StumbleUpon | OliviaB's blog posts

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Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:35:36 -0800

I am still, weirdly,
unable to rate new sites :
if someone could do this one for me, I will then
be able to save the page in my SU files. Thanks.

some lively comments on the page

responding to the question

What does a Buddhist Monk do on a Bumper Car?

thanx monsieur le clic.

:::

~

Taming the Monkey

The biggest hindrance to our meditation

is constant intrusive thoughts.

This is normal for everyone and from the beginning

you should expect it. The nature of our mind

is to think, and it is childish to imagine

that we can simply turn that process off when we wish to.

Our minds have been almost completely out of control

for most of our life. Recognizing this can help us

to be practical and patient--it may take us some time

and a lot of skillful practice to tame the crazy "monkey mind."

Bob Sharples
"Do the Thoughts Ever Stop?"
Tricycle, Winter 2006

~

:::

http://OliviaB.stumbleupon.com/review/37875662/

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:48:41 -0800

woodblock prints by Jim Meyer
via the great shitao with thanx.
Poems by Li Po.

WOODBLOCK PRINTS

One of the oldest of all forms of printmaking, woodblock prints are made by carving a design into the surface of a flat piece of wood, applying ink to the remaining surface--either by a roller or a brush, and then pressing a piece of paper onto the inked surface.The piece of paper with the ink pressed into it is an original print, a piece of original art.

Color woodblock prints are made either by using a separate block for each color in the print (multi-block prints) or by using the same block for each successive color, but cutting parts of the block away after each color is printed (reduction prints).

WAKING FROM DRUNKENNESS ON A SPRING DAY

" LIFE in the World is but a big dream;

I will not spoil it by any labour or care."

So saying, I was drunk all the day,

Lying helpless at the porch in front of my door.

When I woke up, I blinked at the garden-lawn;

A lonely bird was singing amid the flowers.

I asked myself, had the day been Wet or fine?

The Spring wind was telling the mango-bird.

Moved by its song I soon began to sigh,

And as wine was there I filled my own cup.

Wildly singing I waited for the moon to rise;

When my song was over, all my senses had gone.

SELF-ABANDONMENT

I SAT drinking and did not notice the dusk,

Till falling petals filled the folds of my dress.

Drunken I rose and walked to the moonlit stream;

The birds were gone, and men also few.

IN THE MOUNTAINS ON A SUMMER DAY

Gently I stir a white feather fan,

With open shirt sitting in a green wood.

I take off my cap and hang it on a jutting atone;

A wind from the pine-trees trickles on my bare head.

~ all poems by Li Po

http://OliviaB.stumbleupon.com/review/35843237/

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:54:04 -0700

without darkness, nothing is born

without light, nothing flowers

~ gil's ten year old son ~

b/w image via the wondrous trei with thanx.

http://OliviaB.stumbleupon.com/review/35013280/

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:45:45 -0700

from The New Yorker with thanx.

http://OliviaB.stumbleupon.com/review/34794537/

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:48:42 -0700

I've just got a little el cheapo digital camera
and these are some of my first pics,
taken when I was away recently.
I was on the east coast of Australia,
where it's winter. The pics are at my brother's farm.
I have no idea how to use the camera
so I pretty pleased with the results so far.

my brother's shaving thingy.
It was jus sitting there. I had to snap it.
The bare branches are frangipani.
In summer they will be ablaze with flowers and fragrance.

the sunny kitchen/living room of the converted dairy.

the converted dairy where I stayed just down from the house, above. Peaceful and gorgeous.
Overlooks the paddocks, the river, and the mountains.

a house where my family lived for several years when I was a teenager. At the back is the river.
To do a reccy, we drove in on the crunchy gravel (the memories!), I snapped away, and we vamoosed.

http://OliviaB.stumbleupon.com/review/34569865/

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:33:32 -0700

just back from my travels and having a nice cup of tea.

The relatives exhausted me. Hard yakka but really great.

http://OliviaB.stumbleupon.com/review/34324453/

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:33:55 -0700

http://OliviaB.stumbleupon.com/review/34184271/

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:20:38 -0700

~

Effort Creates Energy

Effort creates energy.

This is a principle in the practice of meditation, which is also true in life.

But often we think just the opposite -- we think we need energy to make effort.

If you're really tired and you go out and exercise, how do you feel at the end?

Generally we feel quite energized by it because we've made the effort.

In exactly the same way when sloth and torpor are present,

when we make the effort -- through careful noting, through adding more objects, adding more touch-points --

the effort creates the energy and we become more wakeful.

~ Joseph Goldstein ~

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Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:41:14 -0700

:::

cartoons from The
New Yorker Magazine
June 9, 2009, with thanks.

http://OliviaB.stumbleupon.com/review/33225901/

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:23:01 -0700

the five hindrances

Brief Introduction to the Five Hindrances

The Five Hindrances are the major forces in the mind that hinder our ability to see clearly or become concentrated. They are universal obstacles, we all experience them. They are familiar states that come up regularly, not just when we are meditating.

They are:

1. Sensual desire or greed
2. Ill-will or Aversion
3. Sloth and Torpor
4. Restlessness, Anxiety and Remorse
5. Doubt