one more time

 

 

the misery of Archaea and ocean floor disposal

 

Embedded in a meter deep of sediment, at the bottom of the sea,

the ancient thing wags its’ flagella; swimming

through cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur,

surviving, where it should not be able.

They say “the ocean floor per se”

has no water table.

No flushing through; a perfect disposal place

for radioactive waste

to diffuse through dense clay at a limited rate.

 

The mouth with teeth,

hungry, eat

everything around,

the house, the city, the state, the country

the ocean, the world, the galaxy.

Finally,

swallowing the entire universe,

hungry still it floats, in nothingness,

having no body, no stomach, no heart;

where once it had.

 

Living in polar seas and making up the plankton,

Extremophile Archaea visit

the cousins in volcanoes and sulphuric acid swamps.

The mighty family gathers to celebrate

3.8 billion years and 20% of the Earth’s biomass!

 

“You are happily invited” the announcement said,

and greedily accepting,

we work the party and offer

“by the way, we have this new stuff; it might be good to eat,

so with gratitude we’ll send a torpedofull, to snuggle in the seabed.

You can explore, experiment, try it out and take the time to see,

if you folks survive and flourish there as well; besides,

we really have nowhere else to put it and

need to get it out of the house.”

 

cakes and insults

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Akkosa Sutta: Insult

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Sanctuary. Then the brahman Akkosaka[1] Bharadvaja heard that a brahman of the Bharadvaja clan had gone forth from the home life into homelessness in the presence of the Blessed One. Angered & displeased, he went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, insulted & cursed him with rude, harsh words.

When this was said, the Blessed One said to him: “What do you think, brahman: Do friends & colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come to you as guests?”

“Yes, Master Gotama, sometimes friends & colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come to me as guests.”

“And what do you think: Do you serve them with staple & non-staple foods & delicacies?”

“Yes, sometimes I serve them with staple & non-staple foods & delicacies.”

“And if they don’t accept them, to whom do those foods belong?”

“If they don’t accept them, Master Gotama, those foods are all mine.”

“In the same way, brahman, that with which you have insulted me, who is not insulting; that with which you have taunted me, who is not taunting; that with which you have berated me, who is not berating: that I don’t accept from you. It’s all yours, brahman. It’s all yours.

“Whoever returns insult to one who is insulting, returns taunts to one who is taunting, returns a berating to one who is berating, is said to be eating together, sharing company, with that person. But I am neither eating together nor sharing your company, brahman. It’s all yours. It’s all yours.”

“The king together with his court know this of Master Gotama — ‘Gotama the contemplative is an arahant’ — and yet still Master Gotama gets angry.”[2]

[The Buddha:]

Whence is there anger for one free from anger, tamed, living in tune — one released through right knowing, calmed & Such. You make things worse when you flare up at someone who’s angry. Whoever doesn’t flare up at someone who’s angry wins a battle hard to win. You live for the good of both — your own, the other’s — when, knowing the other’s provoked, you mindfully grow calm. When you work the cure of both — your own, the other’s — those who think you a fool know nothing of Dhamma.

When this was said, the brahman Akkosaka Bharadvaja said to the Blessed One, “Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see forms, in the same way has Master Gotama — through many lines of reasoning — made the Dhamma clear. I go to the Blessed One for refuge, to the Dhamma, & to the community of monks. Let me obtain the going forth in Master Gotama’s presence, let me obtain admission.”

Then the brahman Akkosaka Bharadvaja received the going forth & the admission in the Blessed One’s presence. And not long after his admission — dwelling alone, secluded, heedful, ardent, & resolute — he in no long time reached & remained in the supreme goal of the holy life, for which clansmen rightly go forth from home into homelessness, knowing & realizing it for himself in the here & now. He knew: “Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for the sake of this world.” And so Ven. Bharadvaja became another one of the arahants.

look in your heart mirror

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“But what makes these ‘experts’ preach their own opinion and call it truth?” asked the inquirer. “Is it an inheritance of humankind to do this, or is it merely something they gain satisfaction from?” “Apart from consciousness,” answered the Buddha, “no absolute truths exist. False reasoning declares one view to be true and another view wrong. It is delight in their dearly held opinions that makes them assert that anyone who disagrees is bound to come to a bad end. But no true seeker becomes embroiled in all this. Pass by peacefully and go a stainless way, free from theories, lusts, and dogmas.”
– Majjhima Nikaya

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Unique personal expression is so precious. There are those people out there that can’t access their own voice – all that they can muster is criticism about other people and gifts they covet. This path simply promotes  envy, self-righteousness, and cruelty towards themselves and others; these people douse themselves in poison.  All of it ignorance, hatred and greed.

How utterly desolate & sad.

When wounded by such beings, please recall that what they say is not the teaching, nor the harm ; the teaching is how one lets go, witness the mirror inside -where there is tenderness and possibly a version of this poison. Thank that little place and let it be heard. Then let It go ; continue on, creating, expanding, the unique personal creative expression.

don’t do evil, do good, do good for others.   thanks for listening.

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http://www.lesliewagnerart.com