tariki

Not a zen garden, a Japanese woodprint. Mount Fuji. Nice. "In the cherry blossoms shade there is no such thing as a stranger" (Issa) And bringing thoughts together, Mount Fuji is believed to be in range of North Korea's missiles.

While the power brokers of our world drift towards a possible Nuclear Holocaust, and the UK's very own PM prioritises Brexit, and poor Tariki wonders what next, he nevertheless finds solace in another fine poem by Chiao Jan (730-799).... Spring's songs already quieting, the ancient source still bubbles forth. It's a mistake, my modern friends, to wound the heart to try to cross that stream. ​​Some things never change.

Thanks for your musings Joseph. A little bit of feedback at times aids me in finding where I am, if not where I am going.... It really is difficult sometimes to feel and know some of the events in our world as "all part of the cosmic dance". I think the "self" arises and seeks to take sides, to identify with "the good", to justify itself. Thus the division begins, as we divide ourselves from those who take another side. We live in a Cosmos, not a chaos. Musing myself, as I see it we are always discrete units, living in the moment, yet the moment is both to what "is" and also "what is to be". All this is difficult to just accept even when having the faith that pure acceptance is the only transformation. There are many pitfalls, many misunderstandings between "east" and "west". Late, I love but quietness: things of this world are no more my concern. Looking back, I've known no better plan than this; returning to the grove. Pine breezes loosen my robe. Mountain moonbeams play my lute. What, you ask, is Final Truth? The fisherman's song strikes deep into the bank. (Wang Wei)

I have now finished the book by Arthur Koestler and it was the above image, of our earth taken from space, that came to mind. Possibly such an image can now be taken for granted, but I would love to go back and show it to those such as Kepler, who would have looked at it with wonder. Thinking that renews my own wonder. This is our home. All human beings now living can be found on this fragile earth. There is an argument that "religious" violence can be found to originate in scarce resources; in the scarcity of sacred space/places of pilgrimage, of a particular revelation, of a privileged group/chosen people, even of salvation itself. The argument develops that such things are scarce purely and only in dogma and doctrine. Which are outmoded. Whatever the merits of that, we certainly need not share such doctrine. All space can be "sacred", all Reality seen as revelation, all can be known as being chosen, Universalism Rules OK! Look at our home. There really is no room for division.

Thanks. I did not realise until my second visit that the link was to another Forum....another little thread. Amid all the current news ( hopefully, some of it fake ) its good to find such small enclaves of sanity. Hopefully true seeds of healing. O Saichi, what is your joy? This world of delusion is my joy! It contains the seeds of relishing the Truth. Namu Amida Butsu is blooming everywhere!

Here is the link, which takes you to Page 1. There are three pages. http://www.givnology.com/topic/classic-garden-poetry-1?page=1 Some nice images and verses drawn from all over.

As I had a few moments I searched online once again for some garden poetry. One site I found, of "Classic Garden Poetry", began with a short poem by William Blake, from his "Songs of Innocence and Experience" (Showing "the two contrary states of the human soul") It has long been a favourite of mine. I went to the Garden of Love, And saw what I never had seen; A Chapel was built in the midst, Where I used to play on the green. And the gates of this Chapel were shut And "Thou shalt not," writ over the door; So I turned to the Garden of Love That so many sweet flowers bore. And I saw it was filled with graves, And tombstones where flowers should be; And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds, And binding with briars my joys and desires. Anyway, I shall find the site again, as it had a host of little verses and pictures that I found worth moving through. I'll put a link on my next post.

Looking for garden poems. Found nothing I liked until this. A haiku by Basho.

Not having read it is as good a place to start as any. I wonder just what the most ardent Biblical Fundamentalist would actually make of the biblical text if found unread, and without a preconceived theology to imprint upon the words. Koestler speaks of a new synthesis being required. He speaks of past attempts, most simply "one-sided" ( and thus no synthesis at all ) which have issued in such questions as "what is the sex of an angel?" Or "Is man a machine?". Questions that Koestler calls "sick".

