Will anyone sneer at me?

“Will anyone sneer at me? That will be his concern; mine will be to ensure that nothing I do or say shall deserve the sneer. Will he hate me? Again, his concern. Mine, to be in friendship and charity with all men, ready to show this very man himself where he is mistaken, and to do so without recrimination or ostentatious forbearance, but – if we may assume that his words were no mere cant – as frankly and generously as Phocion of old (Phocion was an Athenian general and statesman, accused of treachery and condemned to death by his people. Asked if he had any last words to say, he replied; “Only that I have no grudge against the Athenians”). That is the right spirit for a man to have within him; he should never be seen by gods in the act of harboring a grudge or making a grievance of his sufferings. What ill can touch you if you follow the proper laws of your being and accept moment by moment whatever great Nature deems opportune, like a true man who is bent on furthering by any and every means the welfare of the world?"
– Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

NOTES: Everything is a lesson and everyone you meet is a Teacher. Teachers and lessons are everywhere; it is just a matter of our own awareness that will allow for us to be able to recognize the moral of the lesson and to know we are being taught. Most of us drudge along in our daily lives believing that things just happen and look at the bad things as though something were wrong or bad. Everything, good and bad, are lessons and in return good and bad people can be teachers. We just have to be open minded enough to accept the teacher and lesson. We have to swallow our pride and shed our egos to learn from all that is around us and all those we have contact with. Some teachers are greater than others and we can only hope to learn the lessons they have learned to advance us along the path of enlightenment a little quicker. Some teachers are insignificant or even mean, disrespectful or angry but, our own egos and overbearing pride will not allow us to learn their lessons and sometimes these are the greatest lessons of all because they teach us about our own selves.

So how does this pertain to this quote? We are learning from Marcus Aurelius not to be deceitful, angry or hateful and how we can learn from people of such character to not act in those ways ourselves. We should act in ways that we would like to be treated ourselves. How easy it is to only thing of ourselves and our own personal agendas, we think to ourselves “As long as it does not affect me what to I care?” But this is not the way, it is not the path, we do not want to be the one sneering or being sneered upon. We want “to be the ones to be in friendship and charity with all men”, we should not be the ones “Harboring a grudge or making a grievance of our sufferings”. If more people were to look at things in this way of peace the world would be a better place and we would think of what others may think before we act or say things offensive or hurtful. “What ill can touch you if you follow the proper laws of your being and accept moment by moment whatever great Nature deems opportune?” “Nature” being natural law and the proper course that nature takes adhering to the laws of nature. The Maple tree does not complain or grieve over the Oaks taking up all their sunlight in the woods. The mouse does not set forth on a path of war against the Hawk when he is singled out for a meal and killed, nor do his kin folk. These things are just accepted by nature as part of life. But us as humans think we are above this basic fundamental law of survival. The more we accept the moment by moment things that occur as natures opportune, the more we will act in accord with natural laws and see things as lessons of enlightenment. Pride and ego are creations of our minds and therefore only exist as thoughts in our heads and as mentioned before thoughts do not exist but, some of us like to put faith and substance to that negative energy and give it form and that form created by the nothingness of out own pride and ego can only create the form of negative energy that will come back to us 100 fold in the future. Which, will bring up a future discussions of “Karma” and positive and negative energies?

Peace and love and all that happiness stuff,
GhostDog

Form is emptiness

“Our bodies are given life in the midst of nothingness. Existing where there is nothing is the meaning of the phrase, “Form is emptiness”. That all things are provided for by nothingness is the meaning of the phrase, “Emptiness is form”. One should not think that these are two separate things. – Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure, The Book of the Samurai

