The Zen of Rapping (2 Chainz)

Boo and Tee, recorded and edited by CC Liu and Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

Mysterious sign in Macau that may read "No photos" or "This way to WC" (Evs_in_Nz)

   

Dragon incense bowl (Evs_in_Nz)

"Everything hot, skip lukewarm. Tell Shorty, Bust it open, Uncle Luke on. Got a present for the present and a gift rappin'. I don't feel good, but my trigger happy. Like the stripper happy. Like they wish they had me. And I wish a [brutha] would like a kitchen cabinet. And me and you are cut from a different fabric. I ain't feeling so good, it's a bad habit. [Sista], sit down! You got a bad atti'. Gave her the wrong number and a bad addy. You ain't going nowhere, like a bad navi'. [Back] so big, I told her look back at it, look back at it, look back at it. Then I put a fat rabbit on her Craftmatic..."

• The "wacky" pot law that faltered in Oregon (ABC)
• Colorado, Washington await Fed response to new pot laws
• VIDEO: 2Chainz "Birthday" and "I'm Different" live
• VIDEO: "The History of the Internet" (The Onion)
• VIDEO: Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness" (on drugs)

Zen: The way to meditate is not to meditate

Zen (absorption) meditation (Jennifer Clark)

Amber: What in the samsara is going on here? Why are you two quoting Zen Master 2 Chainz like he's dispensing koans?

Boo and Tee: It's our meditation! "Im Diffrent."

Amber: How in the world is that meditation?

Boo and Tee: You and Seven say, "The way to meditate is not to mediate." What better way not to meditate than to listen to rap?

Amber: That's not what that means! Zen teaches... [listen to an expert explanation by Alan Watts: PLAY]. Seven, let's explain this to them.
 

Amber and Seven: Zen Buddhism teaches people to BE HERE NOW. Where else can you be, if you really think about it?

Boo: I have to be here, don't I?

A&S: Do you?

Tee:  No, no, I can go somewhere else!

A&S: Then where would you be?

Boo and Tee: Uhhh...

A&S: Here would be there, and you'd be here. 

Boo: Why?

A&S: Because wherever you are, there you are!

Tee: WTF?

A&S: Where are you, Tee?

Tee: Right here.

Amber: And if we go over there and I ask you, "Where are you, Tee," then where are you?

Tee: Over there? No, right here! It depends where you ask me.

Amber: Does it?

Tee: Doesn't it? 

Seven: No, you always are where you are. And that's always here. Not here-here, but wherever "here" happens to be at the time.

Boo: I get it. [Explains it to Tee.]

Amber: *Laughing*
 

Seven: Of course, most of us aren't here even while we're here, in spite of the fact that we have nowhere else to be. That's the point.
A&S: That's why in yoga we constantly remind yogis, BE HERE NOW.

Tee: Where else would you be? Where else could you be?

A&S: We're wading back to the past or swimming toward the future like misguided salmon. [It's a space-time thing; we're here in space but not in time.] Sometimes we're trying to rush downstream, down the falls instead of holding still or struggling up. Down is easy. Just do nothing and the stream will take you down.

In the same way, meditation is easy because it is just not doing, not struggling, not striving and, most importantly, not getting in the way or flagging. But in a way it is something: preparing the soil, cultivating it, so that something can grow. And what grows is calm-collected-concentration to zen (jhana), that is, to absorption. This happens by paying constant attention to a single object.

In other words, "The way to meditate is not to meditate." Is not to "try," not to force, not to struggle, not to doze off, not to think, not to drop attention from the object, but just place it there and leave it there and STAY right there. Stay with it instead of going away to something "more interesting." BE HERE NOW. What could be more interesting than right here right now?

Tee: Anything else at any other time. Naw, I feel ya.

Boo: *Giggling*

Boo and Tee: Can? Wait. Can..? Wait. That makes sense.

A&S: It does? Then we should follow our own advice.

Boo and Tee: Don't you?

