Heuresis

Hopelessness means that we no longer have the spirit for holding our trip together. We may...

Sun, 05 May 2013 18:51:10 -0400

Hopelessness means that we no longer have the spirit for holding our trip together. We may still want to hold our trip together. We long to have some reliable, comfortable ground under our feet, but we’ve tried a thousand ways to hide and a thousand ways to tie up all the loose ends, and the ground just keeps moving under us. Trying to get lasting security reaches us a lot, because if we never try to do it, we never notice that it can’t be done. Turning our minds toward the dharma speeds up the process of discovery. At every turn we realize once again that it’s completely hopeless — we can’t get any ground under our feet.

The difference between theism and nontheism is not whether one does or does not believe in God. It is an issue that applies to everyone, including both Buddhists and non-Buddhists. Theism is a deep-seated conviction that there’s some hand to hold: if we just do the right things, someone will appreciate us and take care of us. It means thinking there’s always going to be a babysitter available when we need one. We all are inclined to abdicate our responsibilities and delegate our authority to something outside ourselves. Nontheism is relaxing with the ambiguity and uncertainty of the present moment without reaching for anything to protect ourselves. We sometimes think that dharma is something outside of ourselves — something to believe in, something to measure up to. However, dharma isn’t a belief; it isn’t dogma. It is total appreciation of impermanence and change. The teachings disintegrate when we try to grasp them. We have to experience them without hope. Many brave and compassionate people have experienced them and taught them. The message is fearless; dharma was never meant to be a belief that we blindly follow. Dharma gives us nothing to hold on to at all.

Nontheism is finally realizing that there’s no babysitter that you can count on. You just get a good one and then he or she is gone. Nontheism is realizing that it’s not just babysitters that come and go. The whole of life is like that. This is the truth, and the truth is inconvenient.

— Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (Boston: Shambhala, 1997), pp. 39f.

"Survivors [of domestic and sexual violence] don’t tend to go to faith communities for..."

Sat, 04 May 2013 09:40:15 -0400

“Survivors [of domestic and sexual violence] don’t tend to go to faith communities for help… Clergy have not been their allies. There’s not a history of support. Where else do they go?”

- Victoria Ferguson, founder of Kindred Moxie, a faith-based domestic violence advocacy network in Atlanta. Source: Catherine Woodiwiss, “‘I Believe You:’ The Silence and the Shame of Sexual Violence in Church,” God’s Politics Blog, Sojourners (May 3, 2013).

"My hut lies in the middle of a dense forest; Every year the green ivy grows longer. No news of the..."

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:44:48 -0400

“My hut lies in the middle of a dense forest;
Every year the green ivy grows longer.
No news of the affairs of men,
Only the occasional song of a woodcutter.
The sun shines and I mend my robe;
When the moon comes out I read Buddhist poems.
I have nothing to report, my friends.
If you want to find the meaning, stop chasing after so many things.”

- Ryokan. From John Stevens (tr.), One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan (Boston: Weatherhill, 2006, c1977), p. 43.

(via First Official Poster For ‘The Trials of Muhammad...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:24:24 -0400

(via First Official Poster For ‘The Trials of Muhammad Ali’ Is A Tidal Wave Of Red | Shadow and Act)

"We’ve noticed, number one, that these individuals develop what we call..."

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:32:00 -0400

“We’ve noticed, number one, that these individuals develop what we call “self-mistrust.” It’s a view of yourself that you can’t always rely on yourself, that you’re not always there in the ways you need to be, and others, of course, tell you all the time, you’re not responsible, you’re not coming through when you need to. The anxiety comes up especially in performance situations, so these individuals have tremendous social anxiety, because they’re afraid they’re going to blow it in social situations, and they have tremendous anxiety around performance, either work or school. The depression eventually comes in after repeated failure and repeated loss without compensatory successes. If you’re not succeeding, most of the time, at whatever you’re doing, eventually you become depressed.”

- Tony Rostain, Medical Director of the University of Pennsylvania Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program and professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, responding to a question about the connections between adult ADHD, anxiety, and depression. “ADHD in adults,” Voices in the Family, WHYY (June 20, 2011). Quoted portion begins at 11’21”.

"And Y deme, that the passiouns of this tyme ben not worthi to the glorie to comynge, that schal be..."

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 23:52:29 -0400

“And Y deme, that the passiouns of this tyme ben not worthi to the glorie to comynge, that schal be schewid in vs. For the abidyng of creature abidith the schewyng of the sones of God. But the creature is suget to vanyte, not willynge, but for hym that made it suget in hope; for the ilke creature schal be delyuered fro seruage of corrupcioun in to liberte of the glorie of the sones of God. And we witen, that ech creature sorewith, and trauelith with peyne til yit. And not oneli it, but also we vs silf, that han the first fruytis of the spirit, and we vs silf sorewen with ynne vs for the adopcioun of Goddis sonys, abidynge the ayenbiyng of oure bodi. But bi hope we ben maad saaf. For hope that is seyn, is not hope; for who hopith that thing, that he seeth?”

- Romans 8.18-24, Wycliffe translation.

"Khaled tried to read the names on the Marines’ uniforms when they entered the house, “but they..."

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:13:00 -0400

“Khaled tried to read the names on the Marines’ uniforms when they entered the house, “but they were covered with blood,” he said. “Their hands and vests were soaked in blood. They only wanted revenge. When they came, I could see tears in their eyes. When they left, they were laughing.”