NOTES: I have been meaning to write on this for some time as I have had this quote bouncing around in my brain for a few weeks now. It is difficult to understand this at first but, it is the mindset of a Samurai explaining the concepts of Zen, hence the term “Nothingness”. This is just another way of defining the “Void” Musashi talks about in his “Book of five rings”. Our thoughts are emptiness, because of the absences of scientific evidence that a thought would actually exist. If it cannot be measured, weighed, or explained as and existing tactile gas, liquid, solid or measurable energy source, how can it (a thought) actually exist? But, from this nothingness comes form, i.e. I am worried about and upcoming test so my heart rate begins to increase and blood pressure rises, along with many other measurable physiological changes (anxiety). Emptiness is form but, that form comes from emptiness. This is the paradox. So my emptiness, nothingness, and or the void must have some sort of influence on the same for those around me? I end that in a question because it truly is a question. This begins to touch on the basics of quantum physics as well as the theories of Intention. What we think (an emptiness with no form) can affect the outcome of matters at hand or the feelings or perceptions of those around us (emptiness no becomes a form) If this is the case then we can truly affect our futures in a form (measurable or immeasurable outcomes) by sending our thoughts into the universe or emptiness or the collective consciousness. What we think in our own minds is an emptiness but, the more we think about things the more we create an energy that can affect the things around us and begin to cause form. Just by our presence alone and the thoughts in our own minds we can have an affect on the situations at hand. If I think to myself I don’t like this person and they don’t like me. When I meet that person, they very well may think or feel that I don’t like them and they not like me, based on my thoughts affecting the emptiness around us that now can become form.

You may ask yourself, how did I get here? Where did “I” come from? Is it from emptiness? And from that emptiness do I become form (a human being)? I suppose to truly answer this in a Zen way, the answer would be, it does not matter, form is emptiness and emptiness is form. “It is what it is” and “This to shall pass”. It is best of to just empty the mind and become truly aware of what is happening around us, Live for the moment for the rest of our lives. If we come from emptiness into from we will return to emptiness where we came from and our form is just a shell to house our emptiness and when this shell (house) dies we will become form once again. This takes all the anxiety of death out of the equation, which is why it is in the way of the samurai to understand this quote, because if we understand this we will not have thoughts of death and be able to act without hesitation or contemplation, our minds will be blank and truly aware to react to the environment around us. Absolute awareness and absence of thought allow for instinctive natural reactions, precisely Musashi’s and Tsunetomo’s philosophies.

Have a GREAT day,
GhostDog

The Warriors Code

THE WARRIOR’S CODE(Written by Dropkick Murphys)

You're the fighter you've got the fire
The spirit of a warrior, the champion's heart
You fight for your life because the fighter never quits
You make the most of the hand you're dealt
Because the quitter never winsNo!

You were born to box in a city that's seen their share
Mello, Ryan, Carney, among them your photo proudly hangs there
Above the bar in the Gaelic Club
They tell the story of a throwback
With the heart of a lion
They salute your glory

It's another murderous night
Another left hook from hell
A bloody war on the boardwalk
And the kid from Lowell rises to the bell

CHORUS:
Micky
It's a warrior's code
Micky
He's got the warrior's soul

CHORUS

This song is about Massachusetts' own Micky Ward, a boxing legend who defines the heart and soul of the sport. He also happens to be the guy on the front cover of the album…

NOTES: This song is very inspirational. It is an underdog song, a song for the guy who fights and trains hard just to have the opportunity to get a shot. Given the genetic gifts of athleticism almost anyone can be a superstar. This song is for those that are average Joe’s, the underdogs, with the spirit of the warrior and a champion’s heart. They show up everyday, with the heart of a lion, and put in an honest hard days training and have to fight for every inch to get ahead. They sit the sidelines or in the crowd using the game as motivation to train harder and push themselves to be the best they can be. And maybe someday they might get thrown a bone and get a shot at the night lights and hype the superstars take for granted. To the underdog, everything takes great effort and tenacity and with enough effort, blood sweat and tears you can get and edge up on those that have the gift of natural talent. But there is a different kind of talent not gifted or genetics it is the talent spawned by hard work and determination, it will build a character and heart that many will never achieve and never know. It is a silent talent because the underdog is quiet, focused and determined and not one to spout off about his achievements or efforts, he is just there everyday, training and sweating in the corner of the gym where most don’t look, gutting it out building the tenacity and heart it tales just to be able to step into the ring as a nobody a no name a third or fourth stringer, a throwback. I would go side by side into battle with a determined underdog any day before I would the superstar because the superstar gets down and losses heart at the slightest set back but, the underdog sits and waits for the opportunity to get in the fight and revels in the opportunity to just get in. Running out onto the field when the chips are down happy to get in and just play, knowing they have no chance to change the outcome. This song goes out to you underdogs! Fight strong, you are the Warriors, the true Champions.

