2009.01.21 07:00 - Being in Action

The Guardian for this meeting was Fefonz Quan. The comments are by Fefonz Quan.

For most of the first half-hour, the GoC was alone, apart from a short passing of a stranger.

Fefonz Quan: hello romina
Fefonz Quan: right-click then"sit here" will ti you
Fefonz Quan: *sit you

  

Then came Genesis.

genesis Zhangsun: Hey Fefonz
Fefonz Quan: Hi Gen, good to see you :)
genesis Zhangsun: thought I would come and keep you company :)
genesis Zhangsun: seems I am the only one today :)
Fefonz Quan: it's very kind of you
Fefonz Quan: no, i was the only one till now
Fefonz Quan: :)
genesis Zhangsun: not at all its my pleasure :)

   

From here on, most of the talk didn't concern PaB so much, but rather my being on the winter break, in a situation of war. Well, that's part of life too i guess.

genesis Zhangsun: So how is it to be back?
Fefonz Quan: it is nice, though needs adjustment
genesis Zhangsun: may I ask where you were?
Fefonz Quan: for example, the temperature gap is 20-30 celsius degrees
Fefonz Quan: i was home, in israel
genesis Zhangsun: wow what I time to be back must have been difficult?
genesis Zhangsun: *a time
Fefonz Quan: well, considering it was ok, and things relaxed a little bit there now
Fefonz Quan: (not sure i understood your "back" in the right direcdtion
genesis Zhangsun: are people quite ah yes just how you were adjusting being back on the east coast...I remembered that you had been away but not sure where :)
genesis Zhangsun: *oops started typed something disreagrd teh *are people quite
genesis Zhangsun: very early for me still need my tea :)
Fefonz Quan: yes, i got mine :) though it's not so early here...:)
Fefonz Quan: what did you ask about the people?
genesis Zhangsun: oh yes I was about to ask whether Israeli people were so used to the conflict escalating that it didn't effect them
Fefonz Quan drinking a nice ginseng tea
genesis Zhangsun: for me it sounds terrifying but I have never been in a conflict area
Fefonz Quan: surely it does effect us
genesis Zhangsun: yes I don't mean effect at all I am sure it does but in the sense that the degree of comfort with it is very different from someone who has never experienced living in an area of conflict
Fefonz Quan: for example, my parent live in a city (where i grew up) that is in the missiles range, and they had a few alarms and heard hits almost every day
genesis Zhangsun: that sounds quite scary
genesis Zhangsun: your parents must have a lot of courage
Fefonz Quan: it does, yet they followed the orders and went to the stairs room when the alarm went on, and then got back to there house (having no shelter)
Fefonz Quan: their*
genesis Zhangsun: I apologize if I am bringing up a sensitive issue if you would rather not discuss it that is okay with me too :)
Fefonz Quan: so people are worried, though has some ambigious feelings
Fefonz Quan: no problem gen, i like to share with you :)
genesis Zhangsun: ty for sharing :)
genesis Zhangsun: ambiguous feelings?
Fefonz Quan: on one side, being at war is bad, stressing, and frightfull, on some degrees (i can elaborate later), on the other hand, on our side we had missiles launched toward the south of the country for months and years now,
Fefonz Quan: so people are pleased that action is being done, hopefully in order to improve things
genesis Zhangsun: Ah I see so while it is may be frightening now it may lead to the cessation of the threat completely and the fright would be worth the fight so to say
Fefonz Quan: in a sense yes, that's my point of view too. yet, just to take an example of frightening -
Fefonz Quan: there are mothers (and fathers) who have one or even two sons fighting inside the gaza strip, and you can just imagine how they feel.
Fefonz Quan: one of them told on TV that she had a WRONG phone call at 2:30 am one night
genesis Zhangsun: oh that is terrible
genesis Zhangsun: false alarm
Fefonz Quan: false, just a phone call, but thinking of what goes through the mind and heart of a mother just before she gets to the phone, it's horrifying
genesis Zhangsun: yes indeed
Fefonz Quan: so surely for many many families in israel these are very hard times
genesis Zhangsun: yes and what is amazing I can imagine is that so much of the population is effected because military service is mandatory for both men and women no?
Fefonz Quan: not to mention that also the huge suffering of innocent civilians on the other side is very saddening
genesis Zhangsun: So the entire society is involved and effected
Fefonz Quan: yes it is
Fefonz Quan: though women have 2 years serving, 18-20 years old,
Fefonz Quan: man have 3-4 years of full service, but then older man are recruited as reserved, up to the age of 40 and up
genesis Zhangsun: and you did you also serve 3-4 years?
Fefonz Quan: i served 9, if you ask :)
genesis Zhangsun: wow
Fefonz Quan: though most of it was in R&D, so not a lot of running in the bushes :)
genesis Zhangsun: ah ok I think you may have mentioned this to me when we were in Princeton
Fefonz Quan: maybe.
Fefonz Quan: btw - if i recall you said you're going to visit here soon
genesis Zhangsun: and how is to watch this latest escalation from over here?
genesis Zhangsun: Oh yes I am in two weeks or so
genesis Zhangsun: less
Fefonz Quan: is there a latest escalation? i thought it's ceasefire now

