Monday, January 29, 2007

R'n'R

Granny just had ten days in respite. I picked her up earlier and brought her home, she was happy to see me, happy to leave and tells me she had a happy time. Unpacking her stuff I found the following letter, to me, entitled 'What is going on?'

'How dare you manipulate me - sending me off as you have done so. I am utterly furious treating me as if I am a bloody imbecile. Why? All expenses incurred by my stay away will be paid by you. Don't you, for one moment, think that I have gone gugga - what have you been doing in my house whilst I have been away? I don't think I want you living with me any more.
You must have a conscience, otherwise you would have consulted me.
Never in my life have I had to experience the state of mind that I am in at the moment.
G'

Always nice to be appreciated.
The great Tao flows everywhere.
All things are born from it,
yet it doesn't create them.
It pours itself into its work,
yet it makes no claim.
It nourishes infinite worlds,
yet it doesn't hold on to them.
Since it is merged with all things
and hidden in their hearts,
it can be called humble.
Since all things vanish into it
and it alone endures,
it can be called great.
It isn't aware of its greatness;
thus it is truly great.

Posted by Patrick at 4:51 PM | | Comments

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Pillars of Existence

Kindness or cruelty...

I hear Granny as she's travelling the stairs, 'you've taken my cat away and I don't know why', she's crying. I took the cat back to the cat's protection league, where she came from last month. It came in this morning, it hadn't been here since sunday.

Granny was getting used to it not being around. She looked out of the window on getting up and said, 'well, she'll have to go back, she's not a loving cat.' I was downstairs opening the front door to let it in. Granny saw her as she headed up the stairs, 'hello darling, aren't you a beautiful puss-cat.' And promptly forgot all that had gone before, all the anguish, the worried phonecalls, the visits to the neighbours and the visits of the neighbours.

She knows now that it has gone. She's not sure where, and she has no clue why. I'm cruel because I have taken away her favourite, most loved possession. She wanted to give it another week to see how it went, 'oh darling, what nonsense, look how happy she is, she wouldn't just go off like that, she never has before.'


Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.
If you realize that you have enough,
you are truly rich.
If you stay in the centre
and embrace death with your whole heart,
you will endure forever.

Posted by Patrick at 1:31 PM | | Comments

Near Wild Heaven

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree
Where Alph the sacred river ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea





It's tough not knowing where you are when the world changes. The world has changed in having to try to understand the change in behaviour of her cat. It is still ongoing. She doesn't know where it is, what it is doing, when it will come back. All she has is the vaguest notion of the last time she saw it confused with the possibilities of what may happen to her in the near future, or whether it already has. It's a whirlwind of possibles with a lack of definites, a strange sensation for anyone. Try to work it out with no memory of your memories, no comprehension of time.

Old people are old because they are tough. They're tough because they've dealt with everything before. They dealt with everything before because they had to. These days the body often lives longer than the full function of the brain that controls it, and vice versa. They don't need to be felt sorry for or patronised. They need to be helped.



The Tao can't be perceived.
Smaller than an electron,
it contains uncountable galaxies.
If powerful men and women
could remain centred in the Tao,
all things would be in harmony.
The world would become a paradise.
All people would be at peace,
and the law would be written in their hearts.
When you have names and forms,
know that they are provisional.
When you have institutions,
know where their functions should end.
Knowing when to stop,
you can avoid any danger.
All things end in the Tao
as rivers flow into the sea.

Posted by Patrick at 12:23 AM | | Comments

Friday, January 12, 2007

Motion

Health and Safety
barriers added since this sign was posted
--------
People simply can't be trusted not to throw themselves off a moving ferry, Hollywood style. Surely not?
the poet wrote...
Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent men detest them.
Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled,
will use them
only with the utmost restraint.
Peace is his highest value.
If the peace has been shattered,
how can he be content?
His enemies are not demons,
but human beings like himself.
He doesn't wish them personal harm.
Nor does he rejoice in victory.
How could he rejoice in victory
and delight in the slaughter of men?
He enters a battle gravely,
with sorrow
and with great compassion,
as if he were attending a funeral.

