That morning, it was unusually busy at the tea house, right from the beginning, with Fael, Maxine, Adams and me present, and Rajah joining us quickly as well.
Fael Illyar: Hello Pema, Maxine
Maxine Walden: hi, Fael
Pema Pera: Hi Maxine, hi Fael!
Fael Illyar: Hi Rajah
Fael Illyar: Hi Adams
Adams Rubble: Hi Fael
Maxine Walden: and Pema, seems we were able to log in finally
Maxine Walden: Hi Adams
Adams Rubble: Hi Rajah
Pema Pera: yeah, it took me some tries
Rajah Yalin: hi everyone
Maxine Walden: me too
Pema Pera: others also sent email
Adams Rubble: Yes many tries for me too
Pema Pera: what happened was this:
Pema Pera: Update 06-13 06:38 : The outage from our colo hosting provider begin about 15 minutes later than expected, and lasted longer than expected. After a brief few minutes of being connected, the data center has again gone offline. The regions and inventory servers at that colocation facility continue to be affected. We will post more information as it becomes available.
Pema Pera: you can find this info on http://status.secondlifegrid.net/
Rajah Yalin: same
Pema Pera: a useful place to look
Pema Pera: Hi Rajah!
Fael Illyar: I guess I was lucky to not be affected
Rajah Yalin: there was a notice that said something similar
Maxine Walden: oh, good, thanks. Interesting the slips we can make: I read ‘outage’ as ‘outrage’
Maxine sure has a way with words :>).
Pema Pera: Hi Adams, glad you made it too!
Rajah Yalin: hi, late reaction Pema lol
Adams Rubble: Thanks for coming Maxine
Pema Pera: well outages do lead to outrage :-)
Adams Rubble: yes
Maxine Walden: glad to come…yes, outages to outrages…
Fael Illyar: Hi Cal
Faenik: なるほど^^
Adams Rubble: If any of you had a chance to see my blog this morning, I had quite a day yesterday
Maxine Walden: Hi, Cal; tell us, Adams
Adams Rubble: I was introduced to the concept of mindfulness
Pema Pera: Hi Cal!
Adams Rubble: Somehow I had missed that
Rajah Yalin: hi Cal
Adams Rubble: Hi Cal
Caledonia joined us, while sloooowwwwllllly rezzing — clearly SL was stil in the dolldrums.
Adams Rubble: It started in the morning session
Adams Rubble: and then I gave myself an example of unmindfulness
Adams Rubble: in the afternoon session
Adams Rubble: then I went to meditation and got a card on the subject
Adams Rubble: and finally last night I think I had an example of it at work
Adams Rubble: in the discussion on compassion
Fael Illyar: Quite well timed then :)
Adams Rubble: I realized that being able to be compassionate was a state of mind
Adams Rubble: after my battery went out and I was lying in bed
Adams Rubble: I realized that the state of mind was mindfulness
Fael Illyar: speaking of which, I also failed at mindfulness last night.
Adams Rubble: I now realize that mindfulness if part of the 8-fold path
Caledonia Heron:
Adams Rubble: and it is an important tool for me in my own personal quest
Adams Rubble: of trying to follow the Buddha-way
Adams Rubble: that’s a mouthful :)
Maxine Walden: and a mindful
Caledonia Heron:
Adams Rubble: I am wondering if I have it correctly stated
Rajah Yalin: interesting
Faenik: なるほど^^
Fael Illyar: You’re leaving the names out from your blog, depending a bit on why, you could consider referring to people with something those who know the person would recognise?
Fael Illyar: Although, you already did that for a couple.
Fael Illyar: :)
Pema Pera: Also, anyone featuring in teh PaB blog has given explicit permission to be named on the blog, in public, so presumably that extends to your blog too, I think
I drew a parallel between PaB explorations and laboratory work.
Pema Pera: What strikes me more than anything else, Adams, is the way you are so totally engaged; that more than anything else counts. In a lab, when you really want to probe a situation, engagement is key. Whether you initially look in the right direction is not so important. Just continuing to look is key — and already what you described is very promising!
