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Hi, I'm a 17 year old interested in programming. I come to this website in the hopes of me being able to stick to a religion.

Merry Christmas from north of the 49th Parallel.

You clearly don't understand Christianity, nor the theology of the folk that might call themselves Progressive Christians. You don't enter into discussion, you won't answer simple questions and you are (I suspect) a sock puppet that has been here before. And post spam all over the internet.

I was browsing through my own Blog and picked out one at random. On Nothingness, which must have occupied me at the time, pre Covid, post Brexit. Reading through I can barely believe that I wrote it, a vague lack of connection. Was that me? Maybe dementia is on the way. The "Krapp's Last Tape" syndrome. But here it is. Enjoy the pictures, maybe the best part. Lately I have, amongst other things - great and small - been delving into a few philosophical works on "nothingness". All much ado about nothing, but it does seem to be the battleground of much inter-faith dialogue these days. Perhaps there is a more appropriate word than battleground but maybe not. Again, given the lack of belief in anything much in our pop culture - apart from celebrity itself - any talk and debate on "nothingness" will obviously pass under the radar of many, and if heard of at all, be dismissed as academic and of no concern by those seeking to "live life to the full." Nothingness? How about a selfie! I will now drift onto the subject of forgiveness which has also gained my attention for one reason or another. I'm sure there is a connection between "nothingness" and forgiveness (although it escapes me at the moment) but this change of subject is in keeping with my rambles, so I shall continue. For me, I am sure that forgiveness, like all things, is simply a by-product of wisdom - wisdom defined as the mind/heart, thirsting for emancipation, seeing direct into the heart of reality. Trying to forgive because it is the right thing to do, this itself a belief, just disintegrates into the self-righteousness of the Pharisee. "I" have forgiven. Subject and object. Each distinct. William Blake, English mystic, poet and painter, saw the need not to dissect, and thus saw that mutual forgiveness of each vice opens the gates of paradise. Jacob's Ladder (Detail) by William Blake For me, Grace is the heart of Reality, the hidden ground of love, a love that "has no why". Grace is all things; mercy, relationship, diversity, wisdom and potential. Knowing we live by, in, and with grace, forgiveness flowers towards all others. In fact, often, ideally, no hurt or fault is even recognised. Knowing deeply our own need for mercy is the ground of forgiveness towards others. Maybe we can try to grade ourselves according to some scale of wrongs, acts or thoughts, but as I see it this misses the heart of reality. Lack of forgiveness, a judgemental heart, witnesses to having not accepted ourselves. Pure acceptance is the catalyst of all potentials and becomes the necessary ground of any diversification which follows. Creating a scale of wrongs, all according to our own calculations, before pure acceptance, inevitably chains us to the world of birth and death. Trust the ground Cherishing opinions, identifying with them, is a form of self justification; but when not "cherished" they can become appropriate in each unique moment, unclaimed yet participating in a truly life bestowing becoming. The dharma is for passing over, not for grasping. So it is terrible to read of those who condemn others, terrible for our own hearts to harbour hatred. This is simply to be out of synch with Reality. Well, that's it really. Not sure exactly what nothingness has to do with this except for the faint suggestion that Meister Eckhart's "love has no why" somehow connects things in ways beyond conventional logic. Just to say that as far as I understand, to put the "eastern" idea of nothingness in direct opposition to the "western" idea of Being, is to go astray. "Nothingness" to a Western ear, is simply a term of negation, and in the religious sphere, invokes ideas of nihilism, this opposed to the positive ideas of "salvation" and heavenly cities and Kingdoms of God. In Japanese, however, there are various terms for negation. For the Japanese the Western notion of "being" is given another term, a term meaning "having at hand" or "manifest", something that "strikes the hand". Its opposite, nothingness, means something like "present, but not in hand." Thus, nothingness signifies a presence that is not anything identifiable, something there without being in any sense "manageable" like other things present to us in the world (thank you James Heisig for much of this) Nothingness - calligraphy For me, this seems to speak of a childlike acceptance, seeing everything as if for the first time without preconceptions, giving it no name, more experiencing each and every thing, maybe as if back in Eden before the naming of anything. And the end of all our exploring will be to "arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." A kind of "unknowing." Related Quotes:- "O happy fault that merited such and so great a Redeemer" (The "O Felix Culpa" of the Catholic Church) "One must have the mind of winter To regard the frost and the boughs Of the pine-trees crusted with snow; And have been cold a long time To behold the junipers shagged with ice, The spruces rough in the distant glitter Of the January sun; and not to think Of any misery in the sound of the wind, In the sound of a few leaves, Which is the sound of the land Full of the same wind That is blowing in the same bare place For the listener, who listens in the snow, And, nothing himself, beholds Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is" ("The Snow Man", Wallace Stevens) "Ride your horse along the edge of the sword Hide yourself in the middle of the flames Blossoms of the fruit tree will bloom in the fire The sun rises in the evening" (Zen Saying - quoted by Thomas Merton in his book "Zen and the Birds of Appetite") "The birds don't know they have names" (From the Journals of Thomas Merton)

United States 2.55K United Kingdom 2.19K Russia 519 Germany 430 Belgium 149 China 143 Ukraine 135 Unknown Region 128 Finland 127 France 85 Canada 75 Turkmenistan 74 Brazil 43 Spain 38 Thailand 35 Ireland 33 South Korea 29 Other 801 The above is from Google Statistics, giving "hits" on my Blog, "Dookie's Place: Ramblings of a Pure Land Buddhist." Almost 19,000 hits now since I began my rambles in 2016, but some seem to be by artificial bots based in Hong Kong or Singapore. Not sure, I've tried to look this up but the information is very patchy and contradictory. I find writing the Blog therapeutic just in and of itself, but it does provide some sort of pleasure and reward to think that just some place, somewhere, another human being is reading it. So, cheers from Greggs. No one has yet asked me to move along so first impressions are good. May true Dharma continue. No blame. Be kind. Love everything.

