Integral Options Cafe

Monday, February 12, 2007

Dharma Quote: Lost in Dharma

Dharma Quote of the Week

Not to Be Busy

Tibetans say that once upon a time all the yaks that live in Tibet were living in India as water buffalo. It was very, very hot in India so some of them decided if they were to keep walking to the north they would get to a place that would be nice and cool. So they climbed up in the mountains, and as they were climbing their hair started to grow. Because of this the water buffalo in India often turn their head and look out expectantly and they are waiting for their brothers who have wandered off. In a similar way at one time all the buffalo of samsara and nirvana were living together and one day some of them wandered off and came into samsara. They keep looking around to see who else is there and where the other half is, because the basic quality of our ordinary sense of self is that it is very lonely. Something is missing in our lives and we don't quite know what it is, but we keep looking and looking to find this missing part. We can look for it in terms of possessions, we can look for it in terms of the form of our body, trying to change it through dieting or hair style or whatever. You can look in terms of friends. Anything. And this keeps us very, very busy. Sometimes the busyness can be very exhausting, but when we stop then we feel lonely. So we get busy again. Dharma is very helpful here if you want distraction because there are many kinds of ways to be busy in the dharma. You can focus on having lots of dharma possessions. You can focus on learning the text by heart, on the mantras and mudras, on serving the tsog, on doing meditations. There is always something to be busy with.

In Tibet many, many people practiced dharma but not so many seem to get enlightened. There are many kinds of dharma and if we practice in a way that doesn't focus on the essential point but on secondary and tertiary levels it is easy to get lost. It is really important, given that we have limited time, to focus on what is essential. Many people when they get a plate of food will eat the things they don't like so much first and leave the special thing to the end. But when when we apply this to life we can make a big mistake. The time for deep practice is now. You can learn all about Padmasambhava and what his clothes mean and what his hair style means but if you don't know the nature of your own mind then knowledge about Padmasambhava is just some more concepts.

~ From Being Right Here: A Dzogchen Treasure Text of Nuden Dorje entitled "The Mirror of Clear Meaning", with commentary by James Low, published by Snow Lion Publications.

Speedlinking 2/12/07

Quote of the day:

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things."
~ Peter Drucker

Image of the day:

BODY
~ New Study Discovers How Pycnogenol Lowers Blood Glucose Levels In Type 2 Diabetes -- "A new study to be published in an upcoming edition of the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice reveals that French maritime pine tree extract known as Pycnogenol® (pic-noj-en-all) delays the uptake of glucose from a meal 190 times more than prescription medications, preventing the typical high-glucose peak in the blood stream after a meal."
~ Warm Up to Increase Endurance, Prevent Injuries -- "Warming up before you exercise helps to prevent injuries and lets you jump higher, run faster, lift heavier or throw further. Your warm-up should involve the same muscles and motions you plan to use in your sport."
~ Older Adults Face Double Whammy When It Comes To Body Fat -- "When it comes to body fat, today's older adults face a double whammy, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues. Up until age 80, older adults not only gain fat as they age -- but because of the obesity epidemic -- they actually begin their older years fatter."
~ Scientists Learn The Origin Of Rogue B Cells -- "Doctors have long wondered why, in some people, the immune system turns against parts of the body it is designed to protect, leading to autoimmune disease."
~ Avoid Back Injury At Work By Taking More Breaks, Study Says -- "Workers who lift for a living need to take longer or more frequent breaks than they now do to avoid back injury, according to a new study at Ohio State University .The study also suggests that people who are new on the job need to take breaks even more often than experienced workers, and that the risk of injury is higher at the end of a work shift." Or you could learn to lift with your legs and not with your back.
~ Stomach Ulcers' Prehistoric Origins Uncovered -- "An international team of scientists has discovered that the ubiquitous bacteria that causes most painful stomach ulcers has been present in the human digestive system since modern man migrated from Africa over 60,000 years ago."
~ The Genetic Code Is Nearly Optimal For Harboring Information -- "Researchers from The Weizmann Institute of Science report the discovery of two new properties of the genetic code. Their work, which appears online in Genome Research, shows that the genetic code - used by organisms as diverse as reef coral, termites, and humans - is nearly optimal for encoding signals of any length in parallel to sequences that code for proteins."

