Chris, Mike, Edgar,
The guy on the cliff is not the only whom Life and Death are pressing on; but
the guy on the cliff has a "clear and distinct" impression of it, as Descartes
could have assented.
When I first found the traces to Ch'an (and Zen) practice, an old Chinese
master gave an instruction I took to heart:
"Hang the words 'Life' and 'Death' from your forehead, and practice in this
way."
Of course, he was teaching monks and nuns. Is it easier for monks and nuns to
practice in this way than householders? No. When you're hanging from a cliff,
I don't even know what "easy" means.
It's a wonderful practice.
And something he called "the Circle-Running exercise".
This master lived some 1200 years ago.
If the berry had been really sour, the hanger-on would have experienced THAT.
No "picking (except where it comes to berries) and choosing", now. ;-)
The story is a lot better if you make the berry "sour".
--Joe / "Buzz-Kill"
> Chris Austin-Lane <chris@...> wrote:
>
> The man in the story got sweetness when he was probably expecting fear and
> wanting a way out, but he was able to experience the sweetness. May I be so
> open to what is.
------------------------------------
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