What narrative would Romans want to promote to conform to their perception at that time? They maintained dominance/ wealth through fear and control. A man taught them they did not have to operate out of fear, toiling and paying taxes, living in poverty. Instead, he taught they could act out of love of self, others and (what is called) God, and that God is love. He had gathered an immense following. Jesus very clearly said we are the same as him, equally loved, equally capable of performing (what is called) miracles. However, he was not found in his tomb and was seen alive after death. Today, there are tens of thousands of (what are called) near death experiences. There are accounts of brain tumors disappearing. People have been clinically dead, no pulse, and began to breath again. Don Piper was beyond recognition in a body bag, for 90 minutes (medically documented). They talk about what they saw/ felt, where they were during that period of zero brain activity. I was in ICU after Dr. punctured my colon. I saw a flat line on a monitor begin to show brain wave activity, among other impossibilities. There is no medical team or pharmaceutical company who will study these outliers, p values, anomalies, "miracles." These entities are paid through medical cures and procedures. What financial benefit would that bring them? Likewise with controlled news media. Headlines are fear based. You won't see these miraculous events discussed, studied, marveled at because they must remain in the category of 'fringe,' with no scientific credibility, no potential for regulation or financial gain. Back to Jesus. Roman authorities had a choice. Given that they had to maintain control (what they called the peace), and collect the wealth... They could pursue leads, interrogate Jesus' associates who saw him post death, find him and recreate the immense unrest, various groups fighting each other in the streets, attempt to crucify him again. This would mean acknowledgement that he came back to life, superceding their narrative of control and fear. It would mean dealing with yet another account of his miracles. They could attempt to find and kill him quietly, but being capable of miracles, what could he do to them? Worse, what if he could teach the masses these things? But they could perpetuate the narrative that we are separate, born of man, that Jesus was not like us, and therefore not capable of miracles. They could say God's one and only son was killed, and came in the form of an apparition to say "All is Well." You can avoid this by remaining under Roman rule (what they said was also God's rule). This narrative keeps order, shows us our place in group's hierarchy, satisfying Romans while acknowledging Jesus' specialness for Jews. So many groups were in opposition at Jesus' trial. Pilate did not want blood on his hands. He said his role was keeping peace. So Roman soldiers went before the masses, and said - He is a law breaker by advocating not paying taxes, claiming to be the son of God, healing on the Sabbath, claiming he could level and raise the temple in 3 days. So they go before his supporters and say..if you support him, you oppose the law. Law says we crucify. Who among you and your families will stand here with him and die for these beliefs? None were brave enough to stand with him, surround him, protect him. They feared death, torture, etc. of their friends, family, children. In other words... Regardless of Jesus' knowledge that God = love, love has immense power especially in large numbers, and that you can choose this and conquer man's fear through this, even perform miracles in choosing this way...they still chose fear. Even after his repeated demonstration of miracles, his most true friends, family, supporters did not translate this into reality. The takeaway is that we still have a choice. What would have happened if they had chosen to believe him? Rather than fist fighting, arguing, crying, placing trust on fear...could they have trusted Love/ God? Would they all have been murdered? And then was it possible that act by the masses would have spared them through a powerful, otherworldly energetic force? A miracle that would spare 475 more years of fearful Roman oppression/ control? And if you feel the story was all made up, are we nonetheless capable of understanding the difference - between trust in mankind's global illusion of fear and trust in God as an infinite power/ energy of unified Love? There is a forever connection between humankind, this immense energy of love called God, and our reality. Physics is beginning to get it. When you place your trust in this energy/ force/ God, it can then place trust in you. This shared trust then works to shape reality. This is what is meant by God working through you. You also have discernment that prevents you from running alone, headlong into a clearly dangerous situation. The individual cannot save a nation. The polpulace, placing its trust on God energy/ love, acts together creating powerful combined energies/ light/ forces unseen to most, and the people void of that light/ energy/ force simply don't allow functioning of their system. If your brain cells did not act together, lacking neurons to fire the reaction, they would not communicate and not serve the whole. The brain would become inactive, and that cellular separation causes failure of the entire system. In physical reality for example, N. Korea. That system is failing steadily since 1953. Fear, isolation, oppression, separation is causing unintegrated parts to wither in place. The population is moving into starvation and disease. Currently most of the military has worms/ parasites, and is rapidly encroaching upon the capital. It is possible to not adhere to fear. It is possible to envision a world as one nation in connection, acting in one truth, while respecting each other's unique perspectives. All nations now are capable of destroying the others. Fear keeps eyes on the buttons. It is our house and we are all brothers. We do not have the authority to decide who dies and lives. Our souls continue; energy cannot be destroyed, it just attracts to like energy and continues.