PSYCHE
~ Is Your Personality Sabotaging Your Diet? -- "It could be that your personality is sabotaging your efforts to get thin. Here are six of the most common personality types that tip the calorie scale toward weight gain. "
~ Thinking You Got A Work Out May Actually Make You Healthier -- "As the commitment to our New Year's resolutions wanes and the trips to the gym become more infrequent, new findings appearing in the February issue of Psychological Science may offer us one more chance to reap the benefits of exercise through our daily routine. Harvard University psychologist Ellen Langer and her student Alia Crum found that many of the beneficial results of exercise are due to the placebo effect."
~ To sleep... perchance to learn -- "Researchers may have found the reason why children who go to bed too late often fare badly at school: lack of sleep appears to disrupt functioning of the hippocampus, an area of the brain that formulates new memories."
~ Children Who Believe Intelligence Can Be Developed Perform Better -- "Those who believed that intelligence can be developed performed better than those who believed intelligence is fixed."
~ Revolutionary Treatment of Depression -- "It seems incredible that a successful form of psychological therapy could be based on telling people their thoughts are mistaken. And yet that is partly how cognitive therapy works. 'The founding father of cognitive therapy is Aaron T. Beck a psychologist not well known to the lay public, but widely revered amongst psychologists.'"
~ Twisted Thinking -- "The ways you think about yourself and the world are habits that you've formed. Do they bring you peace and happiness, or resentment and fear?"
~ Top Ten Psychology Studies -- "Just because a study is old doesn't mean it's irrelevant. Indeed, the effects of many older studies are still being felt in psychology today. Generations of psychology students have wandered out of lectures, seeing themselves and other people in a new light. So, in this series of posts I will take a look at ten studies that have changed psychology and the way we see humanity."
~ Journey Through the Psychology of Emotions -- "Many people would say their emotions only come when they will and not when they want. So how do thoughts and emotions interact in everyday life and in therapeutic processes like cognitive behavioral therapy?"
~ Overconfidence —> Incompetence; Humility —> Success --"A recent NYTimes article highlights the work of Cornell psychologist David Dunning and his grad student Justin Kruger on the critical relationship between self-assessment and skill level."
~ Sweethearts share patterns of life satisfaction -- "People`s long-term satisfaction with their lives often parallels that of their spouse, says a University of Toronto researcher in a study that deals a blow to theories that individual happiness depends mainly on genetic disposition."

CULTURE
~ Strict Abortion Bill Revisited in S.D. -- "Lawmakers who watched as a near-total ban on abortions failed in South Dakota voting booths last year have revived the legislation with changes that may make the difference in public acceptance. But the bill's success is far from assured...."
~ Elitism and Blaming the Victim [Uncertain Principles] -- "I've long been of the opinion that if sanity is ever restored to the relationship between politics and religion in America, it will owe a lot to people like Fred Clark. He writes passionately and persuasively about the many problems caused by the "Religious Right" from a Christian perspective, in religious language."
~ Obama's Low Key Launch -- "His first town meeting after announcing his candidacy was unusually restrained, with no hokey music and very little pandering."
~ Edwards Keeps Embattled Bloggers -- "Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday he was personally offended by the provocative messages two of his campaign bloggers wrote criticizing the Catholic Church, but he's not going to fire them."
~ Picking the Perfect Wine for Valentine's Day -- Just because . . . .
~ Russia's president takes direct aim at U.S. foreign policy -- "Speaking in front of dozens of American and European officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Putin said the U.S. "has overstepped its national borders in every way," causing global instability and setting off a nuclear arms race."
~ Blowup? America’s Hidden War With Iran -- "The Iranians have reason to feel paranoid. In recent weeks senior American officers have condemned Tehran for providing training and deadly explosives to insurgents." See also: US Able to Strike in the Spring -- "US preparations for an air strike against Iran are at an advanced stage, in spite of repeated public denials by the Bush administration. The present military build-up in the Gulf would allow the US to mount an attack by the spring."
~ Terry Moran, Michael Gordon and The Mark Halperin Syndrome -- "Years of being attacked by the Rush Limbaughs and Sean Hannitys and Bill O'Reillys as being part of the dreaded "liberal media" has created an obsequious need among many journalists to curry favor -- through reporting which echoes right-wing narratives and/or by attacking the "liberal bias" of their fellow journalists -- all in order to avoid being criticized by the right-wing noise machine."

