Airy fairy? You're being too kind Merle. Hope is a lie. Trust is a
contract built on that lie.
With whom or what is your trust placed?
What is trust, but hope with more specific intentions and added
expectations/terms/strings attached?
Intention is Karma, Expectations are suffering.
I mostly deal in probabilities, mathematical or experiential, like the
probability the sun will appear to rise in a few hours. The probability
a friend does as they say, or a business partner holds up their end of
an agreement. Odds are it will be so. I don't need to trust in this, or
believe it, and certainly don't know it will happen. Sometimes we get it
right, sometimes not. Keeps it fresh. Mostly, we don't even need to make
these gambles, but paying the odds is part of minds normal functioning,
and it does so pretty well. Perhaps too well, when people begin to
believe they can trust it... That is imagined, drawing on another
natural attribute of mind. ;)
K
On 6/10/2012 12:57 AM, Merle Lester wrote:
i prefer the concept trust..hope is too airy fairy
merle
Hope, is one of "those enormously long forks."
For some, hope is a dream inspiring their work. For others, a fantasy
enabling them to put off their work. Either way, hope doesn't work.
Likewise, fear can inspire both action and inaction but, fear does not
act.
People believe and deny what they will (which I suppose, is another
way to say "do the best you want"! *L*). Such
self-defining/delineating/limiting acts change nothing, prevent
nothing. However this appears, it only appears otherwise from whatever
perspective is held.
'Zen' drops the "how" from however, the "hope" from hopefulness, the
"skill" from skillfulness, the "za" from zazen...
Expressions of Zen
Illusory forms remain
Ever elusive
K
On 6/8/2012 9:07 PM, Joe wrote:
K,
The hungry ghosts feed each other, we hear, with those enormously
long forks, and cannot feed themselves. Anyway, so the nice story
goes. Not a bad story, and a lesson in there. ;-)
Expression is one of the Skilful Means to develop in our practice.
Well, teachers and students consider it important.
I always say, "do the best you want". There's a hope in there, as
well as encouragement. And an incentive to drop or ignore perceived
limits.
--Joe
> No matter how one serves, Dharma cannot feed hungry ghosts.