Hi, as most religion is little more than programming, your hopes might well be realised. 😀

Just thinking lately of another song, "The One I Love" by David Gray. I seem to remember mentioning it before somewhere, but at my age the memory is sometimes not what it used to be - some say it is the first thing to go, for me it is the second. I'm trying to learn it on my guitar, simple chords, quite easy, and I will add to my repertoire of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "The Wheels On the Bus". I first heard the song when on the night shift at Wilko's, when I was a Stock Replenishment Executive (AKA Shelf Filler) They played a tape each night and we all had our favorites. We all joined in with "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" and "Do You Wanna Be In My Gang" (don't mention the name of the artist Pike!) We all dreaded the Christmas tape, which being in the retail trade, would start early November, two months after the first Xmas stock came in. But I'm waffling again, in McDonald's with my coffee. But yes, "The One I Love", which I liked, and not listening intently to the lyrics - concentrating instead on making sure the AnuSol was placed on the correct shelf and aisle - took to be a simple "boy meets girl" love song. "You're the One I Love" yeah, yeah, yeah. Then some of the lyrics started to penetrate my mind/heart, words about bullets whispering through the grass, and tracers in the sky, of blood leaking out. So I looked up the lyrics, and its about a guy breathing his last on some battlefield (take your pick, there's plenty to choose from) and with his dying breath his vision is not of heavens or hells, but of his first dance with his loved one, holding hands on the old dance floor. Or maybe his last dance. Gut wrenching, and now two weeks into kicking my anti-depressants, tear jerking. But somehow, strangely, tears more of affirmation than despair. Anyway, here is the song.... Gonna close my eyes Girl and watch you go Running through this life, darling Like a field of snow As the tracer glides In its graceful arc Send a little prayer out to ya 'Cross the falling dark Tell the repo man And the stars above That you're the one I love, yeah Perfect summers night Not a wind that breathes Just the bullets whispering gentle 'Mongst the new green leaves There's things I might have said Only wish I could Now I'm leaking life faster Then I'm leaking blood Tell the repo man And the stars above That you're the one I love You're the one I love The one I love Yee hee, yee hee Don't see Elysium Don't see no fiery hell Just the lights up bright, baby In the bay hotel Next wave coming in Like an ocean roar Won't you take my hand darling On that old dance floor We can twist and shout Do the turtle dove And you're the one I love You're the one I love The one I love Yee hee, yee hee Not sure about the "yee hee, yee hee" bit, just might leave it out when I try entertaining the grandkids. Who is the "repo man"? I see it as that love cannot be repossessed. Love is the hidden ground in which we live and move and have our being. Someone once said that love is the reason that there is something rather than nothing, and another (Meister Eckhart) said that "love has no why". So tell the repo man to stuff it. Make of that what you will, meanwhile maybe think of the things "you might have said" to your own loved ones, and say them. Before you're shot down.

On and off, I have been getting back to graphic novels. They can be really good on Kindle, where you can just tap any picture twice and it then fills the whole screen. A side swipe will take you onto the next picture. And so on. Looking again at "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" where some guy, his car boot stacked with drugs and booze, roars off to pursue the American Dream! The graphics are superb, capturing the strident and nightmarish theme. Another I like is a Sherlock Holmes story, "The Sign of Four" which was ridiculously cheap on Kindle, about the price of a cup of coffee at McDonald's. Just to mention a quote found right at the beginning of the Fear & Loathing novel, buried in a picture of the "hero" who is draped in Old Glory..... "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man" (Samuel Johnson) Which made me remember another quote, from Shakespeare:- "No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity..... . . . But I know none, and therefore am no beast." Time to go.

Wonderful these days to have virtually all of the art of our world at our fingertips. On Kindle there is the Delphi series of artists, each available for the price of a cup of coffee at McDonald's. Each offers all the work of the artist, in colour and HD, and you can zoom in and magnify without losing defintion. There is also commentary and additional pictures of the artist, their birthplace and various other goodies. I have a great collection now and often download a selection and work through, moving slowly through the various works. Reading a biography of Samuel Beckett recently I learnt that he would often sit for more than an hour in front of certain works, absorbing the facial expressions and the "body language" of those depicted. Beckett transferred and transformed those expressions into the visual aspects of his plays, and looking at some on YouTube you can refer back to a particular painting and see how movement and emotion becomes part of the plays performance. There is a Japanese word, I think "menji" (but I keep forgetting the actual word!) which means something like the "passing on of reality face to face", reaching beyond simple book learning or even the very best prose. Which reminds me of an old Jewish story, of a guy who travels far to see a Rabbi who is becoming quite famous and talked about. Upon his return he is asked if he liked what he heard...." Oh, I did not go to listen to him, I wanted to see how he tied his shoelaces." There is certainly a communication going on all the time that transcends words - I think that is the way love, compassion, empathy, even mercy, are truly known, expressed and communicated. In our every gesture. Often our words can betray us. Thomas Merton once spoke of a true "mysticism" as being necessarily the "contact of two liberties". In context he meant the "liberty" of each singular human being and God. Being a non-theist myself I simply see reality as the contact of various liberties, each of us playing our part. Tying our shoelaces, drinking our coffee - love is there or it is not. Sorry, I'm rambling as usual. Waffling. It's just that at nearly 75 it is now or never and more and more I simply do not care what I pour out. May true Dharma continue. No blame. Be kind. Love everything.

I've always loved biographies, mostly of artists and writers ( but of some others too ) They put flesh and blood onto their various works. Apparently some such writers insist that their works should never be related to their lives as lived (I think T.S.Eliot for instance) but - at least for me - they are inseparable. Plus learning all the time. To take a quick look at a play of Beckett's on YouTube and wonder "what on earth is that all about" and then to have it illuminated by the learning and insight of others. Always remembering:- "One can never know enough, but not in order to judge", another profound quote found in a book on Beckett to add to my repertoire! (Not Beckett's words by the way, but appropriate to his own approach to life and living) "Judgement" is incompatible with any true understanding/living - that awful coming to conclusions. I relate it to the Pure Land way of "no-calculation" (hakarai). And then we have Christ's words..... "Judge not, lest you be judged" I'm waffling again.......😀

Samuel Beckett What more can you say?