I have been renewing my acquaintance with this book, sub-titled "A history of Man's changing vision of the Universe". I first read it long ago and it gave me an on-going interest in cosmology from a historical perspective. From flat earth to the infinite universe. The book also debunked my idea then that the progress of science had been gradual and linear, and of those who led the way as being giants amid pygmies. Everyone seems to have been a pygmy in one way or another! Zeroing in, it centres upon the lives of Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. Stepping back, it can be seen to chart the transition from Theology to Biology, from the Soul to Mind; from a walled in flat earth, mutable, snug within an immutable heavenly sphere, to our own infinite Cosmos. And I would emphasise "cosmos" - not "chaos". I think we can be detoured from many things that actually matter by asking ourselves "Is there a God?", "Is there an afterlife?" etc etc. Such questions inevitably capture all our own built in bias and presuppositions. Sometimes we need to really clear the decks and ask new questions. Then maybe we can see with new eyes. There is so much to say but I'll leave it there. I recommend the book. It's a good start. Maybe others here are familiar with it?

This one is for those with limited space. Another "useless" tree, and a rake for the energetic.

I like the slightly bent tree over on the right side. It brought to mind the "Useless Tree" of Chuang Tzu, a tree so bent that no carpenter would ever cut it down. I googled "useless tree" and found that one had been the subject of an often neglected fable of Aesop, in which a group of philosophers discuss the uselessness of a tree under which they sit to avoid the harsh sunlight. Googling again, others argued that nothing is useful for everything, while each thing is useful for something. One point that was made by another was that we should not identify our worth - or the worth of another - with any particular usefulness. Rather, we should know ourselves as inherently worthy, purely by being ourselves. Which made me think of a few words of the Buddha, that our practice of compassion is not complete until it embraces ourselves. Anyway, nice picture.

A little off topic, but here we have another garden from the Chelsea Flower Show of 2015, this time inspired by synchronised swimming.

And for my 1000th post....... This is a garden "inspired by Japanese Zen Gardens", which won a prize at the Chelsea Flower show. For those not accustomed to spending countless hours on a meditation cushion or staring at a wall for nine years, it is perhaps easy to be fooled by such a poor counterfeit.......

Reminds me of the scene from the James Bond movie where James, trapped on a tiny island, avoids being eaten by the crocodiles by leaping nimbly across on their heads.

I thought everyone had gone to sleep....... My excuse was a visit from the grandchildren. Anyway, Soma's post brought to mind some words of Dogen....."That you carry yourself forward and experience the myriad things is delusion. That the myriad things come forward and experience themselves is awakening." And - appropriate for a garden thread (especially the weed part) - another Dogen quote...... A flower falls even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.

How sweet the ground.

Here we have a cow that - apparently - has digested a labyrinth.

OOOPS! That's an English Country garden.

I have always had a love of Japanese Woodprints and here two loves are combined - a zen garden woodprint. In the past I have thought that the intricate patterns found in many zen gardens is inconsistent with what is often associated with zen, i.e spontaneity. After the reading of Dogen, no. Their is the "right word" for each and every moment - but just for that moment. As we are on a Christian Forum, I would just say that the whole idea of the universal being found in the particular has much to say in terms of the Incarnation, of a Person of one particular time and place "coming for all". But as I see it, we must beware of the wingnuts who insist that Christianity is uniquely unique!

Some have miniature zen gardens in their home. Here is one. In fact the lady who is the scheme manager of our retirement complex has one in her office. She hails from the Philippines. My 3 year old granddaughter, while in her office saying hello, gave the intricate swirls a helping hand according to her own fancy. Ying and yang became a little confused.

I like this one.

Thinking of this thread - if such it can be called - I googled "Pure Land Gardens" and found a "garden of peace" that can be found in the UK. Alas, no picture here as its images are protected by some sort of web copyright. The price for entry was £7, which drew this from one reviewer:- "no wonder the owner is at peace! The garden is smaller than my own!" Another complained of dogs barking and children crying - which seems to indicate that very few have any real notion of the Pure Land. Once again I think of the little zen koan. Just rambling.

The wonders of botox!