GrandmasterP

Big Salaams Aayla Secura and welcome to TTB.

It will be nice to have an informed Moslem perspective on here.

 

I'd be astonished if he was actually practicing Zen.

 

Buddhists don't do stuff like that.

 

Especially Zen Buddhists!

No disrespect to your good self or the Sangha bro and I have the deepest respect for Dogen & Zen in general.

However Zen Buddhism, especially in the west has a shady history of scandal, coercion and abuse amongst some prominent Zennists.

Compared to other branches of Buddhism Zen does not 'score well' on safety and protection issues.

There's been a commission investigating what to do to address these issues set up by the main Zen groups.

That continues its work.

More via this link, it makes sad reading.....

http://www.darkzen.org/articles/uszen3.htm

 

if you know the origin you will know the true sound

Hum?

On topic....

How about...

Numinous

Great ideas guys.

I have done QiGong.

Sent mental biddings to the rats.

Been at one with the rats of a night when I think they were scurrying about.

Thing is this is a really old house with massive oak beams downstairs and Norfolk reed ceilings plus wattle and daub plaster in places so it creaks and makes noises on its own.

We have a cat and three dogs all indoors at night.

The cat was a great mouser at the other house but the dogs are Cockers so not natural ratters.

They've barely barked of a night, possibly taking the noises for granted or getting the hang of the place.

We've been in nine weeks and it's still new to all of us.

What seemed to have worked so far ( fingers crossed) is packing an air brick under the sink unit with yards of steel mesh screwed up to totally fill the space but still let air in.

For the little sods can get through that they'll need wire cutters.

That seemed to be the main entry and exit as there was lots of poo in the area plus they had dragged down some sponge from under the sink, also a cloth, a carrier bag and a wire pan scourer.

Maybe they were getting set to do some washing up!

The plinth at the base under that unit is clipped on so I can pop it off to check and see if it remains clear.

I really don't want to use the poison or those traps.

That would be an absolute last resort for me.

Excellent topic.

One of the possibly justifiable critiques of Mindfulness is that some companies introduced it not so much for the benefits of the staff but for the company to mould a quiescent workforce.

The theory being that Mindful employees are potentially less likely to challenge company policy.

For example not agitating as much for improved pay or working conditions.

I taught Mindfulness as part of my old job but within a 'Coaching and Mentoring' award route.

That awareness of possibly negative aspects comes up in the Mindfulness literature from time to time.

I generally avoid trying to tie a word to "the ineffable" but, when I do, I often use a train of related terms from a variety of traditions to illustrate that the concept is found to varying degrees in many cultures & traditions throughout time. As a short-hand for myself, though, I sometimes use "Light" or "that-which-is."

Same here 'ineffable' isn't used much here in the UK in spoken conversation but you'll sometimes see it in print.

We've a thing about 'in' prefixes.

'Inflammable' was changed to 'flammable' because some folks thought inflammable meant fireproof.

Hence ''ineffable' might imply..

' cannot be effed'.

Many things are 'effed' in general colloquial English conversation.

'Effing' this, 'effing that'.

For example...

" I have effing rats in my kitchen."

Just found the equivalent of one of those underneath the kitchen sink unit.

Total rat play area.

Flooring guy took off the bottom unit panel and we found out where the little critters are getting in and out.

There's NO flippin' floor around the sink waste at all.

Found a dish cloth that the little sods had dragged down there.

Tonight is for cleaning out all the mess and wire meshing all and everything I can get to.

Floor guy will pour screed down there tomorrow and hopefully once that sets solid that will seal up any access.

Man, those rats are persistent little beggars and no mistake.

Word to the wise colleagues.

Never ever buy an ancient property.

Om or is it Aum?

I have a little medallion from India with that engraved on.

Kudos and Merit.

Acording to Taoist teachings, one's purpose should be to reach a state where all earthly attachements are gonne, to become a void. If so, after reaching said state, what's left? Just peace? How is someone who has done it?

Their final blazon, and to prove

Our almost-instinct almost true:

What will survive of us is love.

( Larkin)

I'm pretty squeamish about using traps and poison, not faced up to doing it yet.

Will see how we get on.

Nothing gnawed since those sponges.

I hope I found where it was getting in under the eaves and have blocked that hole off with wire mesh but time will tell.

Have given the cat a pep talk and promised extra treats if she scares any further the critters away from in the house.

I have no issues with the beasties being outdoors but not inside.

At the old place we had a cat flap so puss went in and out at night.

She's cabinned up in here with us at night at the moment and back to using her cat litter.