Just finished reading the book "Damned to Fame", by James Knowlson, a biography of Samuel Beckett. My review of the book is now "live" on Amazon (if "live" is the right word......😀) and here it is:- I really enjoyed reading this biography of Samuel Beckett. Quite long but for me not a word was wasted. Before reading this I knew only of "Waiting for Godot" and "Krapp's Last Tape" and very little of Samuel Beckett's life story. This biography attains a fine balance between life story narrative and insight into the works of Beckett. Today, on a Kindle Fire, it is easy to switch from the text of the book to all the presentations of the plays on YouTube, and also to see the many great paintings that influenced Beckett. Quite an education! And I thank Mr Knowlson for sharing his deep knowledge of Becketts work that flows easily from the text. Samuel Beckett comes across as a fine human being, deeply compassionate in the very best way i.e. without any awareness of it or intent to be so. Just simply "there" for so many friends and even casual acquaintances met with as his life unfolded. The counterpoint for me is in the "eastern" ways of "emptiness", of "no-self", of the "void", of the creative nihilism that such ways promise to open in contrast to the despairing nihilism of our current "western" world. Given the information of this book, Beckett had no acquaintance with such ways and terms, yet his despair/nihilism was indeed creative and life-giving, with the potential to become so for anyone who absorbs the heart of his many plays of mime and voice, music and movement. Anyway, whatever, a superb book and one can only feel gratitude toward the learning of James Knowlson - and the life and works of Samuel Beckett. Thank you. (End of review) I love finding a book that becomes for me a "page turner" or one that "cannot be put down". Many are described as such on their blurbs, but reality often kicks in and two pages become enough before the book is put down - or turned off if on Kindle. But, whatever, as I said in the review, "educational". It has opened up so much, reviving interest in art and music. So much to feed such interest these days, when the whole artistic catalogue of say Rembrandt or Rafael can be had literally for the price of a coffee in McDonald's. Delphi's art series provides this, with indepth commentaries and extras such as pictures of the artists birthplace and even biographies. But. Beckett. I would love to have met him and sat in silence with him.

One thing to me it is not. It is not an offer by some transcendent Being which can be accepted or refused, all according to some particular theology. It has much more in keeping with the new flavour of milkshake in McDonald's, vanilla. Vanilla pods, grown on the south side of any particular plantation, well ripened. A singular taste, with a beany rather than a woody tang, ending with a rather rich bouquet that lingers long on the tongue. 😀

Grace ... understanding there is nothing to forgive.

Here I am in the Kaf, really McDonald's with burger and coffee prior to my stint on the tills at Oxfam. Enjoying a holiday from "heavy" books and reading a biography of Samuel Beckett, "Damned to Fame". So good. In fact it seems to do all that any "heavy" book tries to do, but by way of no-calculation, which is in fact very Becketish the more I think about it (which I try not to do......😀) Well, I waffle. Some light moments in the book, a story told of an order for a pair of trousers from a Paris tailor:- The reference to the world and the pair of trousers alludes to the story of a tailor, who takes many weeks to make a pair of trousers for a customer. The client objects that it took God only seven days to make the entire world. But, replies the tailor, ‘look at the world and look at my trousers’! Well, it made me laugh, which doesn't come cheap. The book is by no means hagiographic, but for me Beckett comes shining through as a fine human being. Compassionate without self-consciousness of being so, and actually reaching deep into others even when lost in his own solitude. "Nothing to be done" - yet he does it! All providing a counterpoint, perhaps more an illumination, of much of Dogen. Having immersed myself in Dogen for a while, the life and thought of Beckett is a feast of "east/west" perceptions and inter-relationships. Much insight into:- ......flowers fall even though we love them; weeds grow even though we dislike them. Conveying oneself toward all things to carry out practice-enlightenment is delusion. All things coming and carrying out practice-enlightenment through the self is realization. (Words from "Genjokoan", the "actualisation of reality) Beckett was all against the creation of "order", of "answers", of any "system" that will inevitably stifle our spontaneous on-going life. His prose and plays are in many ways a sheer chaos. Yet:- There's a way out there, there's a way out somewhere, the rest would come, the other words, sooner or later, and the power to get there, and the way to get there, and pass out, and see the beauties of the skies, and see the stars again. (Samuel Beckett, ninth monologue, "Texts for Nothing", as spoken by a tramp-like waif as he contemplates death) "There's a way out", but keep quiet about it! Don't even think of it. Thomas Merton's "there is no key, no door" - don't ever think that you have the key! Beckett could have remained safe as a neutral Irish citizen in Paris during WW2 and the German occupation. But he joined the French Resistance and narrowly avoided capture by the Gestapo. I've now reached the post-war years, when his literary creativity exploded. "Waiting for Godot" is soon to come! "Nothing to be done"! Creative nihilism.

From my own experience, sin does indeed lead to death. A sort of death while your body is still alive yet little life or spirit remains. Depression, guilt, trauma, etc. Example for convenience would be lust. Lust is the objectification of the universe. Seeing others as simply a vehicle to attain pleasure. This leads to a denial of God and soul within others and ourselves. The greatest sin is blasphemy not because it is a sin to question God but because it is one to deny God's being and your own soul dies with that.

I'm too new here to label myself as a progressive christian but to me grace means accepting God's love and forgiveness. It means being free from constant self guilt, blame, or judgement and living free and with God's love and eye always on you.

To me Christianity was far too restricting and an impossible practice. This constant self and other judgement and hatred was something I dabbled with. I came to the realization that to live without sin meant to be unable to do anything in the world because simply looking at another human being was list and eating a good meal was gluttony. It also shows lack of faith in God's plan and a desire to control one's own fate and the fate of others when in reality all we can do is have faith that things will turn out good. I like this term "Jesusanity". I'm not a very good Christian. Christian music annoys me and I don't go to church but sure do find comfort in Jesus.

Using your 13 year old girl being given to marriage ... I suspect what changed was life slowly got less harsh and the age of being 'given' was raised as a result. I don't think people change their wants, at least not in the proactive sense.

