Category: Culture

  • Learning is Not the Path

    Nansen said: “Mind is not Buddha. Learning is not the path.”

    Mumon’s comment: Nansen was getting old and forgot to be ashamed. He spoke out with bad breath and exposed the scandal of his own home. However, there are a few who appreciate his kindness.

    When the sky is clear the sun appears,
    When the earth is parched rain will fall.
    He opened his heart fully and spoke out,
    But it was useless to talk to pigs and fish.

  • A hug is all what we need

    Sometimes, a hug is all what we need. Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whos sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives.

    In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal.

    As this symbol of human hope spread accross the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign BANNED. What we then witness is the true spirit of humanity come together in what can only be described as awe inspiring.

    In the Spirit of the free hugs campaign, PASS THIS TO A FRIEND and HUG A STRANGER! After all, If you can reach just one person…

  • Doctor Strangelove Now or Never

    Stanley Kubrick’s sensational and hilarious dark satire “Doctor Strangelove” from 1964 with Peter Sellers shaping three protagonists in a nuclear race of “hot war” against the Russians is still relevant with all the war maniacs around today in 2006; people (leaders of countries) who really think and thoroughly believe that they can solve the problems of the world with the instrument of war.

    Here are some quotes from the “War Room” with the Cabinet of maniacs including the US President on the usage of the Doomsday weapon against the Russkies:

    [Strangelove admits that he investigated making such a machine]
    Dr. Strangelove: Based on the findings of the report, my conclusion was that this idea was not a practical deterrent for reasons which at this moment must be all too obvious.

    Dr. Strangelove: Sir! I have a plan!
    [standing up from his wheelchair]
    Dr. Strangelove: Mein Führer! I can walk!

    Dr. Strangelove: It is not only possible, it is essential.

    [Strangelove’s plan for post-nuclear war survival involves living underground with a 10:1 female-to-male ratio]

    Dr. Strangelove: Regrettably, yes. But it is, you know, a sacrifice required for the future of the human race. I hasten to add that since each man will be required to do prodigious… service along these lines, the women will have to be selected for their sexual characteristics which will have to be of a highly stimulating nature.

    Dr. Strangelove: Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost, if you *keep* it a *secret*! Why didn’t you tell the world, EH?

    Dr. Strangelove: It would not be difficult, Mein Fuhrer. Nuclear reactors could easily provide power for several… Im sorry, Mr. President…

    Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb imdb.com

  • Knowing the self is enlightenment

    知人者智,
    自知者明。
    勝人者有力,
    自勝者強。
    知足者富。
    強行者有志。
    不失其所者久。
    死而不亡者,
    壽。

    Knowing others is wisdom;
    Knowing the self is enlightenment.
    Mastering others requires force;
    Mastering the self needs strength.
    He who knows he has enough is rich.
    Perseverance is a sign of willpower.
    He who stays where he is endures.
    To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.

    Reference: Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching XXXIII ( Trans. Feng & English )

  • Swimming about

    One day Chuang Tzu and a friend were walking by a river. “Look at the fish swimming about,” said Chuang Tzu, “They are really enjoying themselves.”

    “You are not a fish,” replied the friend, “So you can’t truly know that they are enjoying themselves.”

    “You are not me,” said Chuang Tzu. “So how do you know that I do not know that the fish are enjoying themselves?”

  • The most submissive thing

    The most submissive thing in the world can ride roughshod over the hardest in the world – that which is without substance entering that which has no crevices.
    That is why I know the benefit of resorting to no action. The teaching that uses no words, the benefit of resorting to no action, these are beyond the understanding of all but a very few in the world.

    Lao Tse, Book 2, XLIII
    (Translation D.C. Lau Penguin1963)

  • The courage of reading – Michael Faber

    I enjoy to have books recommended to me by people I do not necessarily know or even fundamentally agree whit. Sometimes what’s recommended is rubbish and sometimes I am pretty amassed to find out what I have been missing in the world of books.