Pema Pera: To say it differently, for a ship to get under steam is the hard part; once you are under steam, a flick at the rudder can let me focus on a better direction
Pema Pera: *me -> *you
Pema Pera: :)
Pema Pera: (it is true for me too)
Pema Pera: (hence my typoe :)
Pema Pera: *typo
Maxine Walden: yes, getting the momentum, the engagement, seems key
Adams Rubble: :)
For a while, nobody spoke.
Maxine Walden: wondering about our relative quiet right now, could be a contemplative space or an experience of non-engagement…depends probably on the momentary experience
Pema Pera: I like your connection of monastic and lay practice reflections on your blog, Adams — interesting idea: getting here 4x/day as monastic and 9-sec as lay practice
Maxine Walden: of each individual
Adams Rubble: I would like to know more about mindfulness
Adams Rubble: Pema that was the way I understood you yesterday morning
Pema Pera: is connected with continuity can be helped by frequency hence 4x/hour
Caledonia Heron: Maxine I have some mind chatter about whether I’m in a Buddhist instruction group or a discussion about “be playing” ….I guess it could be both and ….just waking up :)
Faenik is a hairy black ball with eyes and ears.
Pema Pera: mindfulness cannot be created as something on top of what you already have — the point is to subtract, not to add — the point is to clear away the rubble :-) Mindfulness is the natural state, to which we try to return in the 9-sec practice
Pema Pera: both I think Cal
Pema Pera: Buddhism is one way, only one, but a way to play with PaB
Caledonia Heron: it would appear so
Pema Pera: Hinduism would be too
Pema Pera: or Christianity or almost anything
Pema Pera: like in a juke box
Pema Pera: do you have a request?
Caledonia Heron: yeah, sure, got the analogy but hearing the same record :)
Pema Pera: I’d be happy to play a different tune!
Pema Pera: which one would you like?
Caledonia Heron: nah, just commenting, it is the group will to be at that space I think
Pema Pera: nono seriously
Pema Pera: I think it is very good to hear different ones
Pema Pera: just pick one!
Pema Pera: pretty please :-)
Caledonia Heron: :)
Pema Pera wishes he could poke Cal with a sharp elbow
Caledonia Heron: hey! who poked me???
I probably overdid my prodding of Cal a bit. Sorry, Cal!
Fael Illyar: I think mindfulness has been something I’ve been trying for for years.
Pema Pera: hahaha
Pema Pera: okay, Sufism? Christianity? Hinduism? Taoism? Just choose one, Cal !
Pema Pera: or a different one?
Fael Illyar: or at least something close to it
Pema Pera: Hi Showshow!
showshow Camel: hi all
Fael Illyar: Hi showshow
Rajah Yalin: hi Show
Pema Pera wondering why Cal doesn’t bite — must still be asleep
Pema Pera thinks Cal is not the non-biting type
Maxine Walden: I need to go in about 3 minutes
Caledonia Heron: not really going for a religion angle I guess, more about being a better human
Ah, that made a lot of sense, of course. Somehow I had not thought about that possibility. In fact, I really hope more of us here at PaB will explore non-traditional-religious approaches, outside any existing group or approach, even outside any notion of religion or spirituality or contemplation
Pema Pera: ah, even better, thanks for the clarification!
Rajah Yalin: [insert Gandhi quote here]
Caledonia Heron: a knowing of my humaness such that I can relate to others at that level and thereby make a difference
Maxine Walden: I really like your perspective, Cal
Caledonia Heron: I suppose that falls into a religion somewhere somehow but it doesn’t really matter to me….sorry, heretical I know
Pema Pera: Thanks, Cal, sorry, I had misunderstood you — how do you see mindfulness coming in here?
Pema Pera: Or is that not a key point — are there other key points perhaps?
Pema Pera: PaB is heretical !
Pema Pera: so no need to worry about being heretical yourself
Caledonia Heron: I don’t know but will consider your question Pema
Pema Pera: okay, Cal, thanks!
Maxine Walden: maybe the issue of having to relate to any ’sect’ feels stifling to Cal; it does to me often
Pema Pera: I’m really glad you brought that up, since really we are not a Buddhist group here
Faenik: why not?