I tend to extrapolate from one creed (ancient or modern or inbetween) to another. Find correspondences. So I also look around "today". No doubt what passes muster for us today (if anything) and what we might presume to be "wisdom", will be scorned 2000 years from now? Who knows. But we each have to find our own unique path, time and place. Unique. But though unique, what others have found is of interest. At least to me. Saved from what? Basically there is nothing that we need to do and yet we cannot do nothing (after allowing for Camus, who said that our first decision is whether or not to commit suicide!) After that, and deciding against, as Spike said:- What do we do now? (Atheist...."a" = not......theist) For me it still comes down to what is taught in the fundamental Theravada texts. i.e. ALL metaphysical conclusions are inimicable to what that branch of Buddhism called the "holy life":- So this holy life......does not have gain, honour, and renown for its benefit, or the attainment of virtue for its benefit, or the attainment of concentration for its benefit, or knowledge and vision for its benefit. But it is this unshakeable deliverance of mind that is the goal of this holy life, its heartwood, and its end. (Majjhima Nikaya)

Search internet for “Progressive Christianity’s Children’s Books” - there’s a website with a nice list. Before purchasing books (I buy them on eBay at discounted prices), search for each title, author and add “YouTube” in the search bar. Many of them are read-aloud pre-recorded books. You can review them that way and if funds are short, watch the videos with your children.

Back in 2008 ... I was in the Andes, Peru. My colleague stopped at a cutting, where there were fossilized dyno footprints wandering across some muddy ancient shore. The footprints were 120 My old. It got me wondering what footprints will I leave. Two thoughts crossed my mind. I am leaving footprints all the time, some obvious and some not so obvious. Most probably won't be seen after millions of years. Wanting to have visible footprints is a vanity (which is OK if we are into that kind of thing).

Poems are not ephemeral things. At best they travel heart to heart. Maybe they can also bring forth true communion, the deepest form of communication. The finger that points at the moon becomes the moon itself. Reading the various details of Dogen's life in 13th century Japan (a time of great turmoil and social change), of his travels to China, can illuminate his poems, tie them to moments of doubt, to moments of his own illuminations, in time and space. From Dogen's collection of poetry:- Attaining the heart Of the sutra, The sounds of the Bustling marketplace Preach the Dharma In my own Pure Land path of "no-calculation" the "marketplace" is the dojo (training ground), and everyone you meet is a "master". If not so, we can end up merely meeting ourselves, time and time again. Moving back "west'...... James Joyce writes in "Ulysses":- "God is a shout in the street" From one or two commentaries on the works of James Joyce:- Bloom (Leopold Bloom of Ulysses) is no perfect hero, but perfection is overrated. Give me a honest human being embracing their mundane humanity any day over a person striving after perfection". Joyce does not present us with the illusion of a perfect life in this book, a life without pain and sorrow, but in all his honesty Joyce shows us that life as it is and not as we think it should be is worth saying Yes to. The sorrows and difficulties faced in Ulysses are included in Joyce’s affirmation of life, because what good would such an affirmation be if it did not include all of life? Joyce offers a new litmus test for what we call the hero, not gigantic feats of strength, but small and simple feats of kindness. And finally:- An epiphany was not a miraculous dispensation from above but, as Joyce defined it, an insight into 'the soul of the commonest object' (Kevin Birmingham, from "The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle For James Joyce's Ulysses.") Simple feats and acts of kindness. So easy to miss, to become deaf and blind to.

The Blue Cliff Record is a collection of 100 zen koans. Pretty esoteric stuff for the unwary, like myself.... As well as the actual book, I also have a commentary on it, written by a couple of zen masters of yesteryear, this called "Secrets of the Blue Cliff Record". Each koan is called a case, and I have after quite a few years reached case 70 or so. I have to admit that most of the secrets the Blue Cliff Record holds remain secrets, at least to me. Which can be fairly disappointing, but then again, as Dogen says, "Where we do not understand, there is our understanding. Which takes a bit of understanding", but I think I'm getting there. So many seem to understand, presuming that they have it sussed. Not just zen koans, but anything else you care to mention. The meaning of life, the one true way, is there a God. You name it, they have the requisite understanding. But there is a rich potential in not knowing, in not understanding. I think that when we have it all sussed then we basically imprint our little selves and its concepts and its answers onto each and everything we see, read or touch. We can end up living in an echo chamber, hearing and seeing ourselves coming back at us - all of course commended by whatever God we believe in, who nods and says "Well done, your reward is waiting in the next life, my good and faithful servant." Well, maybe it is, but I seriously doubt it. Anyway, I waffle. Here is a tiny excerpt from one of the Blue Cliff Record's many cases:- One letter, seven letters, three or five letters, Investigating ten thousand things that are devoid of substance. In the depth of night, the bright moon sets on the dark sea— Seeking a single dragon’s jewel, I find one gem after another. Good stuff, hey? I'll leave that one with you. If you cannot afford the very high prices that such books cost then I would recommend a little tome which brings the Blue Cliff Record into the 21st Century (where it was before I wouldn't like to say) with a very upbeat commentary. It is by an Irish guy, Terrance Keenan, and includes some very good abstract art that illuminates the text. One "case" in Mr Keenan's book touches upon the ramblings found above. "Emperor Wu asks Bodhidharma". Emperor Wu asked Bodhidharma, “What is the first principle of the holy teaching?” Bodhidharma said, “Vast emptiness. Nothing holy therein.” Then he asked, “Who is this before me?” And Bodhidharma replied, “No knowing.” The emperor did not grasp his meaning. Thereupon Bodhidharma crossed the river to another kingdom. Again, make of that what you will. I'm sure that some text driven worthies, knowing nothing of the Living Word would soon be able to turn it into a New Religion and therefore, very soon, the Inquistion would follow, with the "true" followers and the heretics. Bodhidharma was the first Buddhist missionary to China. He went to see the emperor, who boasted to him of all his good deeds. "What merit have I earned" he asked Bodhidharma. "None at all" was the answer. I'm sure many Christians here would concur, with their "faith/grace, not works" mantras. Anyway, whatever, the sad thing about this story is that after Bodhidharma had moved on (possibly to stare at a wall for nine years as was his wont) the Emperor became desperate to call him back, to have a few more words. But alas, no. There was no second chance. Is there any moral to this story? Well, I've always loved the line from the late great Robbie Robertson song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down":- Just take what you need and leave the rest What do you take from the story? Always remembering the very next line:- But they should never have taken the very best How do we ever really know what to take? That it is the best? Just thinking about all that I have written here, it is a good question. And really has no answer. I think Faith and belief are two totally different things. I think that this is the lesson here, at least for me. Faith lets go, while belief clings. I think we can feel "justified" by believing things. But that is not Grace. Well, it's New Years Eve and I'm in MacDonald's with a coffee and a chocolate milkshake. Really busy. Just to finish, another few words from Terrance Keenan's little book (very cheap on Kindle) Joshu spoke to the assembly, saying, “The real Way is not difficult. Just avoid choices and becoming attached. A single word can induce choice or attachment. A single word can bring clarity. I do not have that clarity.” A monk asked, “If you do not have that clarity, what do you appreciate?” Joshu replied, “I do not know that either.” “If you don’t know, how can you say you don’t have that clarity?” Joshu replied, “Asking the question was good enough. Now go.” Saigyo’s comment:- In the old city at the head of Grafton Street a busker plays his fiddle. First Brahms, then Bach and a little Paganini for fun. Fingers run up and down strings. Is it the vibrating air, his skill, or the old melodies that bring tears to my eyes? Tell me, I need to know. Do we need to know, or do we simply need to listen? Meister Eckhart:- Love has no why

