn't matter. - Basho http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/06/10/an-autumn-night/ Little minds are interested in the extraordinary; Great minds in the commonplace. - Elbert Hubbard http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/05/29/little-minds/ This is the original Red vs Blue episode, marking a new way of interacting with computer games. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/05/28/red-vs-blue-eps-01/ In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. - Tao Te Ching http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/05/28/live-close-to-the-ground/ A recluse came and asked: "What is the primary concern in religious practice?" The Master responded: "Put everything aside and only study death. Always study death, free yourself from death, and when death really comes you will not be flustered. In order to save others, knowledge is necessary. ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2008/05/21/study-only-death/ We are sailing on the seas for Jersey Clipper In search of things we yet have come to know We are sailing hard and looking for adventure We are alive and free Just being you and me Out on the rolling sea A thousand miles from home ~ from Jersey Clipper by Julian Shaw http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/12/08/alive-and-free/ My first thought was, he lied in every word, That hoary cripple, with malicious eye Askance to watch the working of his lie On mine, and mouth scarce able to afford Suppression of the glee that pursed and scored Its edge, at one more victim gained thereby. What else should he be set for, with his ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/11/23/childe-roland-to-the-dark-tower-came/ The more is hidden, the more appears http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/11/16/the-more-is-hidden-the-more-appears/ What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries for them; no prayers nor bells, Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,— The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; And bugles calling for them from sad ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/11/11/anthem-for-doomed-youth/ We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. - Bhudda http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/10/23/we-are-what-we-think/ He drowsed and was aware of silence heaped Round him, unshaken as the steadfast walls; Aqueous like floating rays of amber light, Soaring and quivering in the wings of sleep. Silence and safety; and his mortal shore Lipped by the inward, moonless waves of death. Someone was holding water to his mouth. He swallowed, unresisting; moaned ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/10/03/the-death-bed/ Light rain, the mountain forest Is wrapped in mist, Slowly the fog changes To clouds and haze. Along the boundless river bank, Many crows. I walk to a hill overlooking the valley To sit in zazen. - Ryokan (1758-1831) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/10/01/mountain-forest-in-the-mist/ Be not afraid of growing slowly, be only afraid of standing still. - chinese proverb http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/09/11/growing-slowly/ There are many paths to the top of the mountain - but the view is always the same. - chinese proverb http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/09/09/paths-to-the-top/ Promo video for Grant McLennan's Lighting Fires http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/08/02/grant-mclellan-video/ "Then happened that which made me lighter: for the dwarf sprang from my shoulder, the prying sprite! And it squatted on a stone in front of me. There was however a gateway just where we halted. “Look at this gateway! Dwarf!” I continued, “it hath two faces. Two roads come together ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/08/02/everything-straight-lieth/ I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser Gate. All these moments will be lost in time. Like tears in rain. Time to die." - Rutger Hauer as 'Batty' in Blade Runner http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/06/26/moments-lost-in-time/ Like sky and water merging During autumn, Like snow and moon Having the same color, This field is without boundary, Beyond direction, Magnificently one entity Without edge or seam. - Hongzhi (1091-1157) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/06/23/sky-and-water-merging/ When I am dead, my dearest, Sing no sad songs for me; Plant thou no roses at my head, Nor shady cypress tree: Be the green grass above me With showers and dewdrops wet; And if thou wilt, remember, And if thou wilt, forget. I shall not see the shadows, I shall not feel the rain; I shall not hear ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/05/29/when-i-am-dead-my-dearest/ But at my back I always hear Time's winged chariot hurrying near; And yonder all before us lie Deserts of vast eternity. - Andrew Marvell (To his Coy Mistress) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/05/26/times-winged-chariot/ Now I've heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this The fourth, the fifth The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/05/19/hallelujah/ "Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that happen to a man." - Leon Trotsky http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/05/06/old-age/ They flee from me, that somtime did me seke - Thomas Wyatt http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/04/26/the-flee-from-me/ 'You must learn to wait properly' 'And how does one learn that?' 'By letting go of yourself, leaving yourself and everything yours behind you so decisively that nothing more is left of you but a purposeless tension' - Eugen Herrigel from Zen in the Art of Archery http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/04/22/waiting-properly/ In this reflection all intentional efforts vanish. Serenity is the final word of all the teachings; Reflection is the response to all manifestations. - Hung Chih http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/04/19/serenity-is-the-final-word/ If I should take a notion to jump into the ocean 'taint nobody's biz-ness if I do, do, do, do. If I go to church on Sunday, then just shimmy down on Monday, 'Taint nobody's biz-nes if I do if I do. If my friend ain't got no money and ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/04/06/taint-nobodys-biz-nes-if-i-do/ We are not wholly bad or good Who live our lives under Milk Wood, And Thou, I know, wilt be the first To see our best side, not our worst. - Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)  in Under Milkwood http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/04/03/under-milkwood/ Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - George Santayana (1863 – 1952) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/03/31/those-who-do-not-remember-their-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-their-mistakes/ Named must your fear be before banish it you can. - Yoda http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/03/30/named-fear/ 'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form. "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm." And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured I'll ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/03/27/shelter-from-the-storm/ Nameless and formless, I leave birth-and-death. - Layman P'ang (740 - 808) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/03/26/nameless-and-formless/ All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated. As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/03/25/298/ It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/03/19/297/ If I should see your eyes again, I know how far their look would go -- Back to a morning in the park With sapphire shadows on the snow. Or back to oak trees in the spring When you unloosed my hair and kissed The head that lay against your knees In the leaf shadow's amethyst. And still ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/03/18/jewels/ Zen students are with their masters at least ten years before they presume to teach others. Nan-in was visited by Tenno, who, having passed his apprenticeship, had become a teacher. The day happened to be rainy, so Tenno wore wooden clogs and carried an umbrella. After greeting ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/03/06/always-zen/ In the late 1990's I stopped off in Maleny, Queensland where I interviewed architect Ahtee Chia about the straw bale house he had built. [audio:http://raeallen.net/audio/straw bales.mp3] http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/03/06/straw-bale-house/ The sound of a swollen Mountain stream rapidly rushing Makes one know How very quickly life itself Is pressed along its course. - Saigyo (1118-1190) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/03/05/293/ Examine your mind to see it as not being inside, not being outside, and not being in between. Observe it calmly, carefully, and objectively; when you master this, you will clearly see that the mind’s consciousness moves in a flow, like a current of water, like heat waves rising endlessly. - Hongren ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/02/27/291/ Water Under Water - The Thrill "The forceps of our minds are clumsy forceps, and crush the truth a little in taking hold of it." - H. G. Wells http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/02/22/forceps-of-our-minds/ To return to your original state of being, You must become a master of stillness. Turn the mind in upon itself And contemplate the inner radiance. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/02/22/a-master-of-stillness/ One hour of life, crowded to the full with glorious action and filled with noble risks, is worth whole years of those mean observances of paltry decorum, in which men steal through existence like sluggish waters through a marsh, without either honor or observation. - Sir Walter Scott. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/02/19/one-crowded-hour/ "No human thing is of serious importance." - Plato http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/01/24/importance/ "We do what we must, and call it by the best names." - Ralph Waldo Emerson http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/01/11/do-what-we-must/ ... the individual today stands at a crossroad, faced with the choice of whether to pursue the new technology and the endless multiplication of material goods, or to seek out a way that will lead to spiritual responsibility ... - Andrei Tarkovsky, 1986 http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/01/03/the-individual-stands-at-a-crossroad/ To shake off the dust of human ambition I sit on moss in Zen robes of stillness, While through the window, In the setting sun of late autumn, Falling leaves whirl and drop to the stone dais. - Tesshu Tokusai (1366) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2007/01/01/284/ My daughter decided to make these mini curry pies for Christmas Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, finely diced 1 apple, diced 1 tablespoon curry powder 1 teaspoon brown sugar 500g premium beef mince 1 and 1/4 cups water 2 teaspoons cornflower (for thickening) 1 tablespoon chopped sultanas 5 sheets shortcrust pastry 1 egg (beaten) garam masala to taste Method: Heat oil in ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/12/27/mini-curry-pies/ "Those who sleep with dogs must rise with fleas" I thought this was a Bjelke-Petersen-ism from the 1970s however I found it in a book of Scottish sayings. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/12/25/sleep-with-dogs/ If the eye never falls asleep, all dreams cease by themselves. If the spirit retains its unity, all things are of one essence. When this essence is seen, in an instant we are free. We return to the origin and remain that which we are. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/12/19/in-an-instance-we-are-free/ 'Twas midnight on the ocean, Not a streetcar was in sight, The sun was shining brightly For it had rained all that night. 'Twas a summer's day in winter The rain was snowing fast, As a barefoot girl with shoes on, Stood sitting on the grass. 'Twas evening and the rising sun Was setting in the west; And all the ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/12/17/the-dying-fishermans-song/ "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." - Charles McCabe http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/12/16/facts-vs-opinions/ "You can only be young once. But you can always be immature." - Dave Barry http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/11/29/immature/ DSC04559_glenn_mcgrath Originally uploaded by RaeA. "When the angels add my days and say my time is up I'll say to them now hold on please there's one thing you forgot I know each man must leave this world behind when he gets called But we had a deal that you won't count the days I ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/11/29/behind-the-bowlers-arm-2/ In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying." - Bertrand Russell http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/11/26/great-injustice/ This is a quick egg pie, good for breakfast or dinner. Ingredients: 2 sheets of puff pastry 6 Eggs 2 slices of ham half a capsicum 4 cherry tomatoes mustard powder, salt and pepper for seasoning Method: Pre-heat a moderate oven Get a muffin pan and prepare it for pastry, the silicon one's need nothing, others might need to ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/11/21/quick-egg-pie/ Think of those who gained enlightenment upon hearing the sound of bamboo when struck by a tile or seeing blossoms in bloom. Does the bamboo distinguish the clever or dull, the deluded or enlightened; does the flower differentiate between shallow and deep, the wise and stupid? Though flowers bloom year ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/11/15/enlightenment-not-brilliance/ Ingredients 500 grams of chicken breast, char grilled, cooled & chopped. 8 red shallots, finely sliced 2 stalks of lemon grass, tender part only, micro planed 8 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced 3 tablespoons of ginger, julienne Half cup of coriander leaves* quarter cup of mint leaves* 1/4 cup Viet mint leaves* 250 grams chopped cos for the base. *Never ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/11/11/salad-of-char-grilled-chicken-thai-herbs-with-a-chilli-tamarind-dressing/ "As I grow older , I regret to say that a detestable habit of thinking seems to be getting a hold of me." - H. Rider Haggard http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/10/29/thinking/ Often the only way you will find something, Is to stop searching for it http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/10/27/searching/ Fame Speaks Stand forth,John Keats! On earth thou knew'st me not; Steadfast through all the storms of passion,thou, True to thy muse,and virgin to thy vow; Resigned,if name with ashes were forgot, So thou one arrow in the gold had'st shot! I never placed my laurel on thy brow, But on thy name I come to lay ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/10/17/fame-speaks/ "You cannot eat your cake and have it too." -ProverbHow fevered is the man who cannot look Upon his mortal days with temperate blood, Who vexes all the leaves of his life's book, And robs his fair name of its maidenhood; It is as if the rose should pluck herself, Or the ripe plum finger ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/10/17/on-fame/ I got this recipe from a contact who got it from The Gerson Therapy book, which preaches no salt. Dr. Max Gerson was a German, who escaped Nazi Germany and practiced medicine on Park Avenue, NYC. He recommended the Hippocrates soup, yes, the man himself, and suggests that it cleanses ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/10/14/hippocrates-soup/ "A poem is no place for an idea." Edgar Watson Howe http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/10/09/poem-no-place-for-an-idea/ A lot of fruit fly traps are designed to attract male fruit flies and dispose of them. This one is however designed to attract the female fruit fly which is the one that actually attacks the fruit. This was originally on Gardening Australia You need: 2 plastic drink bottles 1 teaspoon of ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/10/07/female-fruit-fly-trap/ For all those who dont feel as old as they are and never will I rounded first never thought of the worst As I studied the shortstops position Crack went my leg like the shell of an egg Someone call a decent physician Im no pete rose, I cant pretend Though my mind is quite flexible, ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/09/14/growing-older-but-not-up/ Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face. - Storm Front by Jim Butcher http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/09/12/paranoid/ I'm back I'm back in the saddle again I'm back I'm back in the saddle again Ridin' into town alone By the light of the moon I'm looking for ole' Sukie Jones She crazy horse saloon Barkeep gimme a drink That's when she caught my eye She turned to give me a wink That'd make a grown man cry I'm back ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/09/06/back-in-the-saddle-again/ When you see reality, no illusions can confuse you; when you develop stability, things cannot shake it or take it away. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/09/04/no-illusions/ We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile. - Star Trek : First Contact http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/08/27/resistance-is-futile/ Association with good companions is a serious recommendation of the ancient sages. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/08/16/good-companions/ So it is said that the earth lifts Up the mountain without Knowing the mountain’s Stark steepness. A rock contains jade without Knowing the jade’s flawlessness. This is how truly to leave home. - Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/08/13/lift-up-the-mountain/ Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try. - Yoda http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/08/09/try-not/ DSC03588-happy kids Originally uploaded by RaeA. "Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children." - George Bernard Shaw http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/08/08/youth-wasted-on-the-young/ IMGP0913 maher 200 love 100 Originally uploaded by RaeA. A peaceful spot is Pipers Flat. The fold that live around They keep themselves by keeping sheep and turning up the ground But the climate is erratic and the consequences are The struggle with the elements is everlasting war We plough and sow and harrow, then sit ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/08/03/imgp0913-maher-200-love-100/ When one goes to Obaku temple in Kyoto he sees carved over the gate the words "The First Principle". The letters are unusually large, and those who appreciate calligraphy always admire them as being a mastepiece. They were drawn by Kosen two hundred years ago. When the master drew them ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/29/the-first-principle/ "Eat a pinch of dirt before you die" - anon My scottish grandmother used to say this but I've never worked it out. Do you need to eat a pinch of dirt before you die? Does eating a pinch of dirt cause you to die? http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/24/a-pinch-of-dirt/ All is over! fleet career, Dash of greyhound slipping thongs, Flight of falcon, bound of deer, Mad hoof-thunder in our rear, Cold air rushing up our lungs, Din of many tongues. Once again, one struggle good, One vain effort; -- he must dwell Near the shifted post, that stood Where the splinters of the wood, Lying in the torn tracks, ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/20/the-last-leap/ Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whole misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/18/romeo-and-juliet-act-i-prologue/ "Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar." - Edward R. Murrow http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/17/throw-your-voice/ Sometimes the mind is still. There is no anxiety, and the heart is clear throughout. Then it is said that even though the body is in the human realm, the mind roams in heaven.  However in one day an ordinary person transmigrates countless times, during which he rarely keeps the human mind, ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/16/the-mind-roams-in-heaven/ There are different kinds of terrain in nature. Some terrain is easily accessible, some is entrapping, some temporizing, some constricted, some precipitous and some distant.What terrain is accessible? Ground that is easy for both your troops and the enemy's to move across is called accessible terrain. If you ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/15/terrain/ I always like to make a beef stew during winter. Its a great solid warmer and the left-overs are great for lunch. Ingredients: 500g chuck or topside beef tablespoon olive oil 1/2 brown onion 2 large carrots 1/2 litre good stock 3 large washed potatoes handful diced pumpkin 400g Borlotti Beans cupful of cauliflower chopped. Recipe: Cube the beef into 1-2cm cubes. ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/10/winter-beef-stew/ The white clouds On the mountain tops Poke halfway into this thatched hut I had thought too cramped Even for myself - Koho Kennichi (1241-1316) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/09/small-hut/ 1. Serenity After a flashback to Zoe's and Mal's days in the wars six years previous, we cut to the modern day where the Serenity crew is running a salvage operation on a deserted ship and are forced to flee with the cargo when the Alliance show up. Their buddy Badger ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/07/242/ Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him; The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interréd with their bones, So let it be with Caesar…. The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/05/julius-caesar-act-3-scene-2/ Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better. - Andre Gide http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/04/god-and-the-artist/ First Witch: Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd. Second Witch: Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined. Third Witch: Harpier cries 'Tis time, 'tis time. First Witch: Round about the cauldron go; In the poison'd entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty-one Swelter'd venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i' the charmed pot. ALL: Double, ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/04/macbeth-act-iv-scene-i-the-witches/ I WHISPERED, "I am too young," And then, "I am old enough"; Wherefore I threw a penny To find out if I might love. "Go and love, go and love, young man, If the lady be young and fair." Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny, I am looped in the loops of her hair. O love is the ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/03/brown-penny/ Vacuum and continuum http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/07/03/what-two-common-words-in-the-english-language-are-the-only-ones-to-have-double-us/ Have you seen the bush by moonlight, from the train, go running by? Blackened log and stump and sapling, ghostly trees all dead and dry; Here a patch of glassy water; there a glimpse of mystic sky? Have you heard the still voice calling - yet so warm, and yet so cold: "I'm the ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/30/on-the-night-train/ No one is absent and no one is ignorant. Originally, no one is deluded. - Bankei (1622-1693) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/29/no-one-is-deluded/ "I keep the subject of my inquiry constantly before me, and wait till the first dawning opens gradually, by little and little, into a full and clear light." - Isaac Newton http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/28/newtons-inquiry/ "Anarchism is founded on the observation that since few men are wise enough to rule themselves, even fewer are wise enough to rule others." - Edward Abbey http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/28/anarchy/ They act without mind, They respond with certainty. - Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/27/231/ After enlightenment one understands That the Six Classics Contain not even a word. - Wang Yang-ming (1472-1529) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/26/230/ DSC00556 - Cliff Edge Originally uploaded by RaeA. When you just sit, you are free from the five sense desires and the five hindrances. - Dogen (1200-1253) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/25/devote-yourself-to-sitting/ Does one really have to fret About enlightenment? No matter what road I travel, I'm going home. - Shinsho http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/24/227/ (on the occassion of Australia advancing in the World cup) a ball lover is our god a soccer player he is the whole universe his field the planets, the stars, our earth all shuttling through space like balls shove from one corner to the other our heads, our eyes, the balls that the gods give us to play all the games in his world the moon in its lunar journey round and round good and bad too come in a circle what ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/23/the-god-works-in-circle/ They lie, the men who tell us in a loud decisive tone That want is here a stranger, and that misery's unknown; For where the nearest suburb and the city proper meet My