A&S: I for one think too much. Me, too. But you guys can just drop things, just not think, just "concentrate" -- sequester the mind/heart/attention -- on a single thing so there's nothing else. It's not nothing. It's one thing and one thing only, like the subtle breath at the nostril when the mind is quiet or watching. Or a dot on the wall or a mantra or a candle flame... So the mind can rest and blossom and do what we can't do with it. We can't concentrate, but the mind/heart can, and a concentrated mind can do anything. Like in that scene from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when they're out of control on that all black spaceship. They get it under control by stopping trying to control it. They've just come from the Restaurant at the End of the Universe and realize that it has a far better idea of where they are going, as they time travel (like we are doing right now), than they do. Let go and let Brahman. Trust in the Universe. Karma is not mocked. It's like so many Judeo-Christian terms tweaked slightly to return them to a meaning they once conveyed.
 

What has rap come to? French Montana (with surprise guest P Diddy) live

at the Key Club, CA, Dec. 1, 2012. The crackling sound is our ear drums.

Read More

Future Dangers (sutra)

Wisdom Quarterly translation (Anagata Bhayani Sutras)

Time bells and Buddhas in Borobudur, Indonesia (H. Koppdelaney/H-K-D/Flickr.com)

  
Monastics, there are five future dangers. They are enough, when considered, for one living apart -- heedful, ardent, determined -- to live well. So one will attain the unattained, reach the unreached, realize the unrealized. What are the five?

    

1. At present I am young, dark-haired, endowed with the blessings of youth, in the prime (first stage) of life. 

  

But a time will come when this body will be beset by old age. Overcome with old age and decay, it is difficult to pay attention to the Buddha's teachings. It is difficult to reside isolated, withdrawn.

   

Before this unwelcome, disagreeable, displeasing thing happens, let me make an effort for the attaining the unattained, reaching of the unreached, realizing unrealized so that -- endowed with that Dharma -- I will live in peace even when old. This is the first future danger.

  

2. One reminds oneself, At present I am free from disease and discomfort, endowed with strong digestion. But a time will come when this body will be beset with some illness. When one is overcome with illness, it is difficult to pay attention to the Buddha's teachings....
    
Before this unwelcome, disagreeable, displeasing thing happens, let me make an effort for the attaining the unattained, reaching of the unreached, realizing unrealized so that -- endowed with that Dharma -- I will live in peace even when ill. This is the second future danger.

   

Famine

Famine strikes everywhere (mtholyoke.edu)

3. One reminds oneself, At present food is plentiful and alms are easy to come by. It is easy to maintain oneself by gleanings and patronage. But a time will come when there is famine: Food is scarce, alms are hard to come by, and it is not easy to maintain oneself. When there is famine, people will congregate where food is plentiful. There they will live struggling crowded together.

   

When one is living crowded together, it is not easy to pay attention to the Buddha's teachings. It is not easy to reside isolated, withdrawn. Before this unwelcome, disagreeable, displeasing thing happens, let me first make an effort to attain, reach, and realize the unrealized so that -- endowed with that Dharma -- I will live in peace even when there is famine. This is the third future danger.

   

Savage groups invade other countries (TV.com)

4. One reminds oneself, At present people are in harmony, on friendly terms, free of quarreling, mixing like milk and water, viewing one another with affectionate eyes. But a time will come when there is an invasion by savage groups. Taking power they will surround the country. Due to this, people will congregate where it is safe. There they will live struggling crowded together.

  

When one is crowded together, it is difficult to pay attention to the Buddha's teachings. It is difficult to reside isolated, withdrawn. Before this unwelcome, disagreeable, displeasing thing happens, let me first make an effort to attain, reach, and realize the unrealized so that -- endowed with that Dharma -- I will live in peace even when there is an invasion. This is the fourth future danger.

   

5. One reminds oneself, At present the community (Sangha) lives in harmony, is on friendly terms, is free of quarreling, abiding in comfort with a single recitation (of the rules of self-discipline). But a time will come when the community splits.