“They are barbarians,” added Yusuf, Khaled’s uncle, the only surviving brother of the victims. “We wish they never had come… The injustice is a bigger crime than the crime itself, and now we know for sure justice will never be done.” ”

- Khaled and Yusuf Anizi, family members of four of the civilians killed by U.S. Marines at Haditha (November 19, 2005), remembering the events of that day. Source: Liz Sly, “Civilian deaths at root of U.S.-Iraqi disconnect,” The Washington Post (Dec. 10, 2011).

Johnny Cash’s to-do list (via Lists of Note). This piece...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:06:01 -0400

Johnny Cash’s to-do list (via Lists of Note). This piece of paper sold for $6400 in December, 2010 at Julien’s Auctions.

This poster is hand-drawn… Slick, right?

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 22:12:41 -0400

This poster is hand-drawn… Slick, right?

A few blocks from my house. Curious about what goes on in here

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 00:15:21 -0400

A few blocks from my house. Curious about what goes on in here

My favorite short Latin poem: Catullus, XIII.

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 23:13:53 -0400

My favorite short Latin poem: Catullus, XIII.

Photo

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 10:03:39 -0500

i12bent: Anselm Kiefer: Aschenblume, 2004 - oil, acrylic and...

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 09:07:03 -0500

i12bent:

Anselm Kiefer: Aschenblume, 2004 - oil, acrylic and emulsion on canvas (private collection)

Ever wonder what happens to the pontifical Twitter feed when the...

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 21:41:09 -0500

Ever wonder what happens to the pontifical Twitter feed when the Pope abdicates? Now we know.

(via WomCam whiteboards hit Rad Cam in radical revolution | The...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:30:39 -0500

(via WomCam whiteboards hit Rad Cam in radical revolution | The Tab Oxford)

"Johnny Cash: Would you sing a song with me?June Carter: I would be very pleased to sing a song with..."

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:48:40 -0500

“Johnny Cash: Would you sing a song with me?
June Carter: I would be very pleased to sing a song with you.
Johnny Cash: You sure do look nice.”

- Dialogue from Johnny Cash, At San Quentin/At Folsom Prison.

Angela Davis speaking at the Peace Ball, Washington, D.C., Jan. 21, 2013

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:28:17 -0500

Let me say that this time around we cannot subordinate our aspirations and our hopes to presidential agendas. Our passionate support for President Barack Obama… should also be expressed in our determination to raise issues that have been largely ignored or not appropriately addressed by the administration.

And let me say that we are aware that we should be celebrating, critically celebrating, the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. There should be massive celebrations this year. What has happened other than the film Lincoln? And, of course, with two-and-a-half million people behind bars today, the prison system, the immigrant detention system are terrible remainders and reminders of slavery. Mass incarceration has devastated our communities. It is a false solution to problems that have persisted since the era of slavery.

We should be addressing the state of our schools, the continuing crisis of overincarceration, over-punishment. We should be addressing the part played by private prison corporations in pushing for repressive legislation designed to incarcerate ever-increasing numbers of immigrants. Last year, some 500,000, a half a million, immigrants were detained. And that, of course, is the largest number ever.

The past still haunts us. Its ghosts ride the echoes of our lives. To overcome poverty, to overcome racism, we must also overcome xenophobia, homophobia. Justice for African Americans is organically linked to justice for Palestinians. The struggle goes on. A luta continua. And as June Jordan said, we are the ones we have been waiting for. Thank you.

Source: DemocracyNow.org

"Man’s life is a cheat and a disappointment; All things are unreal, Unreal or disappointing, The..."

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 22:09:24 -0500

“Man’s life is a cheat and a disappointment;
All things are unreal,
Unreal or disappointing,
The Catherine wheel, the pantomime cat,
The prizes given at at the children’s party,
The prize awarded for the English Essay,
The scholar’s degree, the statesman’s decoration.
All things become less real, man passes
From unreality to unreality.
This man is obstinate, blind, intent
On self-destruction,
Passing from deception to deception,
From grandeur to grandeur to final illusion,
Lost in the wonder of his own greatness,
The enemy of society, enemy of himself.”

- T.S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral (via bonjour-tristesse)

"We pack the physical outline of the creature we see with all the ideas we have already formed about..."

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 01:24:41 -0500

“We pack the physical outline of the creature we see with all the ideas we have already formed about him, and in the complete picture of him which we compose in our minds those ideas have certainly the principal place. In the end they come to fill out so completely the curve of his cheeks, to follow so exactly the line of his nose, they blend so harmoniously in the sound of his voice that these seem to be no more than a transparent envelope, so that each time we see the face or hear the voice it is our own ideas of him which we recognise and to which we listen.”

- Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way

"A number of students have expressed distress that there is no “happy ending.” The course..."

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 21:13:30 -0500

“A number of students have expressed distress that there is no “happy ending.” The course emphasizes problems and criticisms of previous work without providing a constructive alternative. A number of colleagues at the regional meetings expressed similar reservations. I can only say that if the course has this effect, it has been successful. I conceive of the role of the college teacher to be precisely that of insuring that his students have “wrinkles on their brows,” that they become adept in the “hermeneutics of suspicion.” I believe for those students that take no further courses in religious studies, they have learned how to be cold-blooded about humanistic materials; for those students who continue to take other courses in religious studies, the effect of this course will be relativized by other offerings.”

- J.Z. Smith, “Basic Problems in the Study of Religion,” pp. 20-27 in On Teaching Religion, ed. by Christopher I. Lehrich (NY: Oxford UP, 2013), p. 27.