    When I was surfing the english book shelves in the main public library in Copenhagen, prompted in my mind by my own overwhelming ignorance of english written literature, reaching the letter F, I stumbled into a book of an to me unknown writer. To my luck the book was a laminated paperback, so I was able to read the recommendations and quotes from Canongate Books advertising effort on the back side. The publisher had among others picked a quote from the english newspaper Guardian which read: “This is man who could give Conrad a run at writing the perfect sentence… Room will now have to be made for Faber alongside Alasdair Gray, James Kelman, Irwine Welsh and A.L. Kenndy.” So this book went to the digital self-checkout-point in the library and followed me home.

    I just finished Michel Faber’s “The Courage Consort” and I liked it. A wonderful tour of fucked up postmodern living in the 21. century, written whit great psychological insight in a wonderful shaped natural language with a refined sense of poetry, irony and humor.

    Some people think reading books are a waste of time compared to real life! And they are not entirely wrong, but in the same time they are missing out on the subtle qualities of language, the human mind and simply the unknown. Sometimes you should allow yourself to be dazzled by the lengthy words of another spirit. When the conversation takes place inside your own head you somehow listen more carefully..

    By the way have you read a book recently that you want to recommend?

  • Finding the way

    Going left.. No! Driving right.. No! Thinking of flying straight!

  • Song of Central Equilibrium

    Find center!

    Relax the chest.
    Raise the back.
    Enclose the solar plexus.
    Protect the cheekbones.
    Lift the head.
    Suspend solar plexus.
    Loosen the shoulders.
    Sink the elbows.
    Be evasive.
    Avoid conflict.

    ( Wu-Yü-hisiang )

    Many qigon practitioners and masters skilled in the internal martial arts say that the most difficult position to achieve is Wu Chi – just normal stance!

    Taiji is born of Wu Chi. It is the origin of dynamic and static states and the mother of yin and yang. If they move, they separate. If the remain static, they combine.

    ( Wangzongyue )

    Stand with the feet in shoulder wide position. Big toes in line with nipples. The feet are pointing straight forward and are parallel. Do not let the toes point inward. The weight is evenly distributed on the hole foot of both feet.

    The arms are hanging loose and relaxed in a normal position by the side of the body. ( After a while arms are naturally arching slightly to the front as a consequence of the flow of chi. Do not to force this posture or think of achieving it. Just think of the sensation and the new position of the arms as natural! ) Fingers are slightly extended (without stretching) and pointing down towards the earth. Keep your structure effortlessly.

    Imagine that the top of the head is slightly pulled up by a golden cord or thread to heaven (Alternatively imagine your head is floating on water and the body settles underneath). Connecting heaven and earth.

    Hips are settled and relaxed as if sitting on a horse. Wu Chi is sometimes referred to Ma Bu (horse stance). Tuck in the tailbone, but relax buttocks, straightening the lower part of the back into the ground. Bend the knees slightly so the tip of the knee is over the center of the foot. Knees must not stick out over the tip of the feet. The lower part of the back and hips are relaxed so you can move freely. Neither buttocks or the abdomen are sticking out.

    Have a sensation of sinking or melting into the ground on the outside of the body. Have a sensation of inside structure growing up from the knees below ground up through the soil to heaven like the first spring seeds.

    Angles, knees, hip, shoulder and ear are perfectly aligned in a straight line over each other. Align navel and nose as well.

    Breathing is calm and normal. Your tongue optional touches palate behind the teeth. Send mind to the top of the head when breathing in. Energy stores in center an inch below the navel (Tan Tien). Mouth is closed. Make optional sound of HEN with breath when breathing in. Relax from the lower part of the back and feel the feet when breathing out. Relax chest. Mouth is closed or slightly open. Make optional sound of HA with breath. Observe the movements of Dantian. Keep calm, breath deeply like a long thread and gradually forget the breathing.

