Leonard Cohen - A Thousand Kisses Deep

"Does Real Buddhism exist in the West"

I grabbed this article from the Newspaper Tree El Paso. Does real Buddhism exist in the West? Taken from Brad Warner's latest book,"Zen Wrapped in Karma". Without mentioning any names or pointing a direct finger he cleverly suggests, certain "spiritual master(s)" who charge outrageous bucks for a taste of enlightment. If you've read his blog, Hardcore Zen you would figure it out.

To show you why, let me ask you something. What do you imagine happens to a guy who gets a wild tripped-out dissociative experience in an afternoon and has some other person who’s supposed to be a “spiritual master” interpret that experience for him as enlightenment just like Buddha’s? How does the guy feel about the master who he thinks gave him this great gift? Does he owe the master something now? And will the guy do pretty much anything the master asks him to just so the master will keep on confirming the guy’s enlightenment? What if the guy does something the master doesn’t like and the master starts telling everyone the guy isn’t enlightened anymore? Does the guy’s enlightenment even exist without the master’s confirmation? That’s a key question. And, for bonus points: Having just parted with a hundred and fifty smackers, is the guy a) more or b) less likely to admit he’s been ripped off? Answers on a postcard, please.

Read the whole article here.

Bringing back the swastika....difficult.

After viewing Flickr friend LindaW's posting of Buddha with the Swastika I thought how difficult it would be to change the worlds concept of the Swastika and it's true meaning. Full Story from the Epoch Times. The Swastika: An Ancient Symbol of Mercy.
As a side note of interest, I have a very dear friend in Houston who is a survivor of Triblenka and now elderly still suffering from her injuries both mental and physical. I wonder if she would understand.
Her story which I was privileged to hear through our years of friendship was recorded by Steven Spielberg's group, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education.

Cloudy days for computing are here, it's a good thing.

Individuals to mulitnational corporations can now simply tap into the "cloud" to get all the things they used to have to supply and maintain themselves. This will save some companies millions and make others billions.

I have read that in a memo that Bill Gates wrote to his engineers he warned that this form of computing could wipe out the 200 billion business empire he'd spent his life building. And some say this spooked him into early retirement. The following is the best explanation of what this is all about.
Cloud Computing

Ineresting Take on Peace by Paul Coelho

What is really the meaning of the word “peace”?
Sometimes people don’t understand why I use the term “Warrior of Light” since I’m engaged in a kind of confrontation with life. I do this because I believe that Nature is also in a state of confrontation: springtime against winter, winter against summer, lions against zebras, etc.
For me “peace” is an utopia as far as Nature is concerned.
That said we need to strive for peace among ourselves but we also need to keep in mind that absolute peace is an utopia despite the many attempts of “peace” in the world. Consequently this state of peace may lead to boredom.
In the light of this: Do you really want peace in the world? Have you ever considered that there was never peace in the world and that therefore this goal may simply be unattainable?

Paul Coehlo bio.

Although my personal thoughts and feelings about peace don't mesh with Mr. Coelho's theory, peace as he sees it is unattainable, and his question "Do you really want it?" is provacative.
The natural world/nature with its food chains, seasonal changes etc. have never entered my small mind as being "non-peaceful", but changing, relative and constantly in flux, like our daily thoughts. Peace for me has always been the human to human aspect of acceptance, respect, and non-judgmental, non violent understanding of our differences. This begins first with self understanding and finding the elusive "sweet spot" of peace within ourselves. Believe me it's there, now go find it.

Peace through Music

I recently twittered the "Stand by Me" link to the Playing For Change: Peace through Music project. I was moved by what it is trying to accomplish and I'm buying the DVD tomorrow. Check out the link above.

The act of playing music with people of different cultures, religions, economics and politics is a powerful statement. It shows that we can find ways of working together and sharing our experiences with one another in a positive way. Music has the power to break down the walls between cultures, to raise the level of human understanding.
~ Mark Johnson, founder, Playing for Change