HABITATS
~ Mimicking How The Brain Recognizes Street Scenes -- "At last, neuroscience is having an impact on computer science and artificial intelligence (AI). For the first time, scientists in Tomaso Poggio's laboratory at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT applied a computational model of how the brain processes visual information to a complex, real world task: recognizing the objects in a busy street scene."
~ Robotic Exoskeleton Replaces Muscle Work -- "A robotic exoskeleton controlled by the wearer's own nervous system could help users regain limb function, which is encouraging news for people with partial nervous system impairment, say University of Michigan researchers."
~ EU: Harming Environment a Crime -- "Companies and individuals found responsible for environmental disasters should face criminal charges, the European Union's executive said."
~ Oil Companies Discuss Energy Challenges -- "With dwindling oil supplies, pollution concerns and the ever-present threat of gas prices soaring again, talk of new and better ways to fuel our cars, heat and cool our homes, and power our factories has never been greater. What's more, the conversation is emanating increasingly from a source that's been surprisingly quiet until recently - the oil companies themselves."
~ Thinking Bubbles? -- "Neil Gershenfeld of MIT and colleagues have designed the new technology using the presence or absence of a sequence of bubbles as a substitute for the conventional "on" or "off" binary language of computer circuits, using glass tubes and liquid that perform as microprocessors."
~ Top 10 Gay Animals -- "Homosexual Animals Out of the Closet: the animal kingdom tolerates all kinds of lifestyles."
~ Video: Octopus Changes Color, Textures -- "It's a rock! It's a coral! No, it's an octopus. Watch an underwater "master of disguise" literally change its spots to avoid predators and stalk prey."
~ Supernovae -- cosmic lighthouses -- "Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and at the National Astronomical Institute of Italy have now found a way to use these cosmic beacons to measure distances in space more accurately. The researchers have been able to show that all supernovae of a certain type explode with the same mass and the same energy - the brightness depends only on how much nickel the supernova contains."

INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ The Rise of the Technosattva. Part 2. -- From Buddhist Geek, Vince.
~ Diseases of Discipleship -- From Richard G Petty, a new (to me) blogger I am watching.
~ Deeply Held Belief in Nonviolence -- From Mike at Unknowing Mind.
~ The new issue of Holon News (from Integral Institute) came out Saturday.
~ All is Beauty and Absence -- From Joe at Whole Writing.
~ Evolution Sunday 2007: Religion and Science Can Be Compatible -- From ~C4Chaos. See also: Religion, Politics, Fundamentalism,Tribalism.
~ Magic and Mysticism -- From Alan Kazlev.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

The Police Reunion

The Police helped shape my taste in music back in the early eighties. Needless to say, I am glad that they are reuniting for the Grammy Awards tonight. Rumors of a tour are swirling around the blogosphere, but I kind of hope this is a one-time deal.

In the spirit of the event, here are some classic songs.

Roxanne

Don't Stand So Close to Me

Every Breath You Take

Chris Hedges on The Colbert Report

Chris Hedges is making the rounds for American Fascists. You can see previous posts on Hedges here and here. In all fairness, this guy doesn't come across as powerfully as does Sam Harris, but it seems that Hedges might actually believe in the Christian system and is trying to reveal its shadow side. But that take is based on a few pieces in the blogs and online magazines.

Here is a review of the book from Publisher's Weekly, the Bible of book reviews for the trade book industry.

Starred Review. The f-word crops up in the most respectable quarters these days. Yet if the provocative title of this exposé by Hedges (War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning)—sounds an alarm, the former New York Times foreign correspondent takes care to employ his terms precisely and decisively. As a Harvard Divinity School graduate, his investigation of the Christian Right agenda is even more alarming given its lucidity. Citing the psychology and sociology of fascism and cults, including the work of German historian Fritz Stern, Hedges draws striking parallels between 20th-century totalitarian movements and the highly organized, well-funded "dominionist movement," an influential theocratic sect within the country's huge evangelical population. Rooted in a radical Calvinism, and wrapping its apocalyptic, vehemently militant, sexist and homophobic vision in patriotic and religious rhetoric, dominionism seeks absolute power in a Christian state. Hedges's reportage profiles both former members and true believers, evoking the particular characteristics of this American variant of fascism. His argument against what he sees as a democratic society's suicidal tolerance for intolerant movements has its own paradoxes. But this urgent book forcefully illuminates what many across the political spectrum will recognize as a serious and growing threat to the very concept and practice of an open society.