  

When it is split, it is difficult to pay attention to the Buddha's teachings. It is difficult to reside isolated, withdrawn. Before this unwelcome, disagreeable, displeasing thing happens, let me first make an effort to attain, reach, and realize the unrealized so that -- endowed with that Dharma -- I will live in peace even when the community is split. This is the fifth future danger.
   

These are just enough, when considered, for one -- heedful, ardent, and determined -- to live for attaining the unattained, reaching the unreached, realizing the unrealized.

   

Five further future dangers

In search of solitude (presscluboftibet.org)

1. One reminds oneself, I am now living alone, secluded, in the wilderness where a snake may bite me, a scorpion sting me, a crawling thing pierce me. And I would die. This death would be an obstruction for me. So let me make an effort for the attainment, reaching, and realization of what is yet to be realized [for the sake of wisdom and liberation]. This is the first future danger.

  

2. One reminds oneself, I am now living alone, secluded, in the wilderness where

• I might fall,
• Improperly digested food might afflict me,
• Bile might be aggravated,
• Phlegm might be aggravated,
• Piercing bodily winds might be aggravated.

And I would die. This death would be an obstruction for me. So I should strive and put forth effort for attaining, reaching, and realizing what is yet to be realized. This is the second future danger.

  

3. One reminds oneself, I am now living alone, secluded, in the wilderness where vicious beasts might attack. And I would die. This death would be an obstruction for me. So let me make an effort for attaining, reaching, and realizing what is yet to be realized. This is the third future danger.

  

4. One reminds oneself, I am now living alone, secluded, in the wilderness where I might run into youthful thugs bent on crime. And I would die. This death would be an obstruction for me. So let me make an effort for attaining, reaching, and realizing what is yet to be realized. This is the fourth future danger.

  

5. One reminds oneself, I am now living alone, secluded, in the wilderness where there are vicious [nonhuman, spirit] beings that might attack. And I would die. This death would be an obstruction for me. So let me make an effort for attaining, reaching, and realizing what is yet to be realized. This is the fifth future danger.

    

Yet another five future dangers

Could the military-banking elite ruin the 99%?

[The Buddha taught:] Five dangers will arise in the future. Remain alert to them, and strive to get rid of them. What five? 
   
1. In the future there will be monastics who are undeveloped in skillful conduct, virtue, mind (heart), and wisdom. They will fully ordain as monastics others yet will be unable to discipline them in terms of higher virtue, higher mind, and higher wisdom. They, too, will remain undeveloped in skillful conduct, virtue, mind, and wisdom.

From corrupt Dharma comes corrupt discipline; from corrupt discipline comes corrupt Dharma. This, disciples, is the first danger that will arise in the future. Be alert to it, and work to get rid of it.
   

2. In the future there will be monastics undeveloped in skillful conduct, undeveloped in virtue, undeveloped in mind, undeveloped in wisdom. They will take on students yet will be unable to discipline them in higher virtue, mind, and wisdom.

They, too, will be undeveloped in skillful conduct, virtue, mind, and wisdom. They will take on students yet will be unable to discipline them in higher virtue, mind, and wisdom. They, too, will remain undeveloped in skillful conduct, virtue, mind, and wisdom.

   

From corrupt Dharma comes corrupt discipline, and from corrupt discipline comes corrupt Dharma. This, disciples, is the second danger that will arise in the future. Be alert to it, and work to get rid of it.

  

Next time, a bigger pretext for war?

3. In the future there will be monastics undeveloped in skillful conduct, virtue, mind, and wisdom who, when giving a talk on higher Dharma or a discourse of questions and answers, will fall into dark mental states without being aware of it. 

From corrupt Dharma comes corrupt discipline, and from corrupt discipline comes corrupt Dharma. This, disciples, is the third danger that will arise in the future. Be alert to it, and work to get rid of it.

