dearest cousin joe. ..i would be honoured if you would bestow a dharma name for me. ..yes i live upon this mountain top..indeed..."garden of paradise". ..34 years i have lived upon this mountain top.. .on a clear day 70ks in the distance i can see sydney skyline. .yes the mountain is my sacred home...when i first saw this land in may 1969 at the tender age of 23...i knew then yes i have arrived home...
you are kind joe and kinder still to take the trouble to instruct me. .i cannot go to a teacher...not possible from this mountain top..i live in an area where there are no zen practitioners...and 30 mins drive are the flats... where the "ordinary "folk live..and holy hell..there is no zen there...mostly obesity in human form..though saying that if one is open and receptive the zen of life shines through be it in the supermarket i like mountain snowflake...except it doe not snow here joe.. .however i do love the beauty of the snowflake that one witnesses under examination under microscope. .i am northern european...estonian..migrated here to sydney in 1949.... so snow certainly is part and parcel of my being i await you choice of name. .perhaps i need more time to learn and practise before i can graduate to a dharma name...? i take your teachings seriously cousin joe.. . you'd be surprised..even i am surprised...they seep into my "skin". ..i may appear belligerent at times that is because there is a great deal of rebellion in my soul bare that in mind and bare that in mind you would not want me to be some instant conformist who never questions just goes along willy nilly with what ever eh? part of my rebellious nature helps me find my "true path" otherwise cousin joe i'd be a boring old fart thinking things that "everyman" thinks, doing things that "everyman" does. .and i certainly would not be "zenning" what is your dharma name cousin joe? enjoy the day cheers merle Dear Merle, Thanks for taking my sometimes unwarranted sniping in such a good spirit. Really, I do not deserve your kindness. No, seriously. I'm probably a better friend when I am quiet. But when all we have is the printed page, well..., I hope I do not come off looking mostly bad, most of the time. I have high hopes for and faith in Humanity. Merle, maybe your Dharma-name is "Snowflake". But, to make it... err-r, uhh-h, more "ZEN", maybe it is "MOUNTAIN Snowflake". Wow; I can just hear it falling into the valley, seen and heard from our aerie up above. This, to me, is an experience that puts me in a very "still" state, conducive to long and comfortable sits afterwards. No wonder so much of our Zen heritage -- in its development -- took place at mountain practice-centers, in old China; and, Japan. But I also have mountains in my blood, and in my name, and lived and worked for years in the Andes of Chile; and Hawai'i; and Arizona. Well, only you or a teacher can give you a Dharma name. Do you think "Mountain Snowflake" is too delicate?; or, does it "resonate"? Pardon this question, quite out of the blue. Or out of a cloud. If you were to want a Dharma name, and wanted to choose one for yourself, I wonder, ...what would it be? Lots of "ifs", there, or at least a couple. Forgive my presumptuousness, pls. Or, maybe you've thought about this? Cheers, Your cous', --Cousin-Joe > Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@...> wrote: > > joe.. i like that description of the snowflake..beautiful > Â i certainly respect your thoughts and believe you me, i do listen to you > and learn... yes practise indeed...i am learning >
