Monday, February 4, 2008
Given the indetermine answer on Japanese culture...
I feel that I should point out, to myself if no one else, that my version of Japanese culture has more to do with its white, Episcopalian (meaning high WASP), American interpretation than with Japan itself. An interpretation, I might add, that is so thoroughly Americanized it allows for the drinking of herbal tea rather than green tea, and the sitting on chairs (or even laying flat on your back) when necessary.
Still, I wonder...is Zen really necessary at all? I mean is it? Or is it just a waste of freaking time? God, I wish I knew.
Because I do feel it might be somehow unnecessary. Doesn't mean I shouldn't practice, but also, if I find it inconvenient to practice, I might want to avoid it.
(OK I'm researching seppuku. Well, it seems to be a samurai practice. As Soto Zen is distinctively "farmer" and not "samurai" Zen [Rinzai] it looks as though I'm well in the clear here. Soto Zen = safe.)
Still, I wonder...is Zen really necessary at all? I mean is it? Or is it just a waste of freaking time? God, I wish I knew.
Because I do feel it might be somehow unnecessary. Doesn't mean I shouldn't practice, but also, if I find it inconvenient to practice, I might want to avoid it.
(OK I'm researching seppuku. Well, it seems to be a samurai practice. As Soto Zen is distinctively "farmer" and not "samurai" Zen [Rinzai] it looks as though I'm well in the clear here. Soto Zen = safe.)
It's time for a post on religion.
OK...I need to get my religious house in order.
I consider myself a Latter-Day Saint. I have no connection to the LDS church, nor do I actively seek one. I believe that the weirdo polygamists will prove to be the center of the Latter-Day Saint movement in the future, because their commitment is by far the strongest (at least compared to the mainstream LDS church).
Not that I would disavow membership in the mainstream LDS church, but I wouldn't actively seek it, either.
I strongly identify with the Peyotist branch of the Latter-Day Saint Movement. It's true, they're intertwined, especially down Arizona way. Like, Southern Arizona. Tucson-ish. I follow the Word of Wisdom - no alcohol, tobacco, tea, or coffee.
Further, I am a Zen Buddhist. Or is it lesser? This is what I am having trouble figuring out. My Zen Buddhism is definitely an American form -- yes, I don't see the trouble with also being a Zen Buddhist. Soto Zen, Shunryu Suzuki lineage (through Zentatsu Baker). If I live in Santa Fe (which I hope to), there is the Upaya Zen Center there. I kind of see Zen as a daily-life religion for this early part of my life. In the end I should gravitate more towards the Latter-Day Saint Movement, and even the LDS church proper.
Zen...what is there to say about it? I feel like philosophical Taoism is the highest of teachings (this comes from John Gray, my fav philosopher). Chuang Tzu, in particular. And yet--the practice of Soto Zen, which comes directly from Southern Chinese (Taoist) Ch'an traditions--I just don't know. Is it more or less important than Peyotism/LDS? Is that even the right question to ask? I suppose it isn't, because I honestly can't answer it. It isn't about religions, or especially cultures; it's simply about practices (namely, Upaya, Crestone, & peyote). Insofar as it is about cultures, I have most affinity with the Mormon world, I think -- including Polynesia. Or do I? Why not Japan? Well, maybe I do have more affinity with Japan. Why not? I suppose certain aspects of Japanese culture scare me. Namely hara-kiri. But yeah given all that is good and great in Japanese culture, it seems unnecessary to single out a few bad practices. Or does it? I suppose I can't help it. I am a creature of the North, as are the Japanese people. Everything else will have to work itself out. Japan scares me, it's true; Polynesia doesn't. But that fear may be irrational; it may not be. Either way, nothing proposes an answer so I'll have to feel my way out.
On the whole, I'm safe with Japan. But to check myself, and because it simply makes sense, I also follow the Leviticus and Deutoronomy books (where applicable) and have taken the Nazerite vow -- all of this through the eyes of the Rastafari movement, though with help from Hasidim/Kabbalah where necessary.
OK...I need to get my religious house in order.
I consider myself a Latter-Day Saint. I have no connection to the LDS church, nor do I actively seek one. I believe that the weirdo polygamists will prove to be the center of the Latter-Day Saint movement in the future, because their commitment is by far the strongest (at least compared to the mainstream LDS church).
Not that I would disavow membership in the mainstream LDS church, but I wouldn't actively seek it, either.
I strongly identify with the Peyotist branch of the Latter-Day Saint Movement. It's true, they're intertwined, especially down Arizona way. Like, Southern Arizona. Tucson-ish. I follow the Word of Wisdom - no alcohol, tobacco, tea, or coffee.
Further, I am a Zen Buddhist. Or is it lesser? This is what I am having trouble figuring out. My Zen Buddhism is definitely an American form -- yes, I don't see the trouble with also being a Zen Buddhist. Soto Zen, Shunryu Suzuki lineage (through Zentatsu Baker). If I live in Santa Fe (which I hope to), there is the Upaya Zen Center there. I kind of see Zen as a daily-life religion for this early part of my life. In the end I should gravitate more towards the Latter-Day Saint Movement, and even the LDS church proper.