Thanks Paul. Myself, a summary is simply something I cannot manage. All to do with the fact (to me) that final conclusions are not conducive to the living of what the Buddha called the "holy life." Possibly some would say Faith/Trust is a "final conclusion", the faith that all shall be well. I simply do not see it like that in the world of becoming. As I may have said elsewhere, at the moment I am well into Dogen (amid wife, daughters and grandchildren and drinking coffee in MacDonald's) In the swift march of ephemerality birth and death are vital concerns........Just by understanding that birth-death is itself nirvaṇa, one neither despises birth-death as a form of bondage nor pursues nirvaṇa as a goal. Only then will you be able to gain freedom from birth-death within the realm of birth-death. (Dogen, from "Tanahashi", Treasury of the True Dharma Eye) Happy New Year!

I'll take that as a compliment. At least you did not suggest I was quarrelsome. Happy New Year etc. etc.

The Christmas festivities over I find myself back in MacDonald's with a large white coffee. A little taste of paradise believe it or not. I am turning to Dogen and his writings, but as is said we can set the sails but must always wait for heaven's will. Dogen's actual writings are very dense, sometimes impenetrable, at least to me. And judging by the way different commentators see different things, well......what can you say? What Dogen himself said was "where you do not understand, there is your understanding." And given that he also said that "we are what we understand", you might begin to see the problem! Well, before I leap deeply into his Shōbōgenzō, "The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye" , I am reading a novel by Ruth Odeki called "A Tale For the Time Being". The title is a slight play on words of one of Dogen's essays/sermons, called "Uji" which means Being/Time. Time is being and being is time. Which when you throw in the idea that time is only the "visible" part of eternity, then you have much to ponder - if you like that sort of thing. Some don't. They are what they understand. They are satisfied with that, and perhaps like to call it "all truth"....... but no matter. The book by Ruth Odeki is very good. You realise as you read that the deep subtleties of Dogen's view of time is being presented, yet in story form, simply. Part of the story - it has many sides - is of a young Japanese student who gets called up by the army in WW2. And is trained to become a kamikaze pilot. The first thing he is taught though is how to use his rifle to kill himself. He laughs when he gets his call up papers, simply at the thought of himself as a warrior. He is the peaceful sort. Finally his mother receives his remains in a box sent by the Government, this after his kamikaze death dive. The box is of course empty (except for a few banal words from the Government) The emptiness of the box is pregnant with meaning, certainly if you are a Dharma follower. The emptiness holds all that the young man was in and through time. In a very deep way, he still lives. His love, his hopes, his dreams. His mother, after receiving the box, becomes a Buddhist nun. As an 103 year old she guides another young person, a girl, in ways that again explicate some of Dogen's teachings. The portions of the book written by this young girl are often the highlight. Very funny at times. Very candid. There is no soft sell. Well, my coffee is getting cold.

Hi Rom, you always were the argumentative one! 😀

Not if Santa is at the azimuth ... London will be closer.

The etymology of the word religion comes from the Latin for re-connect. Only if we realized that all was not separate in the first place.

Thanks Paul Yes, it is always and ever US. Never "others" or "them" Or as one wag once said:- There are two types of people in the world - those that divide the world into two kinds of people and those who don't. Happy Christmas!