People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. - FIGHT FOR SOME UNDERDOGS ANYWAY!
Give the world the best you have and you might get kicked in the teeth. GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU GOT ANYWAY!

Train as you fight and your will fight as you train – GhostDog

Don't Think

To think, “I will not think” –
This, too, is something in one’s thoughts.
Simply do not think
About not thinking at all.

An old poem as quoted in…. The Unfettered Mind – Takuan Soho

NOTES: This is actually how I wanted to start this post………
Quote ……. “BLANK”
NOTES:……”Blank”
…… If I am thinking, I can not be Not thinking.

Nothing like disjointed thoughts eh?! It is hard for me to focus today, but that is absence of thought, is it not?

EDITED: 7-11-09 – This is just one more lesson of absence of thought. The more we think about not thinking the further this takes us away from not thinking. The practice is to just not think, to be in the void, to operate in the space and energy fields in the space where there is nothingness. Here we are truly in awareness and we are truly present to listen and help others. In the void we can relax, live and heal, it is too bad modern society and our conditioned conscious mind try to keep us from tapping into this magical field of nothingness where everything is possible and great fields of positive healthy energy can be gulped in at will. Distractions, afflictions, stopping of the mind on thoughts and contemplations are all distractions of the conscious mind to steer us away from achieving enlightenment. Nature does not have a conscious mind only a free roaming subconscious natural mind, free from afflictions and distracting contemplations, free to receive 100% of the things that happen without contemplation on why is the grass green or the sky blue, it just is and it is beautiful. We can become our own worst enemies as we self absorb in our own thoughts and feelings because if we are focusing within we will not perceive, receive the things that are without (outside) of us. Just like blinders on a horse an effect that causes tunnel vision as well as tunnel thoughtness (I just made that word up). Its not a matter of seeing the forest through the trees, it is a matter of just seeing all of the forest.

Peace be with you,
GhostDog

Warrior and Scholar

The Warrior and the Scholar

In the beginning there is a separation of Ways, the Warrior and the Scholar; they are two schools (Ways). One must focus on “One” specifically to master it. As one moves on in training and advances in the Martial Arts (Warriors) or the Scholar (philosophy and Spirituality), He realizes there is more and therefore begins and interest and discipline (study) in the other, therefore the Warrior follows the Way of the Scholar and the Scholar follows the Way of the Warrior. In the end the Warrior becomes the Scholar and the Scholar becomes the Warrior, each becoming one in the same a perfect blend of Ways. There fore the study of one Way will lead to the understanding and the study of other Ways becoming only one Way in the end. If one masters the Way (Bushido) he will understand all Ways.

So sayeth a Modern Day Anachronism - GhostDog

Passing along unknowingly

“It is because we do not pay attention that we pass along unknowing”

NOTES: This quote is sort of taken out of context but, the meaning can still be understood. The paragraph is about how the Lilly flower closes at night and opens again in the morning unbeknownst to most people or the grass that wilts or relaxes at night and perks up in the morning as the sun rises and the dew refreshes it. These things occur everyday with a million other small nuances that we normally miss. If we are aware these things begin to show themselves to us. We begin to develop a level of awareness that borders on physic ability, the paranormal, or ESP. If we are self consumed and entrenched in our own thoughts and feelings this closes us into ourselves eliminating our abilities to see the beauty and lessons around us. This quote has everything to do with awareness and that level of awareness can come from enlightenment and or clearing the mind. Empty the cup. Meditation whether it be static or dynamic (dynamic being the more advanced) gives us a trigger and a repetitive task to occupy the conscious mind with a menial task allowing the subconscious mind to come to the forefront allowing us to touch our natural spiritual ability to see with our minds eye or higher self. This also allows us to cleanse our soul and discard are negative habit energy and re-energize our positive energy. This cleansing can be equated to the feeling you get after a nice relaxing sit in the woods observing nature continue on around you and sensing the nature of things around us. Feel alive!

Feel the spirit come alive – GhostDog