    Be present in the body. If necessary send mind around as a repair unit or heat projector to relieve tension and open up joints and blockages all over in the body. Pain is normal, body can endure. Send mind to relieve tension by breathing in and out with the point in mention. Shoulders, knees, thighs and sole of feet is normal places of tension.

    Relax the neck, chest, shoulders, sink the elbows, relax the hip, knees, angles and feet. Do not lock the joints. Keep the joint light and agile, they should feel like a balloon floating on air! Picture a thread from the knees to the heavens. Make soft upward pressure to the top of the head orginating from below the ground with the feet, angles and knees as gateways to relieve tensions. Make roots well below the ground from knees and down, rising steady like a tree above.

    You are sitting on a balloon inflated whit hot air. In fact there are small balloons everywhere in and out of your body – under your armpit, around all joints, between fingers. Go ahead and find them! You are a one big balloon. Project your mind to the horizon. Keep a light natural smile on your face coming from within. Let go of all tensions in you body and mind.

    Start standing in the beginning for 5 minutes in the morning then slowly increase to 30 minutes several times a day on your own convenience.

    So simple, yet so difficult. Gradually, it seems that the boddy no longer exists, with a feeling of emtiness and transparency both inside and outside. Relax the body and mind, let the spirit raise to the top of the head and observe the wonders of the world without judgment.

    We are centered, stable and still
    as mountain.
    Our Chi sinks to the tan-t’ien and
    we are as suspended from above.
    Our Spirit is concentrated within and
    our outward manner perfectly composed.
    Receiving and issuing energy are
    both the work of an instant.

    ( T’an Meng-hsien )

  • Qigong a fountain of life

    Surely you are interested in good health both in body and mind.

    People from all over the world in many separate cultures have been looking for hundreds of years, if not thousands of years, for ways to achieve unity of body and mind. One could think of every different system of exercise or mental practice as an independent road leading to the same destination. Who is to tell which is best?

    Ancient China developed many systems that comes together under one description: Qigong

    According to the Oxford dictionary Qigong is a Chinese system of physical exercises and breathing control related to Tai Chi.

    In martial arts all the internal systems as Taiji, Ba Gua, Hising-I you will find emphasis on the cultivation of energy through Qigong (Chi Kung) exercises.

    Qigong is a wonderful world to explore. The benefits of Qigong through rigorous practices is marvelous. Acscending up the staircase to heaven on pure energy. Even the first tiny steeps of Qigong can be felt in both body and mind. Transformation starts after a few months of practise.

    Full of energy, full of potential,
    Unity of body and mind.
    No sense of loss or disconnection,
    No self just smiling and happy.

    A moment feels like an eternity. Eternity feels like a moment.

    Recommended Books: Natural Healing with Qigong by Dr. Aihan Kuhn CMD. YMMA 2004, The way of Energy by Master Lam Kam Chuen

  • Not Pr0n – Riddle this!

    Riddle me a riddle. If you think you are too smart for your own good and have a time on your hands then just maybe you are the “not pr0n” riddle worthy. Up until now some 650000 have tried but only 32 people have reached the final step so far.

    Go genius.. go and fetch Elvis in the land of nowhere and bring back Jesus if you meet him on the way.

    not pr0n deathball.net

  • H. S. Thompson sent him self to Paradise

    We where somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the dessert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like “I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive…” And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas. And a voice was screaming: “Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?”

    The Author of the brilliant psychedelic classic “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” Hunter S. Thompson died today.

    I vividly remember the journey into Hunter S. Thompsons land of drugs and madness. The atmosphere was cool and fogy. My mind where soon bending and twisting just in order to keep up with the events in the book. Sentences like “The trunk of the car looked like a mobile police narcotics lab.” where after a short while just describing the ordinary. After reading Hunter S. Thompson I felt exhilarated; and in great need of some kind of fix. Sadly I ended up with an emotional cold turkey. But dear reader, surely it’s worthwhile literary acid trip. Peace out brother.

    Hunter S Thompson commits suicide BBC 21 February 2005