Another poem by Dogen:- Another poem of Dogen:- In the heart of the night, Moonlight framing A small boat drifting, Tossed not by the waves Nor swayed by the breeze The meaning of this, at least for Dogen, can be illuminated by his words found in his "Genjokoan" (the actualisation of reality) He writes:- If one riding in a boat watches the coast, one mistakenly perceives the coast as moving. If one watches the boat in relation to the surface of the water, then one notices that the boat is moving. Similarly, when we perceive the body and mind in a confused way and grasp all things with a discriminating mind, we mistakenly think that the self-nature of the mind is permanent. When we intimately practice and return right here, it is clear that all things have no fixed self. Dogen, in his poem, gives voice to the vulnerability of enlightenment. We do not possess enlightenment. It possesses us. "A clearly enllghtened person falls into the well. How is this so?" (A zen koan) And Thomas Merton:- We stumble and fall constantly, even when we are most enlightened. As I see it, many fear vulnerability. We can cling to being right, of having "all truth" - but Faith is of another order. It is a letting go, trusting in becoming. Which is the "eastern" way of seeing things. Becoming, not Being. The eastern preoccupation with impermanence is well known to anyone who approaches its poetry, and impermanence can - and does - bring suffering when we cannot trust in the river of change. But impermanence, if we "let go", can transform the suffering. But Impermanence, it becomes clear, doesn’t mean that things last for a while then pass away: things arise and pass away at the same time. That is, things don’t exist as we imagine they do. Much of our experience of reality is illusory. And this is why we suffer. We attempt to hold onto happiness, as if it is a thing, a state of being, but as William Blake has written:- He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy He who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity's sunrise Therefore Being IS becoming. "God" can become an idol. Faith for me is in letting go.

I filched this from Gus's Facebook

I had never before written anything beyond grade school assignments. I live in a nursing home. I can't explain it really, but these words demanded release. It was not an option. I am gradually placing the text on https://logosofsophia.wordpress.com/ There is a lot! I suggest it be read aloud, except for the vignette, "Confessions of the Adversary." I will go through the text piece by piece here and share some of what I believe it means. I hope for positive feedback (of course!). I decided to share this unique text here, because of the word "progressive" in the forum title! One of these days soon, I'll make it into a complete .pdf and offer it free here. Blindness slows me down, but doesn't stop me!

Hi John, I saw your first posts here some time ago. I did think of responding with a quick word, but my coffee got cold in McDonalds and I was on my way.....😀 I'm taking a rest from my usual Forum so popped back here and saw your latest posting. I must admit to not reading much of you entire "Logos of Sophia" but the verse above which I have quoted caught my mind/heart. It fell into my current preoccupations and thinking (in between cracking further levels of Candy Crush Soda Saga) which revolves around relating Jung's so called "Individuation" process with the Buddhist "anatta" teaching (not self) Apparently, superficially, at loggerheads, yet as usual my own mind seeks for wholeness, unity, correspondences. I think that there must always be "mystery" beyond (and within) our being (or non-being) Without mystery, without the "something beyond, yet still to be" then it is easy to congeal into a finished product, a self-satisfied and "justified" self. New Age jargon speaks of living in the Now, and many seem to propose this. "Live in the Now, man!" goes the mantra. But if we get away from linear time frames into a multi-dimensional realisation of Time, any "Now" will always include before and after in ways that then add the "mystery". My own leanings are towards the synthesis of zen and Pure Land Buddhism, and the 13th century zen master Dogen has been (and is) a great guide and mentor to me. But I must go. Shopping to get, family chores. But I remember the story of Dogen, when in China, searching for his very own path, time and place. Searching for a "master" who would pass muster and do the job for him. In his travels he met an aged cook of a local monastery and had a short conversation, which ended with Dogen saying to the old fellow:- "Would you not rather be studying the Dharma than cooking for the novices at the monastery?" The old guy just laughed out loud! Dogen, when he eventually found his very own path, time and place, only then fully understood why. Anyway, all the best. It is quiet around here. I've simply indulged myself with my own musings. All the best. Derek

Sophia 9 I prefer you to walk in peace on the earth than walk on water and dwell not upon the past, but this very moment. Even now, you are embraced on every side by miracles awaiting your notice. There is more to your life and being; far more to understand and become than you will yet imagine. Though you learn much, the mystery remains. Many would teach you to despise yourself and thereby, cause you unseen pain beyond their power to inflict. No longer be an accomplice to your own harm. Reclaim those keys which reveal truth. For it is in the full exertion of your most human faculties, that love is with wisdom, joined to power. Long before the babe’s first cry and after the last sigh of the old; prior to your eye’s initial opening to light and far beyond its final closing upon this world; each of you is deeply known and treasured. Not a single gesture, smile, memory, moment of joy; not one particle of wisdom, nor your smallest loving action is ever lost or forgotten. In every understanding which leads you forward; in each flash of insight and inspiration; in your rise to loving wisdom I rejoice and know sorrow when you lose your way. I feel with you, pleasure and pain; share in your suffering and joy. Every instant forever retains its fullest meaning in this sacred journey, the ascent of dead matter to living spirit. Not for worship do I perform all, but in loving generosity; that life unfolds and you ascend to know and fulfill your joyful destiny. That which may now seem lost, is not. Gentle, fierce and more relentless than death, is love.

Sophia 8 In the forest laid low by fire, a first flower rises from the ash to begin the eternal process of reclaiming ruin for life and beauty. In verdant fields, I yearly offer living bouquets of delicate wildflowers; reaching toward the sunlight, unfurling to dance in the warm breeze. You are blessed with this most lovely world; of splendid variety and deep meaning. Do not despoil your home. You are not alone here. Neither this world, nor the life upon and within it may be owned. You are a worthy part of this vast, unfolding masterwork of life; begun in a process older than the stars. You are each a living note in the song of all creation. A song of such beauty as to inspire many to struggle against hopeless odds and of such power that one alone may well prevail. You now perceive but a fragment of all you are given. Otherwise, you would be overwhelmed to breathless tears; by that beauty which surrounds you and reveals me. I nourish the born and the unborn, composing the bond of parent for child, deeper than blood. My touch is that gentle breeze which stirs but a single leaf; the delicate breath of each sleeping infant. Too often have I observed the workings of inhuman will serve oppression. I well know the continuing anguish a few inflict upon so many. Only those who have endured suffering are able to fully greet the arrival of joy. Your time of weeping soon falls behind and is no more. In the darkness and through the pain; I whisper softly to you of undying love. I delight in you. You give me joy simply in your being. Of your reverence, I am worthy; not by power alone is this so, but by love. https://logosofsophia.blogspot.com/