Pema Pera: haha
Pema Pera: Faenik is funny
Adams Rubble: :)
Fael Illyar: :)
Maxine Walden: as if ’someone out there’ is who we should be following
Maxine Walden: gotta go, bye all
Pema Pera: But everything we do here is totally compatible with Buddhism
Rajah Yalin: Namaste
Pema Pera: Is like a coordinate frame
Caledonia Heron: yes Maxine, organized religion is interesting as a construct, a means to an end but not for all I guess
Pema Pera: a reference frame
Pema Pera: one option
Adams Rubble: Thanks Maxine. Bye
Fael Illyar: Bye Maxine
Pema Pera: bye Maxine!
Caledonia Heron: bye Maxine :)
Maxine took of, and was replaced quickly by Rowan, followed by Showshow.
Caledonia Heron: yes, I get the coordinate frame, that makes sense, like a reckoning
Pema Pera: Actually what I really hope is for a scientist to come here, who is totally agnostic, not interested in religions, not even in the human angle as Cal stressed it, but who just want to figure out what reality is, in a hard-nosed way. I’d love to see such a scientist do the 9-sec practice . . . . might very well work!
Pema Pera: Hey, Rowan, good to see you back here!
Fael Illyar: Hi Rowan
Pema Pera: wb Showshow
Rowan Masala: Hello all
Adams Rubble: Hello Rowan
showshow Camel: hi again
Faenik: why not?
Pema Pera: The jukebox analogy for me works, Cal, I find it very refreshing to hear other tunes
Pema Pera: And I hope we can talk here from many different angles
Pema Pera: One reason I suggest us to make lab notes while doing the 9-sec practice
Pema Pera: is that those notes are raw
Pema Pera: less filtered through our expectations
Pema Pera: of Buddhism or whatever isms
Pema Pera: Like Adams’ notes
Pema Pera: some refer to Buddhism
Pema Pera: but most of them are just phenomenology
Pema Pera: appearances
Pema Pera: what happens
Pema Pera: Have you seen Adams’ notes, Cal?
Pema Pera: http://rubblebornthoughts.wordpress.com/
Pema Pera: new blog
Pema Pera: also linked to from the PaB motherblog
Pema Pera: I think you’ll like it :-)
Caledonia Heron: no, don’t really do the blog thing, but guess I should :)
Pema Pera: hahaha
Caledonia Heron: sorry to rock the boat
We switched to the topic of languages.
Rowan Masala: Does anyone here have a babbler so we might be able to help Showshow understand a bit more easily?
Caledonia Heron: yes, but Babbler’s can’t be given I don’t think - you have to get one from the source
Pema Pera: I don’t but I can help translate
Faenik loves wells!
Pema Pera: 質問があれば、日本語でもいいですよ！
Pema Pera: showshowさん
Pema Pera: すみませんねえ、速口の英語ばっかり。。。
Caledonia Heron: I checked, the Babbler is no trans
Pema Pera: Anyway, Cal, if you’re allergic to blogs, Adams’ blog might be a good place to go –that one is pretty gravelly :>)
Caledonia Heron: lol
Fael Illyar: 私も日本語で話せます。
Caledonia Heron: not allergic!
showshow Camel: みなさんは、ひらがなが、よめますか？
Faenik: なるほど^^
Caledonia Heron: have avoided them on basic signal to noise ratio :)
Pema Pera: Faelさんはすごく上手！！
Pema Pera: on average yes, Cal, for sure!
Pema Pera: hopefully we are like the children of Lake Wobegon
Pema Pera: all above average :)
Adams Rubble: :)
Rowan Masala: no question there, I think :)
Caledonia Heron: lol, for sure
showshow Camel: わたしは、にほんじんなので、えいごのぎろんが、むずかしいです。
Pema Pera: よく分かります！
Pema Pera: 僕も日本語の場合で困ってる：）
Pema Pera: 質問はあるの？
Caledonia picked up on the Prairy Home Compagnon idea, with a great quote:
Caledonia Heron: the wobegon signoff is nice: be well, do good work, stay in touch
Pema Pera: love that!
Pema Pera: staying in touch is certainly our key point!
showshow Camel: みなさんは、仏教に、きょうみがありますか？
Pema Pera: how about a play element too?
