July Wrap

We had a fantastic July this year. Cathy and I spent about 10 days in southern California visiting some great friends. My girls turned 35 years gorgeous! I put some of our favorite pics from the month here.

Here's what I got for the month:

This whole pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain thing really keeps me busy.

Don't let her wardrobe fool you, she's hip, thru and thru.

This morning while laying in bed I realized that anything more than a face full is a waste.

Every thought I have
Every sound I hear
Happiness, streaming @ me
1,000 miles per hour!

I go down a lot quicker than I get up.

There is no baseline.

And now from some real people:

A Zen student approached his teacher. "I have a problem," he said. "I would like to start a business, but unfortunately, I don't have any money. What shall I do?". "That's simple," said the Zen master. "Why don't you stop thinking about starting a business?". Dainin Katagiri from You Have To Say Something.

Unless we are willing to give up our attachments, we cannot appreciate the priceless jewel of our true nature. Introduction to the Blue Cliff Record.

I've been reading Huston Smith's The World's Religions. Here's some goody I got from there:

Finally my brethren, for well-conducted people life presents no problems (p. 177)

Only those are worthy to govern who would rather be excused. (p. 178)
H.G. Wells once said that God and sex were the only two things that really interested him. (p. 141).

Nirvana: Etymologically it means "to blow out," or "to extinguish," not transitively, but as a fire ceases to draw. Deprived of fuel, the fire goes out, and this is nirvana. Nirvana is the highest destiny of the human spirit and its literal meaning is extinction, but we must be precise as to what is to be extinguished. It is the boundaries of the finite self. It does not follow that what is left will be nothing. Negatively, nirvana is the state in which the faggots of private desire had been completely consumed and everything that restricts the boundless life has died.

That's it for this month.
My best,
your bobJuan.