Via: VideoSift

Double Helix Nebula Disovered

From the UCLA Division of Physical Sciences:

Astronomers Report Unprecedented Double Helix Nebula Near Center of the Milky Way

Astronomers report an unprecedented elongated double helix nebula near the center of our Milky Way galaxy, using observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The part of the nebula the astronomers observed stretches 80 light years in length. The research is published March 16 in the journal Nature.

"We see two intertwining strands wrapped around each other as in a DNA molecule," said Mark Morris, a UCLA professor of physics and astronomy, and lead author. "Nobody has ever seen anything like that before in the cosmic realm. Most nebulae are either spiral galaxies full of stars or formless amorphous conglomerations of dust and gas — space weather. What we see indicates a high degree of order."

And from later in the article:

Morris has argued for many years that the magnetic field at the galactic center is extremely strong; the research published in Nature strongly supports that view.

The magnetic field at the galactic center, though 1,000 times weaker than the magnetic field on the sun, occupies such a large volume that it has vastly more energy than the magnetic field on the sun. It has the energy equivalent of 1,000 supernovae.

What launches the wave, twisting the magnetic field lines near the center of the Milky Way? Morris thinks the answer is not the monstrous black hole at the galactic center, at least not directly.

Orbiting the black hole like the rings of Saturn, several light years away, is a massive disk of gas called the circumnuclear disk; Morris hypothesizes that the magnetic field lines are anchored in this disk. The disk orbits the black hole approximately once every 10,000 years.

"Once every 10,000 years is exactly what we need to explain the twisting of the magnetic field lines that we see in the double helix nebula," Morris said.

That's just really damn cool.

10 Signs You Hold a Mythic Worldview

The targets of this list are fundamentalist Christians, but they aren't the only ones who hold a mythic worldview. Still, with Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins targeting Christians, this list fits with the general effort to create some cognitive dissonance in these people.

Some people may think I am picking on Christians by posting this, but that isn't true. I am picking on those who hold a mythic worldview. It just happens that most of the people holding such a view in this country are Christians, not Muslims, Hindus, Jews, or Buddhists.

As found at Covert History:

Top 10 Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian by Heidi Lore

10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.

2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.

Bush Refused Trade With Iran for Osama bin Laden's Son

According to the Washington Post:

Since al-Qaeda fighters began streaming into Iran from Afghanistan in the winter of 2001, Tehran had turned over hundreds of people to U.S. allies and provided U.S. intelligence with the names, photographs and fingerprints of those it held in custody, according to senior U.S. intelligence and administration officials. In early 2003, it offered to hand over the remaining high-value targets directly to the United States if Washington would turn over a group of exiled Iranian militants hiding in Iraq.
Some of Bush's top advisers pushed for the trade, arguing that taking custody of bin Laden's son and the others would produce new leads on al-Qaeda. They were also willing to trade away the exiles -- members of a group on the State Department's terrorist list -- who had aligned with Saddam Hussein in an effort to overthrow the Iranian government.
Officials have said Bush ultimately rejected the exchange on the advice of Vice President Cheney and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who argued that any engagement would legitimize Iran and other state sponsors of terrorism. Bush's National Security Council agreed to accept information from Iran on al-Qaeda but offer nothing in return, officials said.

Another dumbass move in the fictional "war on terror." Having bin Laden's son in US custody could have gone a long way in forcing him out of hiding. It could also have helped our relationship with Iran if this had been done originally, as offered, and kept in secret.

Cheney and Rumsfeld basically worked Bush like the puppet he is, and to the nation's detriment. Business as usual.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Integral Blogs in Holons

Holons, the e-journal of the Integral Institute, has listed a nice collection of staff-picked, integrally-inspired blogs in the current edition. IOC is one of the blogs listed, for which I am grateful.

So, a friendly welcome to new readers who are coming over here from Holons! Please make yourself at home.

