The Winds of Change.

changing winds swirl

clinging golden leaf shivers
smoke escapes cabin

By James R. Ure

Recently my wife and I did some cabin-sitting for our friends. Their A-frame structure is perched on a small hill deep in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado near where I live. It is miles from any sign of civilization, which is divine. They are nearly entirely, "off-the-grid" or self-sufficient thanks to solar panels and wind turbines that our friend manufactures with a buddy at his cabin a few miles away. It's a lovely home with a sea of green pine trees interspersed with small groves of quaking Aspens for a view from their front porch. We are often welcomed to come up and camp out on their property during the summer, so we were honored to give back to them by watching their homestead for a time.

Living "off-the-grid" means changing your focus on how you use energy and other resources. Knowing that the energy for the cabin was not unlimited nor on-demand like it seemingly is in the city made us much more conscious of its use. The irony is that we are already quite environmentally conscious. It underlined the truth that actually the energy we get in town isn't in-fact unlimited as we often think. It's easy to get complacent with energy use when we live in a city because it seems so permanent. Almost every time that we flip a switch, we are flooded with energy. This lulls us into thinking that this energy will always be there for us, which can never be true. Awareness of how energy is actually created; like seeing it work from wind gave me deep insight into how the way we live our lives is creating a deficit of suffering so to speak.

We put off a lot of natural suffering by our over-consumption of energy. We run our thermostat high, so we can wear shorts inside the house during the winter, and we plug in our cell phones while running the laptop and the television. This all makes for a very luxurious life to be sure, but each time we flip on the switch we are taking years off the livability of planet Earth. And, at the same time robbing our children and grandchildren from a healthy life. It's not unlike a country borrowing money to maintain a lifestyle that's unsustainable. It's a foolish game of borrowing against tomorrow to increase the enjoyment of today. And, like any form of karma this lifestyle will come back and reward us with exactly what we have invested into it.

But the hour is not too late. We can adjust our ways and live less greedily. It's easy to see greed by people who hoard money or take what isn't theirs but it's hard sometimes to see flipping on a switch as a form of greed. That's why I think if we invested in making everyone have a direct role in providing for the energy they use by hooking up all houses with wind turbines and solar panels that we could wake up in time. Awareness (as Buddha taught) is a powerful tool that can allow us to accomplish just about anything. If we don't know the full scope of what's actually going on around us, we really are living in denial and will be shocked back into reality. Isn't it better to see that reality now and adjust accordingly so that we are at one with that reality? That way, whatever is good for us will be the same thing that's good for nature because is it really a healthy life to have so much energy that we can go shopping for crap at 2 in the morning?

PHOTO: Cabin view from front porch by James R. Ure

~Peace to all beings~

Happy Belated Winter Solstice to my Pagan Friends.

Yesterday, December 21st is winter solstice, otherwise known as Midwinter. This is the shortest day and longest night of the year, which is the last blast of darkness before the sun rises slowly but surely to offer longer and longer days and increased sunlight. So it is a day of rebirth, which is very much in-line with Buddhist beliefs. I welcome the suns rebirth with great happiness. So, Happy Solstice everyone!!

PHOTO CREDIT: Winter Solstice occurring at Stonehenge in Great Britain.

~Peace to all beings~

Earth: The Pale Blue Dot.

Concerning what Buddhism thinks toward the universe the Buddha has said, “It is so large that it has no exterior, and so small that it has no interior.” “It means that at the Tathagata level, in terms of largeness, you can’t see the edge of the universe, and in terms of smallness, you can’t see the smallest microscopic particle of matter."

James: Whenever this perspective comes into focus it always humbles and reassures me that the bigger picture of reality is unfolding as it should. How could it not be unfolding at it should for we don't have much control over anything let alone our fate in the unfathomable totally of the Universe. We have learned a lot as a species but we still probably don't even know a tenth of what the Universe is about and we will most likely never know. Perhaps that's the way it is meant to be because how can something so immense and ever changing ever be pinned down and completely understand by a mind, which we know is flawed to begin with? Catching up to the consciousness of this vast experiment is in my view a glimpse into the state of parinirvana, which in totality is impossible to grasp until, (it seems to this humbled mind) until one no longer longs to grasp at all. Perhaps we'll "know" it when our desire to know is exhausted.

