2012.06.22 _ 73

Yes, thoughts can't bother us when we investigate them instead of believing them. Most of my negative thoughts are just silly. And they involve the past or future, build a self out of them and then worry about that self :)

It's time to get back into the habit of meditation.

Standing meditation in the evening. Allow the head to float up, allow the feet to sink, allow everything else to relax. It took me a while to remember to use the breath to relax deeper.

My thoughts do keep on noticing things about my body that aren't as they used to be before March. But then, it the body I have now I have to be with, not the body I had then. So let go of all those thoughts and go back to posture and breath.

Welcome back, Wester. :)

Finding it difficult to write something today... no 'thoughts' coming up to share really except a sense of 'groundhog day fatigue' and curiosity about that. edited 23:47, 22 Jun 2012

Welcome back Wester!

Working all day in Second Life. Build, build, build. Very focused... Which reminds me to take another look at zhi nä - tranquil abiding. Apart from that, once again my exercise was in the kitchen. Really. It's such a small kitchen, you'd doubt it was possible to exercise much in it. But I've found it's an amazing way to keep fit. Although one should never trust a thin cook!

Mrs. Storm saw a program on HGTV where they visited the house of film celebrity Steven Seagal. She spotted a statue of Kuan Yin identical to one we have, carved out of bone. When it arrived a few years ago, she repainted the face, but she didn't realize that the statue's plinth was badly damaged. When I arrived here, we put a row of baniacs* in front of it to hide the damage. It occurred to me today that these are simply a line of offering bowls. (*I'll explain what these are tomorrow, and I'll post a photo.)

Making offerings to buddhas is a good thing. Kuan Yin, aka Avalokiteshvara, aka Chenrezig, aka Kannon, aka Lokeshvara, is often called a bodhisattva, perhaps THE bodhisattva of compassion. Which is strange since, as far as I know, compassion is a defining feature of ALL bodhisattvas. But he/she is not just a bodhisattva. He is a buddha. Amitabha says:
"You may wonder about whether Lokeshvara is a buddha or not. I am satisfied that he is. Naturally he is called bodhisattva by many. But bodhisattva is a wide term. You can be a bodhisattva without being a buddha. You can be enlightened without being a bodhisattva. Lokeshvara is an enlightened being. He carries out a function that is one of a role model for all bodhisattvas. But essentially he is a buddha." edited 08:58, 23 Jun 2012