  

We discussed the difference between being at a place and seeing things through the media from a far. Media - another veil of concepts that stands between us and reality, even though it tries to bring reality to us. 

genesis Zhangsun: Ah I guess I just meant in the past few weeks but perhaps you were there most of then time and just returned?
Fefonz Quan: yes, there most of the time. one of the strange things is that somehow it's easier being there meanwhile
Fefonz Quan: then sitting here and worry from a far
genesis Zhangsun: yes I thought that may the case and so why I asked :)
genesis Zhangsun: *be the case
Fefonz Quan: maybe it is due to the fact that as far as we are, we have less real information and contact with things - reality if you like
Fefonz Quan: and then we build reality from fantasy
Fefonz Quan: which can be more frightfulo
genesis Zhangsun: You mean Fox news is not telling us the truth! Get out of here I don't believe you ;)
Fefonz Quan: well, that too :)
Fefonz Quan: but moreover, no news can really transmit the feelings of the people
Fefonz Quan: (i should thogu say that i didn't spend a lot of time in threatened areas, so i got the easy side of it)
genesis Zhangsun: still a lot of emotions I am sure

  

Talking about taking action

Fefonz Quan: yes, but for me and most of the people around us there was a sense of "doing the right thing at last", which gives some strangth
Fefonz Quan: srengh
Fefonz Quan: stregth
Fefonz Quan: never mind :)
genesis Zhangsun: I understand :)
genesis Zhangsun: So perhaps you feel that it may be better that the crisis comes more to a head than to just stay in a sort of constant purgatory state
genesis Zhangsun: sorry to mix Catholic images ;)
Fefonz Quan: i wouldn't know about catholic images :)
Fefonz Quan: but yes, many people say that if it would come to this much earlier, a lot of casulties would be saved on both sides
genesis Zhangsun: hmmm....so difficult to make the judgment but easier said as someone who doesn't have to actually make them
Fefonz Quan: yes...
genesis Zhangsun: referring to myself
genesis Zhangsun: I must be going Fefonz
genesis Zhangsun: ty for sharing with me :)
Fefonz Quan: good to have you here gan :)
Fefonz Quan: Gen
genesis Zhangsun: perhaps we can continue talking in RL in the not so distant future :)
Fefonz Quan: that will be great. looking forward :)
Fefonz Quan: have a wonderful day
genesis Zhangsun: you too Fefonz :)

  

I stayed alone, pondering in words about Action vs. Being, or Action within Being.

Fefonz Quan: thinking to myself that even in our everyday life, the choice between doing and non-doing, is one of the toughest and most subtle of all. as we easily see when practicing PaB (or maybe more common in longer meditations), is tht
Fefonz Quan: that our "instinctive" tend is to act, do, change something. and the stopping, enduring or just staying and observing are less natural.
Fefonz Quan: though action should be always an option, maybe this action can also come from a place of being, observing, attending (putting attention of i meant)
Fefonz Quan: and maybe such action can on one hand remove the contradiction between doing and not doing, Being in Action sort to say
Fefonz Quan: so, using terms from one of the last sessions, not loosing the centering state, though acting outward towards te world that surrounds us.
Fefonz Quan: That was my 2 cents - and many sentences :) - regarding that issue now.
Fefonz Quan closing the session and head for a beautiful snowy white day in RL