Caledonia Heron: lol, part of being well
Pema Pera: ある人はそうです
Rowan Masala: I think play is part of all three of those
Rowan Masala nods to Cal
Rowan Masala: yes :)
Pema Pera: Caledoniaさんはそうでもない
Caledonia Heron: uh-oh, Pema’s talking about me :)
Pema Pera: はは
Pema Pera: oops, haha
Rowan Masala: The more I treat my work as play, the more people are reached by it, I think
showshow Camel: nihongo wa muzukashi desuyone?
Pema Pera: Showshow asked whether all of us are interested in Buddhism — I said some are, but you not particularly so :)
Caledonia Heron: yeah, sometimes I wonder if people are desparate for a little play, a little light relief to their world
Rowan Masala: yes!
Pema Pera: Faelさんと僕は平気。。。
showshow Camel: What’s the purpose of this meeting?
Fael Illyar: 難しいんですが、読めると思います。難しいのは書くだけですよ^^;
Caledonia Heron: sure, ShowShow, interested as an idea, not as something that runs me
Pema Pera: http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/ has the introduction, Showshow
showshow Camel: I see
Pema Pera: if something is not clear on the first two pages, please feel free to ask me
Pema Pera: you can send IM or email to piet@ias.edu
Pema Pera: 日本語でもいいです
Pema Pera: Faelさんへもいいです:)
After encouraging Showshow to ask further questions in Japanese about PaB, via IM or email, to either Fael or me, we continued.
Pema Pera: Can you say more, Cal?
Pema Pera: about “as an idea”?
Pema Pera: “not runs me”
Caledonia Heron: more on square square square?
Caledonia Heron: oh
Pema Pera: AH!
Pema Pera: Buddishm
Pema Pera: sorry
Pema Pera: didn’t make the connection to way back when
Pema Pera: now I got it
Caledonia Heron: sorry, seeing your other language set as a series of squares, I guess you are translating for Show Show
Pema Pera: ah, you don’t get the pretty chinese characters?
Pema Pera: too bad . . . visually so much more pleasing than squares!
Caledonia Heron: as art sure :)
Fael Illyar: It tends to require installing the fonts :)
Pema Pera: not on a Mac
Caledonia Heron: yes, it does Fael
Pema Pera: on a Mac everything’s there
Fael Illyar: Not on Ubuntu either
Faenik: could be
showshow Camel: This SIM is very similar to Japan
Rowan Masala: brb (sorry–am at work)
Pema Pera: Ah, you mean the buildings here, like this tea house? Yes, Japanese style
showshow Camel: So maybe most people here are interested in Japanese culture
Hard to generalize.
Pema Pera: some are
Pema Pera: others not
Pema Pera: or not particularly
Caledonia Heron: lol, getting vaguer by the moment :)
Pema Pera: but somehow it seems half the people here speak at least some Japanese :)
Caledonia Heron: more vague?
showshow Camel: Even Japanese……ZEN is very difficult to understand
showshow Camel: lol
Pema Pera: yes, for all of us
showshow Camel: I think ZEN is a spritual background of Japanese people
Pema Pera: one of them, yes, but there are many more
Caledonia Heron: My impression is I shut down a line of inquiry perhaps - I do apologize to you Adams particularly - did not mean to shut down your flow, just struggling a bit myself. Willing to sit in the doghouse a while. :)
Adams Rubble: no need to do that Cal :)
Caledonia Heron: woof
Adams Rubble: :)
Pema Pera emptying his pockets in search of cookies
Caledonia Heron: lol
Faenik waves his tail looking at Cal.
Pema Pera: Well, I’d better get over to the astro meeting in SL
Pema Pera: brave cat, this Faenik!
Adams Rubble: In response to Cal, I apologize for seeming to make this just about Buddhism
Fael Illyar: We all have our interests :)
Caledonia Heron: it’s what’s on your mind - seems perfectly appropriate
Pema Pera: Hi *
Stargate Tone: Good day to all…and evening…
Adams Rubble: yes it is on my mind, and not necessarily as a religion
showshow Camel: I think most Japanese are buddists but don’t know much about buddism
showshow Camel: lol
Adams Rubble: :)
Stargate Tone: I agree 130 %
Stargate had entered and joined us.