4. In the future there will be monastics undeveloped in skillful conduct, virtue, mind, and wisdom. They will not listen when discourses (sutras) composed of the Tathagata's words -- deep, profound, transcendent, impersonal -- are being recited.

They will not lend ear, will not set their hearts on knowing, will not regard these teachings as worth grasping or mastering.

   

But they will listen when literary works -- works of poets, elegant in sound and rhetoric, the work of outside teachers, words of disciples -- are recited as discourses.

   

They will lend ear and set their hearts on knowing them. They will regard these teachings as worth grasping and mastering. 

   

From corrupt Dharma comes corrupt discipline, and from corrupt discipline comes corrupt Dharma. This, disciples, is the fourth danger that will arise in the future. Be alert to it, and work to get rid of it.

   

Reflecting lay life  (Woutertje010/flickr.com)

5. In the future there will be monastics undeveloped in skillful conduct, virtue, mind, and wisdom. They will become monastic elders (theras) living in luxury, lethargic, foremost in falling back, shirking the duties of solitude and (mental and physical) withdrawal.
  

They will fail to make an effort to attain the unattained, reach the unreached, realizing the unrealized. They will become an example for later generations, who will become luxurious in their living, lethargic, foremost in falling back, shirking the duties of solitude and withdrawal, who will fail to make an effort to attain the unattained, reach the unreached, realize the unrealized. 

From corrupt Dharma comes corrupt discipline, and from corrupt discipline comes corrupt Dharma. This, disciples, is the fifth danger that will arise in the future. Be alert to it, and work to get rid of it.

  

These are the five dangers that will arise in the future. Be alert to them, and work to get rid of them.

Read More

When Things Fall Apart: A Middle Way

Pema Chodron, "Widening the Circle of Compassion" (When Things Fall Apart, pp. 81-83)

"Things were going like this in my life" (Wisdom Quarterly/Conscious Life Expo, LAX Hilton)

  

(Pema Chodron)

Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with an open heart and the willingness not to instantly try to get ground under our feet. 

  

For instance, if what we're feeling is rage, we usually assume that there are only two ways to relate to it. One is to blame others. Lay it all on somebody else; drive all blames into everyone else. The other alternative is to feel guilty about our rage and blame ourselves.

  

Blame is a way in which we solidify ourselves. Not only do we point the finger when something is "wrong," but we also want to make things "right." 

  

Not being right, not being wrong, but just being with what is -- it's an amazing way to be!

   
In any relationship that we stick with -- be it marriage or parenthood, employment, a spiritual community, or whatever -- we may also find that we want to make it "righter" than it is, because we're a little nervous.

   

Maybe it isn't exactly living up to our standards, so we justify it and justify it and try to make it extremely right. We tell everybody that our husband or wife or child or teacher or support group is doing some sort of peculiar antisocial thing for good spiritual reasons.

   

Or we come up with some dogmatic belief and hold on to it with a vengeance, again to solidify our ground. We have some sense that we have to make things right according to our standards. If we just can't stick with a situation any longer, then it goes over the edge and we make it wrong because we think that's our only alternative. Something's right or something's wrong.

A Middle Way

"It wasn't until the teachings touched my heart."

Instead of making others right or wrong, or bottling up right and wrong in ourselves, there's a middle way, a very powerful middle way.

   

We could see it as sitting on the razor's edge, not falling off to the right or the left. This middle way involves not hanging on to our version so tightly. It involves keeping our hearts and minds open long enough to entertain the idea that when we make things wrong, we do it out of a desire to obtain some kind of ground or security. 

  

Equally, when we make things right, we are still trying to obtain some kind of ground or security. Could our minds and our hearts be big enough just to hang out in that space where we're not entirely certain about who's right and who's wrong?
  

Could we have no agenda when we walk into a room with another person, not know what to say, not make that person wrong or right?

  

Could we see, hear, feel other people as they really are?

  

It is powerful to practice this way, because we'll find ourselves continually rushing around to try to feel secure again -- to make ourselves or them either right or wrong. But true communication can happen only in that open space.

Read More