window-sill is level with the faces in the street Drifting past, drifting past, To the beat of weary feet While I sorrow for ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/22/221/ Strange fits of passion have I known: And I will dare to tell, But in the Lover's ear alone, What once to me befell. When she I loved looked every day Fresh as a rose in June, I to her cottage bent my way, Beneath an evening-moon. Upon the moon I fixed my eye, All over the wide lea; With ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/20/strange-fits-of-passion-have-i-known/ Wise listeners, the wisdom of enlightenment Is inherent in each of us. We fail to recognize it because Of delusion of mind; To know the essence of Mind Seek the teachings of the enlightened. - Hui-neng (638–713) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/14/wise-listeners/ If the mind exists, It can be controlled, But it does not. Understand this truth by inquiry; Seek the real, the Self - Ramana Maharshi http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/12/control-the-mind/ Our Andy's gone to battle now 'Gainst Drought, the red marauder; Our Andy's gone with cattle now Across the Queensland border. He's left us in dejection now; Our hearts with him are roving. It's dull on this selection now, Since Andy went a-droving. Who now shall wear the cheerful face In times when things are slackest? And who shall whistle ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/10/andys-gone-with-cattle/ No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man. Heraclitus - (c.535 - 475 BC) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/06/06/step-in-the-river/ Give up all questions except one: "Who am I?" After all, the only fact you are sure of is that you are. The "I am" is certain. The "I am this" is not. Struggle to find out what you are in reality. - Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/05/30/you-in-reality/ Time that is moved by little fidget wheels Is not my time, the flood that does not flow. Between the double and the single bell Of a ship's hour, between a round of bells From the dark warship riding there below, I have lived many lives, and this one life Of Joe, long dead, who lives ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/05/26/five-bells/ The love of field and coppice Of green and shaded lanes Of ordered woods and gardens Is running through your veins Strong love of grey-blue distance Brown streams and soft dim skies I know, but cannot share it My love is otherwise I love a sunburnt country A land of sweeping plains Of ragged mountain ranges Of droughts and flooding rains I ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/05/22/my-country-by-dorothea-mackellar/ Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat; But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, tho' they come from the ends of the ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/05/20/the-ballad-of-east-and-west/ On the outer Barcoo where the churches are few, And men of religion are scanty, On a road never cross'd 'cept by folk that are lost, One Michael Magee had a shanty. Now this Mike was the dad of a ten year old lad, Plump, healthy, and stoutly conditioned; He was strong as the best, but ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/05/20/a-bush-christening-ab-paterson/ Bushwalking in Lamington National Park The great path is clearly before your eyes, But the ignorant who are deluded And confused cannot recognize it. It is in one thought of the mind. So why search for it elsewhere? - Pao-chih http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/05/18/the-great-path/ cane_fire_gordonvale Originally uploaded by RaeA. Grant McLennan was one of the great Aussie songwriters. I went off to university in 1974, a 1600 km train trip down the Queensland coast, and made the same trip up and back each year. As a result his song Cattle and Cane rang particular bells. I recall ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/05/08/grant-mclennan-of-the-go-betweens-dies/ Spent a large part of yesterday riding the Great Circle line anti-clockwise .. that is , on the 598 http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/04/27/riding-the-great-circle-line/ Caught up with some other photographers at the Pavillion in West End on Sunday http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/04/24/meeting-at-the-pavilion/ I went to the Egyption exhibition at the Queensland Museum this week and this took my fancy. Hail Far-strider who came forth from Heliopolis, I have done no falsehood. Hail Fire-embracer who came forth from Kheraha, I have not robbed. Hail Nosey who came forth from Hermopolis, I have not been rapacious. Hail Swallower ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/04/21/declaration-of-innocence-before-the-gods-of-the-tribunal/ There are ten days of rice in my bag And, by the hearth, a bundle of firewood. Who prattles of illusion or nirvana? - Ryokan (1757-1831) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/04/19/ten-days-of-rice/ Spent yesterday morning with the Brisbane Flickr group at the Farmers Markets at the Powerhouse in New Farm. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/03/12/morning-at-the-farmers-markets/ DEEP SPACE NINE Season 7:October 3, 1998 - May 31, 1999 151. Images in the Sand Three months after a possessed Gul Dukat killed Jadzia Dax and sealed the wormhole, life on Deep Space Nine has changed. Kira, the acting commander, is upset when Admiral Ross informs her that the Romulans will set ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/02/21/deep-space-nine-season-7/ The great path is clearly before your eyes, But the ignorant who are deluded And confused cannot recognize it. It is in one thought of the mind. So why search for it elsewhere? - Pao-chih http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2006/01/30/the-great-path-2/ Ingredients: 2 apples, peeled (I prefer Granny Smiths) 1 cup caster sugar 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour 1 teaspoon allspice 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup chopped walnuts 1 egg 125g. canola spread (soft) 1 tablespoon olive oil Recipe 1. Pre-heat oven to 180deg.C. Put muffin cases in a 12 cup muffin tin 2. Dice apples into small pieces (cut around the core) ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/11/16/apple-and-walnut-muffins/ DSC03461 - coconut kisses Originally uploaded by RaeA. Ingredients: 2 cups of dessicated coconut 200ml sweetened condensed milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence 1/2 teaspoon almond essence Method: Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl pre- heat oven to 160°C place aluminium foil over a flat baking tray and grease lightly Place teaspoons of the mixture on the foil teasing the ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/09/23/coconut-kisses/ No. 1 You are a modern day slave. There is no scope for personal fulfilment. You work for your pay-check at the end of the month, full stop. No. 2 It's pointless to try to change the system. Opposing it simply makes it stronger. No. 3 What you do is pointless. You can be replaced ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/08/22/corinne-maiers-manifesto/ DSC03331 - shearer Originally uploaded by RaeA. Traditional Aussie song Click Go The Shears Out on the board The old shearer stands, Grasping his shears In his thin bony hands; Fixed is his gaze on A bare-bellied yoe, Glory if he gets her, Won't he make the ringer go. Chorus: Click go the shears boys, Click, click click, Wide is his blow And his hands move ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/08/18/the-shearer/ These muffins are great for breakfast or a light dinner. The kids can also take them for lunch. You don't need all the ingredients and can change the mix using things like sweet corn, sun-dried tomates, bacon etc. You need: 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour 2 cups grated cheddar cheese 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk salt ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/08/05/savoury-muffins/ DSC03180 - tunnel Originally uploaded by RaeA. Getting crazy on the waltzers but it's the life that i choose Sing about the sixblade sing about the switchback and a torture tattoo And I been riding on a ghost train where the cars they scream and slam And I don't know where I'll be tonight but ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/08/04/tunnel-of-love/ Well I lived on the outskirts of town In an eight room farmhouse, baby When my brothers and friends were around There was always somethin´ doin´ had me a couple of real nice girlfriends Stopped by to see me every once in a while When I think back about those days All I can do is sit ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/08/03/cherry-bomb/ Whirlygig Originally uploaded by RaeA. I was blue, just as blue as I could be Ev'ry day was a cloudy day for me Then good luck came a-knocking at my door Skies were gray but they're not gray anymore Blue skies Smiling at me Nothing but blue skies Do I see Bluebirds Singing a song Nothing but bluebirds All day long Never saw the ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/08/02/blue-skies/ Outside another yellow moon Has punched a hole in the nighttime, yes I climb through the window and down to the street And I'm shining like a new dime The downtown trains are full with all of those Brooklyn girls They try so hard to break out of their little worlds Well you wave your hand ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/29/downtown-train/ There's a dead man walking And he's wearing my shoes Dead man walking And he's playing the blues. There's a dead man walking And he's wearing my shirt Dead man walking And he's feeling my hurt. There's a dead man walking And he's wearing my hair Dead man walking He don't want to care There's a dead man walking He looks through my ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/29/dead-man-walking-blues/ I've always enjoyed train songs, probably because I've always enjoyed trains and the best train songs have that rolling train travelling feel to them. My favourite train songs are in no particular order: 1. People get Ready by Curtis Mayfield. A lot of people will say this isn't a train song but ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/29/train-songs/ Well I hear that train a comin' It's rollin' around the bend I ain't seen the sunshine Since I don't know when Well I'm stuck in Folsom Prison And time keeps draggin' on That train keeps rollin' On down to San Antone When I was just a baby My mama told me, "Son, Always be a good boy Don't you ever ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/29/folsom-prison-blues/ DSC03137- scones Originally uploaded by RaeA. Ingredients: 3 cups self-raising flour 45 grams butter 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup full-cream milk Method: Put the self-raising flour and the salt in a bowl. Cut the chilled butter into small pieces then, using the tips of your fingers, rub it into the flour until it has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add a ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/27/scones/ It was Christmas Eve babe In the drunk tank An old man said to me, won't see another one And then he sang a song The Rare Old Mountain Dew I turned my face away And dreamed about you Got on a lucky one Came in eighteen to one I've got a feeling This year's for me and you So happy ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/26/fairytale-of-new-york/ Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/25/stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening/ Love me tender love me sweet Never let me go You have made my life complete And I love you so Love me tender love me true All my dreams fulfilled For my darlin' I love you And I always will Love me tender love me long Take me to your heart For it's there that I belong And we'll never ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/24/love-me-tender/ Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/24/the-road-less-travelled/ I wander'd lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way, They stretch'd in never-ending line Along the margin ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/21/daffodils/ When superstars and cannonballs are running through your head A television freak show cops and robbers everywhere Subway makes me nervous people pushing me too far I've got to break away So take my hand now Chorus 'cause I want to live like animals Careless and free like animals I want to live I want to run through the ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/20/animal-song/ Your breath is sweet Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky. Your back is straight, your hair is smooth On the pillow where you lie. But I don't sense affection No gratitude or love Your loyalty is not to me But to the stars above. One more cup of coffee for the road, One more cup of ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/19/one-more-cup-of-coffee-for-the-road/ People get ready There's a train a commin' You don't need no baggage You just get on board All You need is faith To hear the diesels hummin' You don't need no ticket You just thank the lord So people get ready There'a a train to jordan Picking up passengers Coast to coast Faith is the key Open the doors and board them There's ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/18/people-get-ready/ In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round: And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; And here were forests ancient as ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/15/kubla-khan/ I like to make my biscuits chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside. Unlike many recipes I hate the bother of bicarb so use self-raising flour. Ingredients: 1 cup self-raising flour 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup dessicated coconut 125g canola spread or butter 1 tablespoon golden syrup Method: Put the butter and ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/14/raes-anzac-biscuits/ Spanish is the loving tongue Soft as music, light as spring T'was a girl I learned it from Living down Sonora way Well, I don't look much like a lover Still I say her love words over Mostly when I'm all alone "Mi amor, mi corazon". On the nights that I would ride, She would listen for my spurs. Throw ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/13/spanish-is-the-loving-tongue/ The building currently known as the Hitachi Building in central Brisbane has a tower on top of it that has two sets of lights which describe the weather What the lights mean 5 Lower lights: WHITE Steady - Fine WHITE Half second flashes - Windy WHITE 2 second flashes - Clearing RED Steady - Rain RED Half ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/12/what-the-weather-lights-mean/ Oh! young Lochinvar is come out of the west, Through all the wide Border his steed was the best; And save his good broadsword he weapons had none. He rode all unarmed and he rode all alone. So faithful in love and so dauntless in war. There never was knight like the young Lochinvar. He stayed ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/12/lochinvar/ On the outer Barcoo where the churches are few, And men of religion are scanty, On a road never cross'd 'cept by folk that are lost, One Michael Magee had a shanty. Now this Mike was the dad of a ten year old lad, Plump, healthy, and stoutly conditioned; He was strong as the best, but ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/11/a-bush-christening/ I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan, years ago, He was shearing when I knew him, so I sent the letter to him, Just "on spec", addressed as follows: "Clancy, of The Overflow". And an answer came directed ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/09/clancy-of-the-overflow/ CCXLVI. Ozymandias of Egypt I Met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamp'd ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/08/ozymandias/ IN SEVEN PARTS ARGUMENT How a Ship having passed the Line was driven by storms to the cold Country towards the South Pole ; and how from thence she made her course to the tropical Latitude of the Great Pacific Ocean ; and of the strange things that befell ; and in ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/06/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner/ Home is the sailor, home from sea: Her far-borne canvas furled The ship pours shining on the quay The plunder of the world. Home is the hunter from the hill: Fast in the boundless snare All flesh lies taken at his will And every fowl of air. 'Tis evening on the moorland free, The starlit wave is still: Home is ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/05/home-is-the-sailor/ The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea, The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness and to me. Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight, And all the air a solemn stillness holds, Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight, And ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/03/elegy-written-in-a-country-church-yard/ Softly and humbly to the Gulf of Arabs The convoys of dead sailors come; At night they sway and wander in the waters far under, But morning rolls them in the foam. Between the sob and clubbing of gunfire Someone, it seems, has time for this, To pluck them from the shallows and bury them in ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2005/07/01/beach-burial/ It is a great misfortune for those Engaged in learning to take the Sayings of the sages as mere Verbal exercises. - Xue Xuan (1389-1464) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/12/06/verbal-excercise/ Awakened to this subtle sound. The nature of body and mind Is wonderful; Their functions Need not be altered. - Master Fu (497-569) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/11/01/subtle-sound/ And this nature is the mind. And the mind is the buddha. And the buddha is the path. And the path is zen. But the word zen is one that remains a puzzle to both mortals an sages. Seeing your nature is zen. Unless you see your nature, it’s not zen. - Bodhidharma (d. 533) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/10/11/see-your-nature/ In field nor mountain, Nothing stirs On this snowy morning. - Chiyo-Ni (1701-1775) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/09/11/snowy-morning/ Cold clouds bringing rain Into the crannies of the mountains: Everyone was born with the same sort of eyes – Why do mine keep seeing things as Zen koans? - Dogen http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/08/21/cold-clouds/ With one who does not Speak his every thought I spend a pleasant evening. - Hyakuchi (1748-1836) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/07/21/speak-not-your-every-thought/ Oh leaves, Ask the wind which of you Will be the first to fall. - Soseki (1867-1916) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/06/19/falling-leaves/ Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling. Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection. "Come on, girl" said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/05/17/muddy-girl/ No one passes by The only ones who visit Are the drifting clouds. - Han-shan Te-ch’ing (1546-1623) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/04/20/no-one-passes-by/ If you cling to emptiness and linger In quiescence, you will bob and sink Therefore the wise release the mind To be independent and free. - Fu Shan-hui (487-659) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/04/02/release-the-mind/ Death is light as a feather Duty as heavy as a mountain - Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/03/30/light-as-a-feather/ When you look for it, You become further from it; When you seek it You turn away from it all the more. - Linji (d. 867) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/03/17/know-your-real-self/ Many paths lead from The foot of the mountain, But at the peak We all gaze at the Single bright moon. - Ikkyu (1394-1481) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/03/15/gaze-at-the-moon/ Producing without possessing, Doing without presuming, Growing without domineering: This is called mysterious power. - Tao-te Ching http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/03/01/mysterious-power/ People will learn of this spot; We’ll see you moving Higher on the mountain. - Chia Tao (779-843) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/02/15/recluse/ For the Way of the sword is folded two; Like the rose we have thorns, and like the rose, we unfold. - Ji Aoi Isshi http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/01/15/the-way-of-the-sword/ The sun rises; the sun sets. Watch it and see. River and moon Pine trees and wind, All old poems to me. Who needs words for the New Year! - Tao Kai http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2004/01/01/new-year-2/ I have no idea where the Months have gone Every time I turn around Another year on earth is over. - Han-shan Te-ch’ing (1546-1623) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2003/12/31/year-end/ Right at the moment of dropping off, Deliberation and discussion Are one thousand or Ten thousand miles away. - Hongzhi (1091-1157) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2003/11/08/deliberation/ Not much to offer you, Just a lotus flower floating In a small jar of water. - Ryokan (1758-1831) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2003/10/10/lotus-floating/ If only I could share it: The soft sound of snow Falling late at night From the trees - Hakuin (1686-1768) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2003/09/20/sounds-of-snow/ There seems to be no one on the empty mountain, And yet I think I hear a voice, - Wang Wei http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2003/08/13/no-one-on-the-mountain/ The moment we are illumined within We bypass all barriers. - Seng-ts-an (d.606) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2003/07/16/illumined-within/ Don’t be surprised, Don’t be startled; All things will arrange themselves. - Huai-nan-tzu http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2003/06/19/surprise/ The first thing is not to grasp The void. If you sit in meditation With an empty mind, You will grasp the Unrecordable voidness. - Altar Sutra http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2003/06/13/grasp-the-void/ It’s good to grow old content. Cold and heat change my appearance; The pearl of my mind stays safe - Han-shan http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2003/06/06/grow-old/ The practice of true reality Is simply to sit serenely In silent introspection. - Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091–1157) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2003/05/14/sit-serenely/ Inside each sunset. Trying to talk about it, I have forgotten the words. - Tao Yuan Ming (365–427) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2003/05/01/forget-the-words/ "Another year about to end In my empty mountain abode; Rivers and clouds, Their trails indistinct; Pines and cedars, Their natures the same. I arise from my nap To find the taro roots done; As the incense fades out, I finish a scripture. Who knows that real pleasure Lies within stillness and silence? " - Wen-siang (1210-1280) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/12/31/a-new-year-looms/ Never under any Circumstances say that Meditation and wisdom Are different; They are one unity, Not two things. - Hui-neng (638-713) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/12/30/meditation-and-wisdom/ I like bamboo as the symbol of constancy and simplicity. I built my house deep within a grove. Strike the bamboo with a piece of brick. Perhaps the sound could awaken a passing Zen monk - Jakushitsu (died 1368) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/12/21/bamboo/ White clouds flying Mists melt black mountains And this wandering mystic’s Wandered astray. - Yun-K’an Tzu http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/12/17/wandering-mystic/ Do not pursue the outer conditions nor dwell in the inner void. Rest yourself in oneness with things and all barriers will disappear - Seng Ts’an http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/11/18/rest-youself-in-oneness/ cultivate the path of concentration http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/11/12/23221/ Keep your karma in good working order; many dragons lie in wait. Wang Wei (701-761) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/11/11/dragons/ the truth in untruth, the light in darkness, the life in death. This is real liberation. - Nityananda http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/11/04/liberation/ In the space of a lightning flash, the world is built and established. - Su Shih (1073) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/10/28/lightning-flash/ All things are perfectly resolved in the Unborn. - Bankei (1622-1693) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/10/28/unborn/ “Enlightenment” and “Nirvana”? They are dead trees to fasten a donkey to. What can these things have to do with you becoming free? - Te-shan (780-865) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/10/22/dead-trees/ Do you know how to let the mountain stream cleanse your mind? Every thought is pulled out along the smooth, polished stones, disappearing downstream in the frothy current. The mind keeps on making more thoughts until it sees that they are all being carried away downstream; until it realizes that they are all vanishing, dissolving into ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/10/17/cleansing-stream/ How elegant is the morning sun Shining on the rafters and eaves. - Ni Tsan (1301-1374) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/09/18/morning-sun/ Green waters and verdant mountains are the places to walk in meditation; by the streams or under the trees are places to clear the mind. - Keizan Jokin http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/09/16/clear-mind/ Though I think not To think about it, I do think about it And shed tears Thinking about it. - Ryokan (1758-1831) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/09/15/think-not/ There is nothing in the world So weak as water, Nor anything strong enough To overcome it. The person of great wisdom Is like water which, Though benefiting all things, Never strives. - Lao-tzu http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/09/13/weak-as-water/ I lie at peace in moonlight. Or, hearing water plashing on the rock, Sit up. - Ryushu Shutaku (1308–1388) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/08/23/19806/ The substance of a sage Is nameless and cannot be spoken of; The empty door of truth as it really is Cannot be tarried in. - Pai-chang (720–814) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/08/23/empty-truth/ Who can break from the snares of the world And sit with me among the white clouds? - Han-shan http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/08/21/20107/ shall climb up the magnificent mountain peak, To await the arrival of a solitary crane. - Shide (8th century) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/08/12/solitary-crane/ With the moon emerged, My mind is motionless. Sitting on this frosty seat, No further dream of fame. The forest, the mountain Follow their ancient ways, And through the long spring day, Not even a shadow of a bird. - Reizan (1411) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/08/08/20303/ If your ears see, And eyes hear, Not a doubt you’ll cherish - Daito Kokushi http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/08/05/doubt/ Someday our hair will turn gray, Yet the flowers will be this red each year; - Fa Yen (885–958) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/08/05/gray-hair-red-flowers/ One and the same breeze passes Over the pines on the mountain And the oak trees in the valley; Why do they give different notes? - Shinkage-ryu http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/06/05/breeze/ My robe has become a garment of dew. Unable to sleep I Walk out into the woods Suddenly, above the highest peak, The full moon appears. - Ryokan (1758-1831) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/05/02/garments-of-dew/ Into a person, Absolutely free From thoughts and emotions, Even the tiger finds no room To insert its fierce claws. - Shinkage http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/04/15/tiger-claws/ The buddha way is, basically, leaping clear of the many and the one; thus there are birth and death, delusion and realization, sentient beings and buddhas. Yet in attachment blossoms fall, and in aversion weeds spread. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/04/15/birth-and-death/ If fear is banished, Where does it go? http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/03/09/fear/ In this still place I follow my nature, Be what it may. -Reizan http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/02/27/still-place/ With thoughts clear, Sitting silently, Wander into the center Of the circle of wonder. - Hongzhi Zhengjue http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/01/12/clear-thoughts/ What does it matter, The new year, the old year? I stretch out my legs And all alone have a Quiet sleep. - Bankei http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/01/11/sleep/ Now it's all you have http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/01/09/now/ Undertake difficult tasks by approaching what is easy in them; Do great deeds by focusing on their minute aspects. All difficulties under heaven arise from what is easy, All great things under heaven arise from what is minute. -Tao Te Ching http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/01/07/difficult-tasks/ Day and night, Everything is wonderful. Nothing you encounter confuses you. These are the essentials of mind. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/01/03/the-essential-mind/ http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/01/02/new-year/ http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2002/01/01/flowers-in-the-sky/ "How does an enligthtened one return to the ordinary world?" "A broken mirror never reflects again; fallen flowers never go back to the old branches." I often wonder if this is the zen equivalent of "you can never go back" http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/12/14/going-back/ The water flows, but back into the ocean; The moon sinks, but is even in Heaven. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/11/21/the-moon-in-heaven/ In attachment blossoms fall, and in aversion weeds spread. - Genjo Koan http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/10/22/attachment-and-aversion/ Closed out the old year And held a dream of spring behind My shut eyes…til now This morning I opened them to see It’s really come into the world. - Saigyo (1118 – 1190) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/10/10/old-year/ To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/10/06/myriad-things/ It is only when you are able to fully close your eyes, that you will see the world as it is http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/09/28/close-your-eyes-2/ Student:`In phenomena, what is true?' Master: `The very phenomena are themselves truth.' Student: `Then how should it be revealed?' The master lifted the tea tray. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/09/26/tea/ Though I think not To think about it, I do think about it And shed tears Thinking about it. - Ryokan (1758-1831) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/09/24/tears/ Live in love And do your work; Make amends of your sorrows; For just as the jasmine Releases and lets fall Its withered flowers, Let fall willfulness and hatred. - The Dharmapada http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/09/22/live-in-work/ Do not feel overwhelmed by the length of this journey. All you ever need do is focus on one thing, what you are doing. Stay on the path, put one foot in front of the other - that is all. There is joy in the struggle. - PT Sudo http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/09/21/the-journey/ http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/09/14/the-moon-emerging/ You never step in the same river twice. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/09/07/river/ so the most difficult thing is always to keep your beginner's mind.... If you start to practice zazen, you will begin to appreciate your beginner's mind. It is the secret http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/08/24/beginner-mind/ Neither is there Bodhi-tree, Nor yet a mirror bright; Since in reality all is void, Whereon can the dust fall? - Hui Neng (638-713) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/08/17/where-can-dust-fall/ In the pasture of the world, I endlessly push aside the tall Grasses in search of the bull. Following unnamed rivers, Lost upon the interpenetrating Paths of distant mountains, My strength failing And my vitality exhausted, I cannot find the bull. I only hear locusts chirring Through the forest at night. - Kakuan (1100-1200) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/08/10/the-search-for-the-bull/ Now cold, now warm; Staff and sandals Sometimes home, Sometimes out. - Chugan Engetsu http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/08/03/staff-and-sandals/ A lone gibbon howls on the ridge. What else do I cherish? - Cold Mountain http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/08/02/gibbon/ http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/08/02/rivers-at-last/ Sometimes it's a little better to travel than to arrive. - Robert M. Pirsig - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/08/01/travel/ Let your mind wander in simplicity, blend your spirit with the vastness, follow along with things the way they are, and make no room for personal views, then the world will be governed. - Chuang-tzu. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/07/30/wandering-mind/ http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/07/27/garden-gate/ I contemplate: Moon in the pond. Of my old friends, How many know the Way? - Zengetsu http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/07/23/moon-in-the-pond/ "It is only when you are able to fully close your eyes, that you will see the world as it is." http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/07/20/close-your-eyes/ Coming and going, life and death; A thousand hamlets, a million houses. Dont you get the point? Moon is the water, blossom in the sky. - Gizan http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/07/17/death-poetry/ The water flows, but back into the ocean; The moon sinks, but is even in Heaven. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/07/13/moon-in-heaven/ Inside the zendo also dancing evening maple leaves - Soen Nakagawa. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/07/12/dancing-maple-leaves/ http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/07/11/the-ocean-of-your-essence/ "highest branch of the apple tree, was my favourite place to be, I could see them breaking free" (Neil Finn) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/07/06/apple-tree/ Just think of the trees: they let the birds perch and fly, with no intention to call them when they come and no longing for their return when they fly away. If people's hearts can be like the trees, they will not be off the Way. - Langya http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/07/06/trees/ When you're deluded, every statement is an ulcer; when you're enlightened, every word is wisdom. - Zhiqu http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/07/03/ulcers/ Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/06/29/method-as-a-silvery-stream/ In winter, the seven stars walk upon a crystal forest - Soen Nakagawa. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/06/22/winter/ The penetrating brilliance Of swords Wielded by followers of the Way Strikes at the enemy Lurking deep within Their own souls and bodies. - Morihei Ueshiba http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/06/20/the-penetrating-sword/ I cannot tell if what the world considers 'happiness' is happiness or not. All I know is that when I consider the way they go about attaining it, I see them carried away headlong, grim and obsessed, in the general onrush of the human herd, unable to stop themselves or to ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/06/07/6871/ Eyes blinded by three poisons, Yet once all ties are cut, How restful. Wicker hat donned, Cane held firm, How vast the sky! - Ungo (1583-1659) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/06/07/poison-zen/ The reverse side also has a reverse side. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/06/04/japanese-proverb/ Summer at its height and snow on the rocks! The death of winter and the withered tree blossoms! http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/06/04/seasons-2/ Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. - Helen Keller To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge. - Henry David Thoreau What we play is life. - Louis Armstrong I know ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/06/01/924/ Indecision is the key to flexibility. If you find something you like, buy a lifetime supply, because they will stop making it. All things being equal, fat people use more soap. You can't tell which way the train went by looking at the track. Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a tough battle ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/06/01/just-some-funny-sayings-sort-of-zennish/ Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me,for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either; just f**k off and leave me alone. http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/05/01/1161/ Spring has its hundred flowers, Autumn has its many moons. Summer has cool winds, Winter its snow. If useless thoughts do not Cloud your mind, Each day is the best of your life. - Wu-Men-Hui-Kai (1183-1260) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/02/21/seasons/ My hut settled among neighbors, I ignore the noise of horses and carts. You ask how I get along - My mind remains wide, So my place is naturally remote. - Tao Yuan Ming (365-427) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/01/23/4641/ If I were a tree among trees, a cat among animals, this life would have a meaning, or rather this problem would not arise, for I should belong to this world. I should be this world to which I am now opposed by my whole consciousness and my whole insistence upon familiarity. This ridiculous reason is ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/01/03/unruly-life/ we do not so much look at things as overlook them http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/01/02/observing-life/ Ride your horse along the edge of a sword; hide yourself in the middle of flames http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2001/01/01/a-way-of-life/ Mist clears from ancient cedars and days last forever... right and wrong don't enter the clouds. - Stone House http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/12/29/4251/ Original Face is the reality of realities: Stretch your hand to the winging bird. Vertical nose, horizontal eyes - and then? What if your mind is empty? - Tokugaku (15th Century) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/11/30/2514/ If you have not Linked yourself To true emptiness, You will never understand. - Morihei Ueshiba http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/11/29/2740/ The moonlight High in the sky, Shining through the eves, Falls on a mind Undisturbed by what Might have been. - Rikyu http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/11/09/2976/ Truth is perfect and complete in itself. It is not something newly discovered; It has always existed. Truth is not far away. It is nearer than near. There is no need to attain it, Since not one of your steps leads away from it. - Dogen http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/11/06/3280/ Deep in the mountains, on an isolated peak, I live on my own in a stand of pines. In a simple hut, I sit meditating without concerns, silent and alone, dwelling peacefully, lighthearted. Once you've awakened, it's done: no effort needed. - Yung-chia (d.713) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/11/03/a-simple-hut/ Traceless, no more need to hide. Now the old mirror reflects everything, Autumn light moistened by faint mist. - Suian (Southern Sung Dynasty) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/11/02/3564/ Before the first step is taken the goal is reached. Before the tongue is moved the speech is finished. More than brilliant intuition is needed, to find the origin of the right road. - Mu-mon 1228 http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/11/02/before-the-first-step/ The perfume of sandalwood, rosebay or jasmine cannot travel against the wind. But the fragrance of virtue travels even against the wind, as far as the ends of the world. - Buddha http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/11/01/4082/ Meditating quietly I rout the deadly dragon. - Wang Wei (699-761) http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/11/01/3613/ Two masters were walking by a pool in which carp were swimming. One master said "Look at those carp. How happy they are swimming in the pool." The other master said "How can you presume to know whether the carp are happy or not?" The first master replied "How can you presume to ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/10/30/2265/ In spring, hundreds of flowers; In autumn, a harvest moon; In summer, a refreshing breeze; In winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you. - Mu-mon 1228 http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/10/26/2003/ The morning glory blooms but an hour. Yet it differs not in heart from a giant pine, That lives for a thousand years. - Matsunaga Teitiku http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/10/25/1734/ Do not deny not by denying. - zen saying "It has been told that Nature abhors a vacuum. I disagree. Nature doesn't mind a vacuum. It is man that continually insists on filling them." http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/10/24/in-the-beginning/ The facts, although interesting, are generally irrelevant. The world gets a little better every day, and worse in the evening. Someone who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the real world. The other line always moves faster... until you get in it. Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for. Everything should ... http://www.raeallen.net/blog/2000/10/01/more-sayings/