Words

What I Really Think:

"The Truth can never be expressed in words because the Truth is unlimited and ever-changing while words are fixed. And words mean different things to different people."

True v False or Useful v Useless

getaway.html:

"When I talked about this in the Zen class I run in Santa Monica someone asked me if I didn’t feel anger and resentment towards the guy who stole my bike. I had to stop and think a second. It’s not that I’m so spiritually advanced or pure that feelings of anger and resentment never appear in my mind. It’s just that I’ve seen the futility of chasing such feelings around and lending them strength through repetition. So, for the most part, I don’t even bother with such thoughts much anymore. They don’t give me any pleasure. They won’t lead to the recovery of my bike. They won’t help me prevent another such theft in the future. Why waste time on that kind of thinking?

But I also know it’s not enough just to hear the words “it’s useless to think of such things.” I'd heard those words a hundred thousand times before I was 14 years old. But it was a long while before I could break the habit of doing it anyway. Without the practice of zazen it never would have come about, nor would I be able to maintain the few good habits I’ve managed to develop without continuing the practice every single day.

People are always interested in speculative questions about morality. Like, if a guy has no money but his darling little boy is dying of some disease is it moral or immoral for him to break into the local Walgreen's and steal the drugs the kid needs? I don't really see the use of speculation like that. You rarely run into penniless guys with dying kids who ask you such things anyway. What is far more useful is to develop a clear mind so that when you're faced with moral challenges that lie outside of those to which society has given easy clear cut answers, you can see for yourself what right action needs to be taken."

Appearance, Reality, Roleplay

getaway.html:

"Now we can all think of cases where it seems like someone has gotten away with some kind of dirty deed — a sleazy business man who makes a load of money, a crooked politician who gets re-elected a dozen times, a thief who never gets caught. And, of course, we can all think of plenty of cases where bad things happen to good people. It’s tempting to take this as evidence that the Universe acts in a random way, rewarding the strongest and ignoring those who make the effort to behave correctly. But I don’t believe it.

If you say a guy who gets rich or famous or powerful off of his disreputable acts has gained something of value through his evil action, you’ve fallen into the trap of believing that getting rich, famous and powerful are always and forever things of real value. Me, I have very serious doubts about that. As for bad things happening to good people, that’s a minefield I’d rather not step into. But I would say that we don’t really know the actual circumstances of those whom we commonly label “good” or “bad.” Nor do most of us know our own circumstances very clearly.

Of course there are plenty of people who play the role of the guy who’s gotten away with murder, or whatever. But people can play all kinds of roles. Some people play the enlightened spiritual master role really well, too. I don’t believe that one either. Yet, the more deluded you are the easier it is to fall for the image you’ve created for yourself. The universe always takes care of that as well."

You make your own answers. But only always.

Zen Koans: Transcending Duality:

"A Philosopher Asks Buddha

A philosopher asked Buddha: 'Without words, without silence, will you tell me the truth?' The Buddha sat quietly. The philosopher then bowed and thanked the Buddha, saying, 'With your loving kindness I have cleared away my delusions and entered the true path.' After the philosopher had gone, Ananda asked Buddha what the philosopher had attained. The Buddha commented, 'A good horse runs even at the shadow of the whip.'"

Perspective

Zen Koans: Transcending Duality:

"Manjusri Enters the Gate

One day as Manjusri stood outside the gate, the Buddha called to him, 'Manjusri, Manjusri, why do you not enter?' Manjusri replied, 'I do not see myself as outside. Why enter?'"

Pavlov. Meet Buddha.

Zen Koans: Transcending Duality:

"Bells and Robes

Zen Master Unmon said: 'The world is vast and wide. Why do you put on your robes at the sound of a bell?'"

In the words of Ice Cube...

Zen Koans: Transcending Duality:

"Every Day Is a Good Day

Unmon said: 'I do not ask you about fifteen days ago. But what about fifteen days hence? Come, say a word about this!' Since none of the monks answered, he answered for them: 'Every day is a good day.'"

A Mantra

Incredible Fukn.Us:

"I don’t think that anyone is better qualified to direct my life than I am. I think people basicly want to do the right thing. I think that governments let people off the hook of being responsible for their own actions. I don’t have a problem with money. I have a problem with policies that create disadvantaged segments of society and advantaged segments of society. I hate lowest common denominator legislation."

Good and Bad Procrastination

Good and Bad Procrastination:

"The most impressive people I know are all terrible procrastinators. So could it be that procrastination isn't always bad?

...they put off working on small stuff to work on big stuff.

What's "small stuff?" Roughly, work that has zero chance of being mentioned in your obituary. It's hard to say at the time what will turn out to be your best work (will it be your magnum opus on Sumerian temple architecture, or the detective thriller you wrote under a pseudonym?), but there's a whole class of tasks you can safely rule out: shaving, doing your laundry, cleaning the house, writing thank-you notes-- anything that might be called an errand.

Good procrastination is avoiding errands to do real work.