Those moderators sure sound to be a tough ( albeit inclusive) crowd.

I shall be more careful how I post in future.

Monkey Magic was one of the best TV shows ever IMO.

Circuit board in and, so far so good.

Power has stayed on.

Possibly rats nibbled through some wires.

We've heard a couple these past nights so sure to be more.

One in the loft for sure and last night I heard a big one behind a kitchen unit false wall.

Had wondered why the washing up,sponge appeared gnawed.

There were bits of sponge all over under the sink.

Cat can't get in there so I've bought a couple of traps today.

Not looking forward to using those but what else to do?

Man this place just keeps on giving!

To an extent there are drivers towards accomplishment' in the world of work.

There was a motto in my old job that went...

"Publish or perish."

The expectation was that every year active academics would have at least one learned paper published in a relevant journal.

There were funding implications for the university.

The fewer papers published the lower the grant income from central government.

The idea was to keep standards up and discourage laziness.

Having to accomplish something to meet a target can be a bind whereas accomplishing something for oneself is far more satisfying IMO.

That doesn't have to be a big thing either but the rewards of personal satisfaction far outweigh the relief felt from getting a job accomplished at work that one had to do 'or else!'.

Dogs have owners.

Cats have staff.

+1 Stosh.

It's easier to be 'spiritual' and in the zone when everything is secure and going well.

Things like flat tyres or floods , illness or upset can soon shake our spiritual foundations even if only during the time when things aren't going too well.

Thanks for the suggestions guys and also to Jeff and Manitou for good wishes and rituals sent.

We may get a multi fuel stove fitted.

I don't like open fires much at all to messy and also a bit risky in a basically timber framed house IMO.

I'm the same with candles.

Mrs GMP loves 'em but they make me uneasy.

Needs must though if the power goes down.

Electrician due again tomorrow to fit a new circuit board to replace the ancient fuse box.

All good fun.

I had impacted wisdom teeth both sides of my bottom jaw and they were jolly painful.

I was in mid twenties when they started bothering me.

Never quite 'through' the gum which was sore both sides and one became abscessed.

Had them out ( separately with six months between ) and it was jolly painful both times but great relief afterwards.

We're on mains for water and sewage and, so far; no problems with either.

We had a water meter installed for ease of access and a new stop cock.

They don't charge for those and as there's only two of us, at the old place it was cheaper metered than non-metered so we had one there as well.

Water comes in, sewage goes away.

Hopefully it'll stay that way.

Bleddy awful two days with no power for some of the time and no heat for most of it.

Electrician was here today and hopefully we should be OK.

All is working at the moment.

Worst of it is that sense of impotence.

I have not the first idea about nor skills with electrics and the system here is really old although luckily the actual wires are modern PVC and not that old rubber covered stuff that crumbles.

He reckoned we don't need rewiring as such but we do need the old fuse box replaced for a modern consumer unit.

He's coming on Tuesday to fit that and to replace the old electric shower which is beyond grotty with something we feel safe to use.

The one in now won't switch off except by the pull switch on the ceiling.

All good fun.

Love the cottage but do find myself pining for a new build now and again.

It'll be nice when the work's all done.

It took us the best part of a year at the old house to get that into shape and this place is much smaller so just maybe we'll be sorted for Christmas.

Some decorating still to do, just internal woodwork now, all the walls and ceilings we've repainted throughout and had literally just completed the last room and were celebrating that achievement when the power went down.

Sometimes it feels like one step forward then two steps back but we press on regardless.

Retirement is hard work!

 

Duplicate post.

I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying. I don't want to live on in the hearts of my countrymen; I want to live on in my apartment.

(Woody Allen)

Might Robber Chi have been a sort of Robin Hood character?

Many cultures have one of those.

The popular brigand who is said to "Rob the rich to feed the poor."

Outlaws can be quite popular .

Maybe not to their victims but in the sense of the romantic popular imagination.

Living off Grid sucks!

Power down today.

Nada.

Electricity just kept tripping out and all of a sudden we were back into the stone age.

Bleddy cold, dark, rough seas and a gale.

Mrs GMP less than impressed.

Finally tracked down the issue.

Sea water in boat house/workshop circuit.

Isolated that and so far so good we're back on.

There's no mains here on this coast we've oil tank heating and all electric everything else.

Open fires in every room but with onshore winds those fill the house with smoke.

Possibly not an issue 200 years ago when this place was built but not what we want at all.

Multi fuel stove looks good so we're having a look at getting one of those babies in.

GMP

"Which way to Spilsby village please?"

Yokel

"You'm don't want to start from here for Spilsby."