2012.05.31 _ 51

'The Bodhisattva vows to save the world, and therefore to live in the world of attachment, for that is also the world of empathy, passion, and compassion.'

Our humanness is not expressed through detachment from the world but from being right there alongside other suffering beings. The word com-passion means something like 'with love' and that 'with' seems important. It's not a case of considering ourselves superior or above other people in some way, but of jumping into the quicksand with them. I remember the parallel with Christianity, that Jesus came down and took a fleshly form so he could relate to us on our own level.

Had 'surprise' dental surgery today (which just means that I thought I was going for a minor appt. and didn't realize this one was today), and found myself in sally mode during the procedure. I remembered the way that Bruce shared something similar in PaB, when going through tests prior to medical procedures... bringing in friends. This feels a bit like the receiving end of karuna metta meditation, and accepting that others are no other, well it is amazing the range and benefit... or felt so to me. There are ways I felt anxious and it isn't that the anxiety went away but that alongside of the anxiety was a clear space. Com-passion in the between places, thresholds, gaps...

Yes, Eliza! and, Yes, Zen! Although I have been quite claustrophobic since childhood, I have been working on it, and I took you all into the MRI tube with me. And that made all the difference. Bringing in friends. Indeed, Eliza, the range and benefit are enormous. All that is required is that you decide to do it. And DO it.

.. as long as Dharma gates beyond measure.. sallies salient staircase to pressing space, mind wide opens, with well wished friendly gaps, Karuna zaps, Jesus, and quickpixel raps, claustro-surprise-surgeries, differences made.. undones, and yes do its.. imaging imagined.. magnetically, through and throughs.. flipped shimmerings.. effervescent dewdrops in a stillness story (all the time). Spring storms.. Summer breezes.. suffering eases _/\_ Please.. and Thank you.. edited 02:23, 1 Jun 2012

I have the pleasant luxury of posting at the end of the day, and being able to read all the other comments. What an inspiration you all are! So glad I'm not posting on my own... ;=)

Eliza went to the dentist today. And, resonating across the miles, so did I!

During karuna-metta in the morning (before my PaB session - a quiet affair today) I was oddly distracted, unusual I guess for me.

Later I helped Cinda realize her idea for Art as Being. So much fun to collaborate!

I wish I could write something inspiring for you all - you deserve it! Instead I will mention that I was cooking today for tomorrow evening. We have friends coming round, friends who gave us (as a wedding present) the Lokeshvara statue of which you see a photo of in my SL temple. We only see them every few months. I've planned a pizza party, for just the four of us. I make the pizza bases, and cook some exotic pizza ingredients as well as providing straightforward ones, then everyone gets to build their own unique pizza - sauces, cheeses and toppings - and we cook them all together. It's a kind of collaborative artwork. But this one you can eat!