Caledonia Heron: understood Adams, myself included
showshow Camel: Because Buddism doctrine is written in very difficult pld Chinese letters
Stargate Tone: :)*
showshow Camel: So most Japanese can’t read it
Fael Illyar: :)
Adams Rubble: :)
Pema Pera: Sorry everybody, have to go now –good seeing you all!
Fael Illyar: Bye Pema
Adams Rubble: Bye Pera :)
Stargate Tone: Have Good Time Pema *
Faenik loves wells!
showshow Camel: See u
Faenik: Bye Pema
Caledonia Heron: bye :)
Rajah Yalin: bye pema
Pema Pera: Adams, will you keep a chat log of the rest of the session?
Stargate Tone: oh …I have to go too…
Adams Rubble: yes
Stargate Tone: be happy :)**
Pema Pera: thank you!
Stargate Tone: stargate
Fael Illyar: Bye * :)
showshow Camel: wow
Stargate left in her trademark colorful heartful way, and I also departed. Adams would later sent me the remainder of her chat log; the comments below continue to be mine.
showshow Camel: Most people in this room are Guardians?????
Fael Illyar: Yes, everyone except you :)
showshow Camel: wow
Caledonia Heron: I believe so Show Show
Fael Illyar: It’s not something that should cause a “wow” though, I don’t think :)
showshow Camel: I’m so surprised
Caledonia Heron: ah, we’re all pretty “wow” but probably not for that reason
Fael Illyar: Well, I guess I’ll have to agree with that :)
Caledonia Heron: lol
showshow Camel: I’m not good at English, so I can’t say what I want to say
Fael Illyar: try saying it in japanese, I’ll try to translate
Caledonia Heron: sigh, wishing I had not spoken up but hey, what else can you do?
Caledonia Heron: I have to go, thank you
Adams Rubble: bye Cal :)
Fael Illyar: Ok, see you Cal :)
showshow Camel: see ya
After Cal left, Adams, Fael, Rajah and Showshow remained behind.
showshow Camel: By the way…what do you think about Japanese people in SL?
Adams Rubble: We like having Japanese people in SL
Faenik: なるほど^^
Fael Illyar: Yes, it’s an interesting and nice addition. Japanese sims tend to have better shops on average.
Adams Rubble: It is good for the world to be together here
showshow Camel: Yeah
showshow Camel: Biggest problem of our Japanese is a language barrier?
Faenik is a hairy black ball with eyes and ears.
Fael Illyar: Language barrier and I think culture differences complicate things too.
Adams Rubble: But we need to talk to each other
Fael Illyar: Even when you can talk to each other, culture differences remain
Adams Rubble: yes
Fael Illyar: That sometimes causes awkward situations
showshow Camel: Of course cultural differnce is very big
Adams Rubble: and time zones
Fael Illyar: Yes, timezones too but that’s not limited to just Japanese :)
Adams Rubble: oh no, I kept you up very late the other night Fael
Adams Rubble: I was thinking of the whole world
Fael Illyar: I already told you not to worry about it :)
showshow Camel: There are so many differences between western and Japan
Adams Rubble: we learn from each other
showshow Camel: If we Japanese could speak in English more fluentry, we could communicate much better
Adams Rubble: or we westerners learned Japanese :)
showshow Camel: That’s a good idea
showshow Camel: lol
Adams Rubble: :)
The conversation continued to focus on languages, culture and geography.
Rajah Yalin: i’m a Far Far Easterner, what about me? :P
Fael Illyar: Learning Japanese is rather difficult because the thought structure is completely different. But that also works the other way around, Japanese find it equally difficult to learn English.
Adams Rubble: Rajah, where are you from?
Rajah Yalin: Vanuatu, island nation in the south pacifc
Fael Illyar: Although, it’s probably more to do with cultural things whether or not you learn other languages well.
Adams Rubble: We will be sure not leave you out :)
Adams Rubble: Fael, Finnish is similar in structure to Japanese is it not, except for the characters?
Fael Illyar: The French tend to have problems with English and those are closely related languages :)
showshow Camel: Where is Vanuatu?????
showshow Camel: Sorry I don’t know
Fael Illyar: It’s not close enough, I had quite a bit of trouble wrapping my head around Japanese thought patterns :)
Rajah Yalin: east of australia and west of fiji
Fael Illyar: English was much easier for me.
showshow Camel: I see
Adams Rubble: That is interesting. How about Turkish?
showshow Camel: So near to New Zealand?
