[MD] philosophers stone

[Heather Perella]

SA previously:
> >What do you mean, Marsha, a lot of
> "flip-flopping"?  The author or 
> >history itself?


Marsha:
> I meant the history.  Busy little analytical beavers they
> were.  I wonder if they had families and walks in the woods.


SA:  Nice.  Exactly.  And I wonder why the flip-flopping.  Sounds like a lot of indecision.  A culture unsettled.  A civilization unsettled and not clear minded.  I would say much of this indecision has to do with a lack of something to practice that sustains a natural inclination of mystical proportions/significance.  The christian church has its' scriptures and rituals, but they have become very objective and that was one reason why I kept on reading Buddhism when first introduced to it.  Buddhism was attractive due to a simple practice of meditation at the heart of enlightenment/realization/expansion of consciousness.  It was something I could easily do.  Same with the attraction of shamanistic, vision quest practices of old, which teach one how to understand anger and fear so these nightmares don't control you, the vision quest is all about patiently waiting out the fear, going through the fear, knowing that once you ride out that storm peace and a
 clear vision of life will be revealed.  I could easily do these things - just go in the woods and life will reveal itself.  
     I would read the Bible and couldn't find a practice that would help me love my neighbor.  Great ideas in the Bible, with great doings, but how to cultivate these ways.  Jesus is said to have gone into the wilderness and faced the devil's temptations just as Buddha did.  Was it the simple experience of being in the wilderness?  Jesus did have the scriptures and old people to help teach him the philosophy of their spirituality.  That's about as close as Christianity has come to any stable practice that can be ritualized by any one person to achieve enlightenment (the suggestion that the experience of the wilderness, being alone, such as Moses in the desert).  Another long lived ritual is prayer.  Yet, what does one do in the wilderness?  What does one do during prayer?  Not just asking God to do this or that, but what does the human do.  If anything mythology teaches us that something profound goes on in our experience and it is full of tests,
 challenges, and subtle occurrences.  If we simply walk in the woods and pray is that it?  Know the scriptures?  Buddhism discusses emotions, right thought, and suggests not only how, but what happens during the how and gives detail courses of action.  It's as if the wisdom is in Christianity and other western religions, but the teachings have been lost.  This is probably why so many could read the scriptures through western history, but had a very difficult time putting them into practice.  A daily stable practice to cut into the day and keep the focus sustained was missing in the lives of everyday people.  This is also why westerns find Tai-Chi or other Eastern practices so amazing.  It is the incorporation of wise teachings into exercises that many people look at these eastern practices and right away think how spiritual those ways are.  Muslims have incorporated the prayer to Mecca (what is it - 5 times a day?) no matter where they are.  It's a
 practice to help stabilize and sustain their spiritual life.  The practices of fasting for a month once a year in Islam.  Maybe this is what you find attractive about coven?  The rituals throughout the year centered on natural events so the circle is completed in our lives during different times of the year.  I found the Bible answers why a lot, which seems to be western culture in general, but the eastern philosophies answer how.  Nothing wrong at the core with any of these, as far as I can see.  It was that moment in my life when I wanted to know how and what to practice to help sustain a good spirit that Buddhism was providing, and eventually Zen points this very event out.  That's how Zen was started in the first place.  It's what Zen is all about.  Zen points at the moment of enlightenment of Buddha, the sitting and zazening, and so you have people like Dogen saying "Just sit".  I know just sitting isn't the final story as Dwai or somebody once
 pointed out to me, and we all know Dogen didn't mean "Just sit" - there is much meaning in this context of "just sitting" that is to be realized.  We can all understand that.  Dogen and Zen is pointing out the ordinariness that spirituality is, an ordinariness as significant as the sun rising each morning.  It's tremendous.

    Does the author of that introduction suggest or point out anything in reference to this discontent of western civilization?  It probably would help if I read the introduction, sounds very interesting.  I'm currently reading, as everybody probably figured out by now, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", which has been suggested here on this forum and I've read some of Campbell's other books in the past, but now it seems I have the time to start reading more of the books that have been suggested on this forum.  What some people write here is very lovely and revealing and some of the books they've suggested surely encouraged them, so, by reading some of what people have suggested here would be the same as learning more about where those people suggesting such books are coming from.  I do have new priorities and sometimes I work as fast as turtle, but I'm slowly gettin' to some things.


crickets in the evening,
SA