Good in a sense, at least. The people who want you to do the errands won't think it's good. But you probably have to annoy them if you want to get anything done."

Conventional wisdom is usually neither.

WorkingForChange-We have little patience with the poor:

"So let's talk about the poor. Let's talk about those among us who cannot afford basic medical care or decent housing. Let's consider those who, despite working 40 hours or more a week, still can't afford the prescription drugs they need. Let's talk about those who join the Army just to get dental care for their children.

Don't want to hear about them? You think they're stuck at the margins because they're lazy or dumb or inclined to crime? You think America offers prosperity to any man or woman willing to work hard enough to get it?

Americans have always believed that. That idealism distinguishes us from Europeans, who are more likely to believe that class determines one's future, that pulling oneself up by the bootstraps just ruins good bootstraps. Those who abandoned their homes in the Old World to seek fortunes in the New had to be relentless optimists, hardy souls who could make their own way. While some failed, many others thrived.

Those who don't choose their parents wisely often find their achievements limited. This country is more class-oriented than many of us would like to believe. Academic research has shown that adult men are often mired in the same economic bracket their fathers were in.

Indeed, it's getting harder to climb the economic ladder. As the pace of globalization picks up and manufacturing jobs disappear -- along with their benefits and pensions -- it's increasingly difficult for those without college degrees to get ahead. And the price of a college education keeps going up.

But we have remarkably little patience with those who don't share our good fortune. A generation of politicians and pundits has told us that the poor are lazy and irresponsible and undeserving of our help. Indeed, trying to help them would only make them worse off, we're told.

So the last thing we should do is establish a broad social safety net that provides generous health care and raises the minimum wage and ensures decent housing for all. Why, any one of those things could prove absolutely ruinous to the poor!

That political philosophy -- which claims to be a hard-headed compassion rather than the hard-hearted selfishness it really is -- has become the conventional wisdom.

Overheard in the Office: The Voice of the Cubicle - 11AM Project Assignments

Overheard in the Office: The Voice of the Cubicle - 11AM Project Assignments:

"1AM Project Assignments

HR #1: Why would anyone agree to take on more responsibility if we're not going to pay them more?
HR #2: We're giving them more projects to work on that will be more advanced than what they're working on right now. I think people look for a challenge and they will be willing to take on more responsibility if it promises to be rewarding. Besides, most of them are in their twenties and need to start somewhere. So you see, we really are paying them more...in experience.
HR #1: Who is ever going to fall for that?

150 Garden Street
Santa Barbara, California"

Change

Pandagon: Scattered thoughts on the disappearance of the "traditional" family:

"For all the attention pain to the Baby Boomers who were into the counter-culture and whatnot, the vast majority of them really did make an effort to create the sort of family life they were raised to believe was standard--young marriage to a high school sweetheart, children, working hard, saving, enjoying some retirement time with the grandchildren. The dream didn't work out for a lot of people as planned, as the high divorce rate is evidence for, but they at least tried. But then they look at their kids who are really becoming full adults and a whole bunch of us clearly don't even care to try to achieve the dream. It's simply unappealing and we're rejecting it up front.

I think this situation is creating a lot of tension, if my fairly average red state family is an indicator. On one hand, the older members of our family fully support our individual decisions, since they obviously make sense on an individual basis. But taken as a whole, I imagine it seems like everything they have really held up as an ideal is being cast aside without much in the way of warning or of mourning, either. That's an odd place to be in--understanding the necessity of the minutia while feeling generally uncomfortable with the big picture, and I think that's why a lot of nostalgic rhetoric about 'tradition' has traction, because it gives people an enemy to rail against and easy answers to some disquieting trends.

The mythical War on Christmas is a perfect example of this, I think. For a lot of average middle class families, the traditional Christmas is changing. But for my cousin's rejection of the tradition of marrying before you have kids, for instance, we wouldn't have had a reason to go through the whole Santa Claus thing this year. Unlike in my childhood where everyone had Santa at their own house and then we all gathered at Grandma's for dinner, getting everyone together now takes serious long-term planning for flights and accomodations, because everyone is scattered to the winds. Because you can't blame individuals for simply living out lives that make traditional Christmas inconvienent, it's easier instead to let Bill O'Reilly tell you that it doesn't feel like Christmas used to because of a few store clerks wishing you a happy holiday instead of a merry Christmas.

Really, I'd say it's the same issue with the gay marriage debate. The right wing war cry about saving traditional marriage makes no logical sense, but it does provide an easy scapegoat for a myriad of anxieties about the very real changes that have already happened to family life and that affect nearly everyone. Most people nowadays, straight or gay, already feel empowered to organize their family lives according to their needs and desires, not according to tradition. All the anxiety this is creating is getting exerted on banning just one choice out of the hundreds, if not thousands, that people feel have opened up to them--in this case, marrying someone of the same sex.