10 Changes You Can Make to Your Diet

I found this at Former Fat Guy, and I thought that it was good advice:

10 Changes To Your Diet That Will Instantly Make it 90% Better
Most individuals do not eat like they are supposed to. Out of those individuals 95% of them don’t realize that by making 10 simple changes to their eating lifestyle they can improve their diet by 90% along with improving their health and overall well-being.
Apply these changes to your diet today and you too will be experiencing an increased benefit to your health, probable weight loss, a leaner body, and likely improvements to your blood profile. This all equals a longer healthier life.
Now let’s get started so you can benefit from these 10 simple changes that everyone can make immediately.
1. Hydration: Is there a difference
Consume Green Tea or Water instead of calorie filled drinks such as soft drinks. Green Tea has many health benefits and is a powerful antioxidant. You should be drinking 1ml of non-caffeinated fluid for every calorie that you consume. This works out between (8-12) 8oz glasses of Green Tea or Water a day.
2. Benefits of Fiber
Recommend consuming 25-35 grams of fiber per day. Since the average diet contains only 14 grams we could all use more fiber. Fiber will help satisfy hunger pangs as well as control insulin and blood sugar levels which tend to promote fat storage when they are elevated. By simply eating at least 1 serving of fruit and vegetables at every meal should get you to the goal of 25-35 grams of fiber per day.
3. The Importance of Protein
Eat lean protein sources which include; lean beef, chicken breasts, turkey breasts, salmon, low-fat cottage cheese and other low-fat dairy products, and whey protein powders, at every meal. This will also help control insulin levels and satisfy hunger pangs which tend to promote fat storage. You will find yourself naturally eating less food throughout the day if you eat some type of lean protein at every meal.
4. Frequent Meals: Why?
Eat 4-6 small meals day a day instead of the usual 2-3 large meals. Eating frequently will help regulate and boost your metabolism to burn more calories. By also including your protein and vegetables at these meals you will tend to eat less overall thereby reducing your calorie intake.
5. What are Whole Foods?
Consume whole foods that are high in fiber and low in sugar such as lean protein (lean beef, chicken, fish, and whey protein), fruits & vegetables (oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, peppers, asparagus, carrots, nuts (almonds, cashews, & walnuts), and whole grains.
Try to minimize processed foods that come in a box or a bag. Instead choose whole grain choices such as whole wheat foods, oatmeals, and vegetables.

You can read the next five here.

[image source]

Humanity's Possible Future: Transhumanists Speak

~C4Chaos has been blogging a bit of late on the transhumanist movement (in honor of Transhumanist Week), so I figured I'd offer up this BBC Horizon video I found at ETTF.net.

Here is the text that was posted with the video:

Meet the scientific prophets who claim we are on the verge of creating a new type of human - a human v2.0.

It’s predicted that by 2029 computer intelligence will equal the power of the human brain. Some believe this will revolutionize humanity - we will be able to download our minds to computers extending our lives indefinitely. Others fear this will lead to oblivion by giving rise to destructive ultra intelligent machines.

One thing they all agree on is that the coming of this moment - and whatever it brings - is inevitable.

And here is the video (which may not be new to those who follow this subject area):

Barack Obama: Destiny's Child?

Rolling Stone has a fairly lengthy piece on Barack Obama, the charismatic candidate many of us hope can show himself worthy of our vote for president.

Destiny's Child

No candidate since Robert F. Kennedy has sparked as much campaign-trail heat as Barack Obama. But can the one-term senator craft a platform to match his charisma?
By BEN WALLACE-WELLS
Shortly after Barack Obama was elected to the United States Senate in 2004, he began residing, Monday through Thursday, in a one-bedroom apartment a few blocks from the Capitol. For a forty-three-year-old man who had been married for thirteen years and who had two young daughters, it was an isolating experience. The building has a yoga studio and a running track and a decidedly own-and-urban view of some ratty rooftops in the city's tiny Chinatown district; its decor, glass and brick, is less U.S. senator than junior management consultant. In his return to bachelor life, Obama found himself "soft and helpless. My first morning in Washington, I realized I'd forgotten to buy a shower curtain and had to scrunch up against the shower wall in order to avoid flooding the bathroom floor." The other new Democrat elected to the Senate that year, Ken Salazar of Colorado, took an apartment in the same building with his brother John, who is himself a congressman; they spent their time watching documentaries about leathery old cowboys on the Western Channel. Obama spent most of his time reading briefing books.