Posted by Patrick at 12:35 AM | | Comments

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

El Gatto

'She must be shut in somewhere'.
'No Granny, she's a young cat, she prefers to be out.'
'Well why hasn't she done this before?'

[repeat on loop until midnight or the cat returns, whichever is sooner, inserting variation according to preference or immediate circumstance]

Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men
doesn't try to force issues
or defeat enemies by force of arms.
For every force there is a counterforce.
Violence, even well intentioned,
always rebounds upon oneself.

The Master does his job and then stops.
He understands that the universe is forever out of control,
and that trying to dominate events
goes against the current of the Tao.
Because he believes in himself,
he doesn't try to convince others.
Because he is content with himself,
he doesn't need others' approval.
Because he accepts himself,
the whole world accepts him.

Posted by Patrick at 8:32 PM | | Comments

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Circle of Life

as the sun setssomewhere else it is rising
'She's never done this before.' The cat is out again and has been for a little while. All I can do is wait, distract her, and when she puts her face in her hands just explain again that she'll be back in soon, that she isn't a helpless creature and that she'll be in soon.
'I don't like her being out in the night time, I can't just sit here like this.' She goes upstairs to get her coat - she wants to go to all the neighbours, 'she must be shut in somewhere'. I calm her down again, change her mind about going out.
She goes into the kitchen, I can hear her muttering and suppressed crying, 'oh dear, where are you darling,' and those short out-breaths she does when upset. There's no comforting her beyond the instant, ten seconds and and the thoughts return. It was the same last night, but Granny doesn't remember. Within five seconds of seeing the cat she won't remember that it was out all that time, and it won't have been very long anyway.
Have I written this before? 'I don't remember ever doing that'.
chapter 29 ('the days pass very quickly, I have my pusscat, we love our animals')...

Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.
The world is sacred.
It can't be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.
There is a time for being ahead,
a time for being behind;
a time for being in motion,
a time for being at rest;
a time for being vigorous,
a time for being exhausted;
a time for being safe,
a time for being in danger.
The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the centre of the circle.

Posted by Patrick at 8:39 PM | | Comments

Monday, January 08, 2007

Interested in the interest


He rings up to ensure his legacy
Not caring for the source
Wanting to 'help', no
Because his mistrust is all he knows
It's not who she is, it is what she'll leave behind.
Take away the pea and capitalise
Yet who am I to judge?

Know the male, yet keep to the female:
receive the world in your arms.
If you receive the world,
the Tao will never leave you
and you will be like a little child.
Know the white, yet keep to the black:
be a pattern for the world.
If you are a pattern for the world,
the Tao will be strong inside you
and there will be nothing you can't do.

Know the personal,
yet keep to the impersonal:
accept the world as it is.
If you accept the world,
the Tao will be luminous inside you
and you will return to your primal self.

The world is formed from the void,
like utensils from a block of wood.
The Master knows the utensils,
yet keeps to the the block:
thus she can use all things.

Posted by Patrick at 7:43 PM | | Comments

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

The Masterplan


Take the time to make some sense - Of what you want to say - And cast your words away upon the waves - Bring them back with acquiesce - On a ship of hope today - And as they land upon the shore - Tell them not to fear no more - Say it loud and sing it proud - And they... Will dance if they want to dance - Please brother take a chance - You know they're gonna go - Which way they wanna go - All we know is that we dont know - What is gonna be - Please brother let it be - Life on the other hand won't let you understand - Why were all part of the masterplan

(Oasis, part of 'The Masterplan', Noel Gallagher, 1995)


(That's worth a listen if you're not familiar with it.)

The poet wrote the following, two chapters today...

The heavy is the root of the light.
The unmoved is the source of all movement.
Thus the Master travels all day without leaving home.
However splendid the views, she stays serenely in herself.
Why should the lord of the country flit about like a fool?
If you let yourself be blown to and fro,
you lose touch with your root.
If you let restlessness move you,
you lose touch with who you are.

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.

Thus the Master is available to
all people and doesn't reject anyone.
He is ready to use all situations
and doesn't waste anything.
This is called embodying the light.
What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?
What is a bad man but a good man's job?
If you don't understand this,
you will get lost, however intelligent you are.
It is the great secret.

Posted by Patrick at 11:20 PM | | Comments