tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7296606518210633585.post312229617212871908..comments2024-02-06T22:19:13.028-08:00Comments on Mining Aśvaghoṣa's Gold: SAUNDARANANDA 15.60: Making of Ends vs Flowing of LifebloodMike Crosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12712396374023835678noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7296606518210633585.post-32343344241363465912009-12-23T11:27:28.728-08:002009-12-23T11:27:28.728-08:00Hi Tallis,
First up, hearty congratulations on t...Hi Tallis, <br /><br />First up, hearty congratulations on the birth of your new baby. <br /><br />You must be a sucker for punishment, reading all my endless ramblings. The "less is more" principle is one I seem slow to pick up on. But thank you for listening. <br /><br />I quoted the gist of your comment to my wife and elder son, who is back from university for the holidays, and, sad to report, was met by loud groaning and vomiting noises. <br /><br />In the past I have been totally susceptible to being told how great my efforts are. That, more than anything, was how Gudo Nishijima kept me in Japan working for him all those years. He kept on telling me how great my efforts were -- until the pendulum swang the other way and he started calling me a non-Buddhist and telling me to stop disturbing true Buddhism with "Alexander theory"! <br /><br />What I do see more clearly -- and I was seeing it just now while sitting, after going for a swim with the missus -- is that the way to peace lies in giving up ideas like how great I might be. Ashvaghosha's descriptions of the four dhyanas, which I have been re-reading with a view to making a start on Canto 17 in the New Year, start to make more and more sense in that light, especially the description of the first dhyana as having ideas (vitarka-vat), and the second dhyana as having the joy and ease that follows from giving up ideas. <br /><br />Congratulations again, and thanks.<br /><br />MikeMike Crosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12712396374023835678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7296606518210633585.post-16738172070939046012009-12-23T08:39:36.713-08:002009-12-23T08:39:36.713-08:00Mike,
I very much appreciate your work. (I’ve al...Mike, <br /><br />I very much appreciate your work. (I’ve almost finished reading your past posts on this and your other sites. There is a lot here/there!) On the subject of death – you are probably going to have to die before people notice your true greatness. Does that help stop end-gaining – accepting that you’ll be dead when it all comes to fruition? Maybe not. (If you die before me, which is likely since you are fifteen years my senior, I’ll do my best to tell ‘them’ about you.) <br /><br />I suppose for now though I should just say Merry Christmas to you. (and Happy Birthday!) <br /><br />TallisTallis Graysonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11409977278753480635noreply@blogger.com