When Obama first got to Washington, he wanted to be a wonk, to keep his head down and concentrate on small issues. "The plan was: Put Illinois first," one of his aides tells me. Obama himself admits that his initial agenda had a "self-conscious" modesty. His early legislative accomplishments have been useful and bipartisan -- he has even sponsored bills with ultraconservative Sen. Tom Coburn, who believes that high school bathrooms breed lesbianism -- but they have been small-scale and off the headlines: a plan to make it easier for citizens to find out about government spending, increased research into ethanol, more job training and tax credits for "responsible fathers." This is the kind of head-down diligence that plays well in the Senate. "I am amazed by his sheer stamina," says Sen. Dick Lugar, a Republican from Indiana who has become something of a mentor to Obama.

But Washington has plenty of wonks, and Obama wasn't going to distinguish himself through diligence alone. He came to the Capitol equipped with his own, swelling celebrity; the Senate was not a perfect fit. Beyond his considerable charm, Obama can be righteous and cocky. He came to Washington pushing the hope that politics could be better -- but now he can give the impression that he'd rather be just about anywhere other than in Washington. "It can be incredibly frustrating," he tells me. "The maneuverings, the chicanery, the smallness of politics here." Listening to a bloviating colleague at his first meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama slipped a three-word note to a member of his staff: "Shoot. Me. Now." On a recent day, as Obama made his way through the Capitol's corridors, his fellow senators seemed like good-natured sportscasters, jolly and easy with their power, bantering about the fortunes of baseball teams in their home states. . Obama is aloof and quiet. He prefers to listen, attentive as a rector, not quite of this world, silently measuring it. "The typical politician pushes himself on people to get them to pay attention," says Frank Luntz, the Republican campaign strategist. "Obama is quieter. He doesn't push -- he has a laid-back feel that pulls you in. That is so rare."

Read the whole article.

Daily Dharma: Suffering

[Garden of Earthly Delights -- click to enlarge]

Tricycle's Daily Dharma: February 10, 2007:

The Truth of Suffering

The essence of the Buddha's message is contained in the Four Noble Truths. The first of these is the truth of suffering.... The Buddha declared that all our experiences of joy, indifference and pain are unsatisfactory. Are not even our greatest mundane pleasures tainted with dissatisfaction? When these pleasures pass away are we not left with unfulfilled longing and discontent? But in spite of this, we tend to cling to the pleasures of life, ignoring our transient nature.....

The suffering we must recognize includes not only the kind we experience at the loss of a loved one, or when we lose our job for example, but also includes the more fundamental conditions of our human experience, namely, aging, sickness, and death.

~ B. Alan Wallace, Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up, from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book.

I feel I want to add that suffering is not the inherent state of all things, but only the result of our egos clinging to desires, wants, and needs. We are all already enlightened, but our egos stand between us and that awareness.

Too many people, I think, hear the First Noble Truth and think that Buddhism is a pessimistic approach to life. Quite the opposite. Buddhism offers us the hope -- and the tools -- to free ourselves from the limited viewpoint of ego attachment, to know ourselves as we already are -- filled with Buddhanature.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Tucson Barbies

A friend sent this to me today in an email -- source unknown. Just so we're clear, this piece deals in stereotypes, so if you are offended by humor that plays off of stereotypes, you might want to skip this post.

And, in the spirit of full disclosure, I live in the Foothills.

Big Sellers in Tucson, Arizona

Mattel recently announced the release of the improved limited-edition Barbie Dolls for the Greater Tucson market:

" Foothills Barbie"
This princess Barbie is sold only at La Encatada Mall. She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade Handbags, a Lexus SUV, a long-haired foreign dog named Honey and a cookie-cutter house. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.

"Northwest Barbie"
The modern day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Wind star Minivan and matching gym outfit. She gets lost easily and has no full-time occupation. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.

"South Tucson Barbie"
This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife,a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a Meth Lab Kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills) .unless you are a cop, then we don't know what you are talking about.

" Oro Valley Barbie"
This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of BMW convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own Starbucks cup, credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won't be able to afford any of them.

"Marana Barbie"
This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans two sizes too small, a NASCAR t-shirt and tweety bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Bud light and a Hank Williams Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Ken's butt when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.

" Midtown Barbie"
This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out of Oro Valley Barbie's house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter-top. Also available with a mobile home.

"Sam Hughes Barbie"
This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow. She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Sam Hughes Barbies and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.

" Tucson Barbie"
This Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include a GED and bus pass. Gangsta Ken and his 1979 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.

" 4th Avenue Barbie/Ken"
This versatile doll can be easily converted from Barbie to Ken by simply adding or subtracting the multiple snap-on parts.