How lucky to have been born on this pale blue dot of dust hurtling through the vast expanse of a living Universe at all? How even luckier is it then to have been born as a human with the ability to understand that we're living on a pale, isolated blue dot of dust hurtling through the vast expanse of a living, breathing Universe!! And that on this pale blue dot once walked a man called Buddha who changed this dot forever. Whole civilizations of ants live and die generation after generation with no knowledge whatsoever that they live on such a miracle of a rock floating and spinning around a bright, giant, star of nuclear reactivity.

We can try to act like we are in control with our super smart, fast computers but in the totality of it all those are just blimps on a inconceivably massive time line. We're along for the ride so while pursuing science and looking beyond our current limitations is something we should always pursue we need to remember the less flashy parts of the puzzle. Black holes, red dwarfs, spiral galaxies and massive, multi-colored planets are enthralling and awe inspiring to be sure but so is the most delicate, humblest blade of grass that we often pass as we rush our way across this pale blue dot. Some of the most amazing moments in existence don't take place in a lab, aren't seen through the lens of a telescope or measured with the most high-tech satellite. As my master Thich Nhat Hanh says:

“I like to walk alone on country paths, rice plants and wild grasses on both sides, putting each foot down on the earth in mindfulness, knowing that I walk on the wondrous earth. In such moments, existence is a miraculous and mysterious reality. People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child--our own two eyes. All is a miracle...

James: I am content to just be apart of it all and to share a few spins around the sun with you all on this miracle rock called, Earth. That makes me smile.

~Peace to all beings~

The Little Shrub.

This is one of my favorite poems and sounds very much like something a Zen master would say. It reminds me of the teaching to be in the present moment and try to be the best you can be in that moment and not to worry too much about what will come:

"Yes if you can't be a pine on the hill, be a shrub in the valley, but be the best little shrub on the side of the road - be a bush if you can't be a tree.
If you can't be a highway be a trail.
If you can't be a sun be a star.
It isn't by size that you win or fail - be the best at whatever you are."

-Dr Martin Luther King.

James: It's so easy to feel insignificant and worthless in this world that constantly tells us that we aren't good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, rich enough, healthy enough, spiritual enough and on and on. Well I say, enough with the expectations because no matter how hard we try to be perfect it will never be enough because as Buddha taught us this very existence is imperfect. It's so hard to remember this sometimes but it's so true and when it does click for us it is so liberating from our suffering and self-doubts. We must remember that while we might be comparing ourselves to someone else--they are comparing themselves to someone else too.

~Peace to all beings~

PHOTO: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Winter Green Haiku.

winter sun bathes plants

green light glows through hungry leaves
flowering smiles

By James R. Ure

A Cheerful Belated Winter Solstice Wish to my Pagan Friends!!

So yesterday was the official day of celebration for Winter Solstice. I apologize for missing the specific date but I wanted to pass on my well wishes to all those who celebrate this wonderful, peaceful, accepting holiday/tradition. I didn't know much about the celebration so I did some studying for this post. I hope you find some things in this short essay that you didn't know before and find a new respect for a great holiday with a long, proud history.

May the year to come bring many happy days to everyone. This is a time of celebrating rebirth of the seasons as from now on the days will get longer. The celebration of rebirth during the Winter Solstice is also because it represents the end of one year and the beginning of another, Stonehenge is a perfect marker of this event.

Another extremely interesting site that marks the Solstice is Newgrange, a megalithic structure in Ireland which is estimated to be 5,000 years old which is older then Stonhenge by about 1,000 years and even older then the Great Egyptian Pyramids!!! It is a tomb that lights up with the allignment of the sun of the Winter Solstice and is believed to symbolize the rising of the dead into the Heavens upon the rays of the sun.

Since many didn't survive the cruel winters within the ancient communities, the Solstice was (and still is) a time to reflect on the previous year, celebrate surviving another year, give thanks for the many benefits received and look forward to the arrival of spring, pregnant with possibilities. Is it any wonder then that spring was/is linked to the goddess veneration and celebration of sexuality, what a beautiful and sacred time.

There is a Taoist element to this time of year as well. It can be seen in the East Asian celebration Dongzhi or Toji Festival which celebrates the balance and harmony between dark and light, sun and darkness. It is usually celebrated around 21 December.

These are but just a few of the Winter Solstice type celebrations, it is venerated throughout the world which places it as one of the most popular and widespread holidays of all humanity.

May all realize harmony during this time of year and look forward to a new year of happiness, joy, good health and much love for all people.

~Peace to all beings~