Rajah Yalin: yep
Fael Illyar: Turkish I have no idea :)
showshow Camel: What’s your mother tongue………Rajah
Rajah Yalin: south efate language
Fael Illyar: That one I haven’t even heard about before I guess.
Adams Rubble: No, me neither
showshow Camel: But you are very good at English…………..Rajah
Rajah Yalin: nope it’s only spoke on my island
Faenik: なるほど^^
Adams Rubble: Yes you do write English very well
Rajah Yalin: we speak Bislama and English mostly, some French
Fael Illyar: I think the less natives there are for a certain language, the more likely they’re to speak other languages too.
showshow Camel: So many languages
Rajah Yalin: Bislama is a mix of English and some native Melanesian
Everybody comparing their watches.
showshow Camel: What time is it now in your island?…….Rajah?
Rajah Yalin: 14:16
showshow Camel: wow
Adams Rubble: and in Japan?
showshow Camel: 0:16 am
Fael Illyar: 18:17 in Finland
Rajah Yalin: 2:17 in the morning I mean
Fael Illyar: 2am then?
Rajah Yalin: yep
Fael Illyar: 2pm would be 14:00
showshow Camel: one of the most east country!!!!!!!!!!
Rajah Yalin wasn’t thinking.
Rajah Yalin: :P
And a brief smiley lesson followed.
Adams Rubble: what does :P mean?
Fael Illyar: it’s a smiley
Adams Rubble: Oh :)
Rajah Yalin: with the tongue out, like a joke
Adams Rubble: oh :)
Fael Illyar: it often tends to suggest “It’s funny, laugh” :P
Rajah Yalin: yep :D
Adams Rubble: :D ?
Rajah Yalin is a monk of smilies.
showshow Camel: lol
Rajah Yalin: that’s a wide grin
Fael Illyar: another smiley, take the : as eyes and D as mouth
Adams Rubble: oh :)
Faenik: could be
showshow Camel: You lok like Japanese monk……………Rajah
Rajah Yalin: yep the outfit is Japanese
showshow Camel: Have you ever been to Japan????
showshow Camel: wow
Rajah Yalin: no though I’ve been to Tibet
The conversation turned to trips by the Dalai Lama
showshow Camel: I see
showshow Camel: You look like Tibet monk
showshow Camel: In these days Tibet has a big political pronlem
showshow Camel: problem
Rajah Yalin: yes
Faenik: なるほど^^
Rajah Yalin: China is the problem
showshow Camel: Darai Rama came to Japan
Adams Rubble: Fael, lovely outfit
Rajah Yalin: I don’t think he’s came to Vanuatu
Fael Illyar: Thank you Adams :) You look lovely too.
Rajah Yalin: Sun Myung Moon tried to come here, but no one wanted him here
Adams Rubble: The Dalai Lama is a very inspirational person
Adams Rubble: No Sun Myung Moon is very different
Rajah Yalin: I don’t like him
Adams Rubble: I heard the Dalai Lama speak in United States
Rajah Yalin: I don’t like Sun Myung Moon, that is
Adams Rubble: a very humble man with a great sense of humor
Adams Rubble: Hopefully the Chinese Government will learn to accept him as a force to help the situation
Rajah Yalin: FREE TIBET
Rajah Yalin: anyways, I must be going
Adams Rubble: That is probably more than can happen unfortunately
Rajah Yalin: Namaste
Adams Rubble: It was good to see you Rajah :)
Fael Illyar: Ok, Bye Rajah :)
showshow Camel: namasteee
Adams Rubble: bye
Rajah Yalin: take care
Adams Rubble: you too :)
showshow Camel: I have to leave here
Adams Rubble: OK bye showshow :)
showshow Camel: see you nest time
showshow Camel: bye for now
Fael Illyar: Ok, see you some other meeting showshow :)
Fael Illyar: Thank you for stopping by :)
Adams Rubble: Yes :)
Adams and Fael stayed and chatted a bit longer