So, in a sense, it's a depressing thought because the culture war is really just one long temper tantrum thrown by people who are frustrated that the world is changing without obtaining their permission. On the other hand, it's a good thing that it might be nothing more than a temper tantrum, something that will pass quickly enough as it becomes clear that there's no putting the genie back in the bottle, no turning back the hands of time. "

Good Old Fashioned Traditional American Values

The Dilbert Blog: Ideals:

"Before I go on, let me say that I’m highly patriotic, despite what you read here. Please don’t ask me to move to Venezuela.

As you know, the Founding Fathers had a lot of time to write things down because they didn’t have television, and there are only so many hours that you can spend whittling new teeth. But I don’t believe they ever got together and created a document called the Bill of Ideals. To understand their ideals we must look to their actions. Here are a few of the ideals they apparently shared:

1. Slavery – excellent source of poontang
2. Women voting? That’s crazy talk!
3. People who don’t own land suck
4. A good way to change tax policy is through violence
5. It’s not really crossdressing if you also wear manly boots.
6. Treason is okay if you have a good reason.
7. No one wants to sit next to Ben Franklin"

The [fictional] Grant Morrison is my hero

Comic Book Resources - Comic Book News, Reviews and Commentary - Updated Daily!:

"'Diet?' replied Grant. 'I have a very balanced diet. Mushrooms. Special herbs. Small pills. Anyway, you can talk, you've got a grand piano for a head.'"

V For Vendetta

Ballet Recital

Yuko Nakamura, the young lady who helps me out at elementary schools from time to time, also teaches ballet. She studied in Philly for a number of years, where she learned all her English - with a wicked Philly accent - and mastered dance. She came back to Japan to recoup from some injuries and she started teaching ballet.

Her school, Ocean Ballet, had a small recital tonight and it was really cool. First time I've ever seen it in person. On TV, sure, but never live. The small kids were adorable and the older students, and Yuko, were graceful and amazing to watch. Reminds me how not graceful I am. I hope she has more recitals... I really kinda dug it. Amazing what you can make the human body do.

The most amazing thing ever crafted by man.

Go watch.

Now.

The Ultimate Showdown:

"'The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny'

A musical tale of the greatest battle to ever occur ever."

Chicago Tribune | Beyond the imperial presidency

Chicago Tribune | Beyond the imperial presidency:

"President Bush is a bundle of paradoxes. He thinks the scope of the federal government should be limited but the powers of the president should not. He wants judges to interpret the Constitution as the framers did, but doesn't think he should be constrained by their intentions.

He attacked Al Gore for trusting government instead of the people, but he insists anyone who wants to defeat terrorism must put absolute faith in the man at the helm of government.

... But the theory boils down to a consistent and self-serving formula: What's good for George W. Bush is good for America, and anything that weakens his power weakens the nation. To call this an imperial presidency is unfair to emperors.

...Consider the case of Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen arrested in 2002 on suspicion of plotting to set off a "dirty bomb." For three years, the administration said he posed such a grave threat that it had the right to detain him without trial as an enemy combatant. In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit agreed.

But then, rather than risk a review of its policy by the Supreme Court, the administration abandoned its hard-won victory and indicted Padilla on comparatively minor criminal charges. When it asked the 4th Circuit Court for permission to transfer him from military custody to jail, though, the once-cooperative court flatly refused.

In a decision last week, the judges expressed amazement that the administration suddenly would decide Padilla could be treated like a common purse snatcher--a reversal that, they said, comes "at substantial cost to the government's credibility." The court's meaning was plain: Either you were lying to us then, or you are lying to us now.

...This is hardly the only example of the president demanding powers he doesn't need. When American-born Saudi Yasser Hamdi was captured in Afghanistan, the administration also detained him as an enemy combatant rather than entrust him to the criminal justice system.

But when the Supreme Court said he was entitled to a hearing where he could present evidence on his behalf, the administration decided that was way too much trouble. It freed him and put him on a plane back to Saudi Arabia, where he may plot jihad to his heart's content. Try to follow this logic: Hamdi was too dangerous to put on trial but not too dangerous to release.

The disclosure that the president authorized secret and probably illegal monitoring of communications between people in the United States and people overseas again raises the question: Why?

The government easily could have gotten search warrants to conduct electronic surveillance of anyone with the slightest possible connection to terrorists. The court that handles such requests hardly ever refuses. But Bush bridles at the notion that the president should ever have to ask permission of anyone..."

I swear Sandy made me wear the Christmas hat.

A very traditional Christmas

Sandy and I have partaken of the traditional Christmas pizza and sampled of the traditional Christmas cake - much like the Wise Men did in the story of Jesus.

[Though honestly, Christmas cake is a bit of a tradition here in Japan.]

We have completed the required watching of the holiday classic A Christmas Story. A tale who's only discernible message is that if you get exactly what you want you will only do physical harm to yourself.

And we are now in the midst of Sandy's other favorite holiday film - While You Were Sleeping.

Sadly, my Christmas favs - Die Hard and Lethal Weapon - have not yet been upgraded to DVD status from VHS. [Don't VHS tapes just seem quaint now?]

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.