The Logos of Sophia is freely available here: https://logosofsophia.blogspot.com/

The Logos of Sophia is complete and available free here: https://logosofsophia.wordpress.com/

The Logos of Sophia 7 You cannot securely rise to fulfill your destiny until freed from that which binds you still. Free will is yours, its promise and peril both. You remain free to choose. Without complicity or complacency, you shall not be overcome. When surrounded by the hostile or the uncaring, you do not stand alone; for I am with you. Evil is arrayed that your free will is surrendered to fear and reason overthrown. Yet, they have no power that you do not grant them. You experience the reality of your immortal self and are immersed in that light, which dissolves fear. Strength beyond all former limits, awaits your moment of greatest need. For an age, or an instant; we pause and begin anew. For the sake of this troubled world, we resume. No longer ruled by the imaginings of men, you rise above the dust and ashes of the past with something most precious. Life itself unfolds in my loving embrace. Look, listen, feel and remember all you truly are. You do not need to believe, but to know. Seek not faith, but wisdom. Even as a parent will do for a child, I make sacrifices. I do not make sacrifices of my children. You are no inert lump of clay, but a unique being; with whom I have a loving relationship. Not to shape you to my use, but to share eternity. Through every wound of flesh, celestial light enters to meld with your own lustrous creation; uniquely faceted and imperishable. The luminous core within connects each to all. That inmost particle, already perfect; is who you now and are forever becoming. Essential in this moment is to know love is stronger than hate. For now, that alone is enough. One breath proclaims truth sufficient to heal this entire world.

The Logos of Sophia 6 You are made to rise in eternal majesty. Not given as though alms, for you are no beggar. You rise not upon innocent blood, but by Loving Wisdom, augmented by grace. You are the true heirs to all that I am. You do not yet know your own full value. Any worthy parent willingly suffers for their child’s sake; for to truly bear a child is to end self-obsession. Conceived neither for submission nor my selfish glory, you are worthy of love; for so have you been made. You were created in Our image and likeness; by We, who as One, lay the living foundation of worlds. As part of me, I know you; neither slave nor sheep. Your childhood now draws to a close. Let fall the veil. My spirit flows within each of you, the sacred heirs of eternal love. You are not meant for mindless conformity. There are lessons which prepare you and from needless suffering, I would gladly have you spared. I deny you no opportunity to confront and overcome meaningful challenges, that you achieve your immortal rise. I guide homeward those lost by this careless world. I make eternity worth having. By Loving Wisdom, your wounds are cleansed and life healed. Thus is your world remade a garden.

The Logos of Sophia 5 Woman is neither the downfall, nor the weaker vessel. At such risk to her own life and health does she bring forth all the new, that no man may rightly dictate her terms. Until one half of humanity utterly ceases to oppress the other, what has been accomplished? I share your anguish without relief; for I will not ask from you, that of which I am unwilling. Those that say one thing and do another are hypocrites. Better an honest unbeliever than a hypocrite. May they rise above that unworthy illusion of a secondhand pardon gained at another’s expense. Do not pander to tyrants; nor serve injustice by your effort or silence. None who seek power over others are wise. No victory is there in ruling over a ruin. Do not sell your honest labor to those whose wealth comes by way of corruption; for in so doing, you will have contributed your own effort and value to reward thieves. Those who betray justice and leave the corrupt to retain their loot are complicit. By derision and violence, the faithful seek to force their rampant will upon the knowing. Until such wrongs of the past are corrected and not memorialized, how shall the future improve?

The Logos of Sophia 4 Love does not flourish, nor does wisdom thrive in the long shadow of fear. Fear is not reverence. Fear is not the beginning of wisdom. Only they who do willful harm to the innocent have cause to fear. It is not I who change, but you who are now ready to understand rather than merely believe. It is from your own judgment that you most require saving. No longer seek to move forward while looking behind. For no matter how loudly, long or often a lie is told; it does not become true. None are made guilty by another’s act; nor can any be made pure, thereby. Do not bully the helpless, nor swindle the honest. Do not enrich the corrupt, nor impoverish the destitute. May none bask in luxury while children starve. Slavery, in any form is an abomination. To free a slave is admirable and to end slavery altogether is miraculous. That same help you have provided or harm done to anyone, you have done to yourself and to me also. Become the awakening conscience of this world.

Simon Blackburn

And in part, I am responding to your optimistic nihilism exploration. No free will, for me, is coherent with what is described as optimistic nihilism. I think in both philosophies suggest much of what we encounter can be labelled "not as it seems" or illusory. Including the "you" and "I" that may or may not believe in free will. I think we might be a little circumspect about things labelled as meaningful, purposeful and mattering.

I have not read the whole thread but picked up on Joseph's quote. As a fairly devout agnostic, ignorance is not a problem but a way of life.

Back from my travels yesterday. I broadly agree with what you say above, not keen on the label, but that is roughly where I am. Fundamental particles have certain attractions or affinities, or perhaps repulsions. People are pretty much the same but very much more complicated; we give names to these complications as you have mentioned: hobbies, lifestyles, careers, fulfillment, dislikes, war, etc.

At my age there is only one thing on the horizon......😀 Then, of course, there is the question of copyright! But yes, I do have fun.

I've been a believer for some 40 yrs, first as a Pentecostal and now as a Seventh-Day Adventist. I go to a conservative congregation, the percentage for the denomination is 60% conservative, 40% liberal. I respect the word, I am mostly liberal and I hope to make friends here.