Zen...what is there to say about it? I feel like philosophical Taoism is the highest of teachings (this comes from John Gray, my fav philosopher). Chuang Tzu, in particular. And yet--the practice of Soto Zen, which comes directly from Southern Chinese (Taoist) Ch'an traditions--I just don't know. Is it more or less important than Peyotism/LDS? Is that even the right question to ask? I suppose it isn't, because I honestly can't answer it. It isn't about religions, or especially cultures; it's simply about practices (namely, Upaya, Crestone, & peyote). Insofar as it is about cultures, I have most affinity with the Mormon world, I think -- including Polynesia. Or do I? Why not Japan? Well, maybe I do have more affinity with Japan. Why not? I suppose certain aspects of Japanese culture scare me. Namely hara-kiri. But yeah given all that is good and great in Japanese culture, it seems unnecessary to single out a few bad practices. Or does it? I suppose I can't help it. I am a creature of the North, as are the Japanese people. Everything else will have to work itself out. Japan scares me, it's true; Polynesia doesn't. But that fear may be irrational; it may not be. Either way, nothing proposes an answer so I'll have to feel my way out.
On the whole, I'm safe with Japan. But to check myself, and because it simply makes sense, I also follow the Leviticus and Deutoronomy books (where applicable) and have taken the Nazerite vow -- all of this through the eyes of the Rastafari movement, though with help from Hasidim/Kabbalah where necessary.
btw, I'm not a neocon anymore. I do support Mitt Romney. But...that's complicated. He won't win, I don't think anyway -- and I can't bring myself to support Hillary Clinton, despite all the obvious reasons why should be president. Because my vote doesn't matter, nobody listens to me, and Mitt Romney at least deserves my support for trying to be nice about his conservatism.
I know I'll come to regret this later on. But that's OK, for now it serves my purposes to support Mitt Romney. Plus he's a Mormon, which is good, and in fact descends from some of the most original scorched-earth Mexican-colony polygamist Kings of the Kingdom of God Mormons of all time. This guy is American hardcore.
I like Big Love too much not to fall for this guy.
PLUS: Barack Obama -- I like the guy, but he's trying too hard. One sees it in his face: he's tired. He needs to stop, and rest, or he'll have no future at all. Mark my words -- this man is in trouble. Don't support him, guys. You're only egging him on when he needs to chill it. Because no man can fight the Hillary machine (except John McCain -- and that's the other and perhaps most important reason I strategically support Mitt Romney -- John McCain in the White House would be a fiasco of Satanic proportions, not that the man is Satan, but he is too weak to fend of the Dark Lord's minions...and what's more is he knows it too, but doesn't care. He only cares about himself. Kind of like me. Therefore it is my right to not support McCain, as a way of metaphorically mitigating my own propensity to selfishness...plus I really don't want him to win, I want Hillary to win, I want free health care, I want a better funded educational system...But again I can't support Hillary without at least giving credence, or some, to Barack Obama. Or so I thought at the time. Maybe it doesn't matter after all. Maybe I can just support Hillary. Though now I've come out for Mitt, it would be unconscionable to go for Hillary. No, I can't. I must uphold my social obligations and support Mitt Romney. A kind of hara-kiri I know. But when done with precision and elegance, that ain't so bad, is it? I'll think about that.).
I know I'll come to regret this later on. But that's OK, for now it serves my purposes to support Mitt Romney. Plus he's a Mormon, which is good, and in fact descends from some of the most original scorched-earth Mexican-colony polygamist Kings of the Kingdom of God Mormons of all time. This guy is American hardcore.
I like Big Love too much not to fall for this guy.
PLUS: Barack Obama -- I like the guy, but he's trying too hard. One sees it in his face: he's tired. He needs to stop, and rest, or he'll have no future at all. Mark my words -- this man is in trouble. Don't support him, guys. You're only egging him on when he needs to chill it. Because no man can fight the Hillary machine (except John McCain -- and that's the other and perhaps most important reason I strategically support Mitt Romney -- John McCain in the White House would be a fiasco of Satanic proportions, not that the man is Satan, but he is too weak to fend of the Dark Lord's minions...and what's more is he knows it too, but doesn't care. He only cares about himself. Kind of like me. Therefore it is my right to not support McCain, as a way of metaphorically mitigating my own propensity to selfishness...plus I really don't want him to win, I want Hillary to win, I want free health care, I want a better funded educational system...But again I can't support Hillary without at least giving credence, or some, to Barack Obama. Or so I thought at the time. Maybe it doesn't matter after all. Maybe I can just support Hillary. Though now I've come out for Mitt, it would be unconscionable to go for Hillary. No, I can't. I must uphold my social obligations and support Mitt Romney. A kind of hara-kiri I know. But when done with precision and elegance, that ain't so bad, is it? I'll think about that.).
How do you finish the season in NFL history with the most winning games ever by losing the lead in the fourth quarter, gaining it again, and then finally losing it again in the final 90 seconds?
Look, I've rationalized this out: it doesn't matter if they lost the Super Bowl, because they still have the most winning games in a single season EVER. 18-0. That's enough for now. Next year, they'll do better. If they want to.
Goddammit.
Look, I've rationalized this out: it doesn't matter if they lost the Super Bowl, because they still have the most winning games in a single season EVER. 18-0. That's enough for now. Next year, they'll do better. If they want to.
Goddammit.
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