Party Guests

[tariki]

If you were to throw a party, who would you like to invite? Restrict the guests to, say, six.

 

My own choice would be..........

 

1. Keith Richards, of the Rolling Stones. What a guy, seemingly indestructable. Watched the DVD "Shine a Light" recently and there was a short shot where he was apparently "alone", just playing a slow melody on his guitar. Moody.......then the camera seemed to zoom in just a little too close and the mood was lost. Love to chat to him, and who knows, I might just understand a word or two...

 

2. Lionel Blue, the rabbi.

 

3. The Dalai Lama. There was story once where he had been invited to give a discourse on some of the finer points of Tibetan Buddhist metaphysics. Very deep and profound. The audience was a couple of thousand, and a huge throne had been prepared from which his eminence could deliver his discourse. He walked in, reached the throne, and sat himself down. Whereupon he bounced delicately on the oversoft, overlarge cushions. At this he burst out in chuckles of delight, and proceeded to bounce just a little more. Maybe we should all learn to bounce?

 

 

4. Willaim Blake. English mystic and poet. He could chat to the angels while the rest of us scoffed the grub. (Or bounced)

 

5. Neil Young. To sing us a few songs. Restricted to six, he wouldn't be able to be accompanied by Crazy Horse, his oft time backing group, so the songs would be gentle.

 

6. Thomas Merton. Well, who else? The anti-monk who lounged about in jeans and scruffy sweaters. Who got just a little tipsy at a friend's ordination and astonished a gaggle of watching nuns by slipping off his chair in giggles. "Another pillar of the church had fallen!" he wrote in his Journal.

 

Nice party. I think we would all get on.............

[Mike]

You throw one heck of an anachronistic party, my friend!

 

I would invite the two writers I first encountered while looking into Zen:

 

D.T. Suzuki - Often credited with introducing Zen the West, and a man I actually would really liked to have met.

 

Alan Watts - Pop-philosopher or thinker-entertainer who also communicated Zen and Eastern ideas to the West. I think he'd really liven up the party.

 

Kelly Joe Phelps - A guitar virtuoso, singer-entertainer, to provide musical entertainment in the style of contemporary acoustic blues.

 

Basho - Japanese poet of the 17th century. I'm not sure we'd have much to say, with the language barrier and all - but it'd still be neat having him around. Perhaps Suzuki could translate for me.

 

David Bohm - theoretical physicist, just so he could explain quantum mechanics to me.

 

Lastly, since Thomas Merton himself is currently busy at Derek's party, I'll have to go with his student James Finely, who wrote some really nice books on contemplative Christianity.

 

Peace to you,

Mike