Heading to India

Last posting was December last year...and then the ammunition came and I spent 12 months doing battle with a manuscript.
...4 chapters left and heading to the Indian subcontinent for some inspiration. Back in the saddle.

More time at Chengdu's tea houses

I am putting up a few pics that didn't make the BBC edit. Look to the links on the left bar for more photographs from Tibet and China published on the BBC or HIMAL magazine.

Chengdu's tea houses--BBC story

Sorry for the long silence. I was out and about in Sichuan for a while. Click the Photo links to the left to see all the photos from the tea house story on the BBC. I'm putting here a few other photos that did not make it below from former visits to Sichuan tea houses.

PHOTO of the WEEK May 23--Mickey Gone Buddha

Recognize the natural state
Rest in one taste
Of all that arises
Trumpeting melody
Will announce the blissful union
Of Emptiness and Awareness
Resounding throughout cyberspace
It will be heard by all elongated or rounded ears
Of the Buddha, Mickey and by you
Remain in that one taste.

PHOTO of the WEEK--Rainbow Body at Boudha Stupa

Yet another late-breaking story from Kathmandu: Darren Attains Rainbow Body at Boudanath Stupa in Nepal.

Rainbow body, you ask?

This is when a highly accomplished meditator's bodily substance is transformed into multi colored light. This usually takes place at the time of death of realized masters who have reached the exhaustion of all erroneous grasping and dual fixating, usually through advanced practices in the Dzogchen tradition. The five gross elements that are the constituents of the physical body dissolve back into their essence--that is, rainbow light. Remember, ROY G BIV? That is right, a rainbow of Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violent light and they are gone to the Pure Land. Often, only the hair and nails remain on the meditation cushion.

I'll let you do more research. But for short snips on a recent yogi attaining rainbow body, look into Trungpa Rinpoche 'Born In Tibet' or Sogyal Rinpoche's 'Tibetan Book of Living & Dying'.

For now, I will leave you with this image of my buddy Darren attaining Rainbow Body in Kathmandu. Well, actually we met the next evening for pizza at Fire and Ice but I am hedging my bets that all of his retreat in India and in Tibet did him well. So well that he is about ready to, POOOOFF.

photo courtesy Buddhafield, Inc. Hopkins Ltd.

The Tao of Nepal's Revolution

Note: Gratitude to the friend in Nepal who penned this text during curfew hours to help friends understand what is happening behind the barricades of burning tyres......
"What's a revolution?" asked Piglet excitedly, although he didn't know whether he should be.

"It's when the people over throw their Government," Rabbit replied knowingly.
"Sounds like a lot of change to me, and change is bother," Eeyore sighed, dropping his head cynically.

"But why would they do that in Nepal?" Piglet enquired.

"Boredom probably," muttered Eeyore, chewing a thistle out of one side of his mouth.

"No." Rabbit responded sharply, "it's because of a number of complicated reasons. Firstly the country has been engaged in a civil war for over ten years, as a result of Maoist insurgency..." "Taoist philosophy?" Pooh interrupted, lifting his head from a jar of honey, licking his lips and now taking an interest. "Didn't we write a book about that once?"

"Not Taoist philosophy, Pooh, Maoist insurgency," Rabbit said abruptly.

"Oh," said Pooh "hmm, are they related?"
"Well, eer… sort of…. they come from…. the same place," Rabbit stuttered uncertainly, when Owl, much to Rabbit's relief, proclaimed, "Philosophy is engaged in by academics, whereas insurgency is conducted by people with guns…" Pooh had now put down the pot of honey and once again interrupted. "Well, if I remember rightly Taoism is about following the Way. Hmm… I am sure I sang a song about it once," and he started humming and drifted off into his own thoughts again.
"So is revolution about finding your way?" Piglet once again enquired; although he was still not sure he knew exactly what a revolution was and therefore was no closer to the answer to his original question.

At that moment Christopher Robin appeared and everyone turned to him, as he generally new about things like this. Rabbit looked quietly relieved that he didn't have to continue explaining about a situation in a far away country, which he knew little about, had never been to and had no intention of visiting. "Nepal is a beautiful and magical country, with some of the most spectacular mountains and hospitable people in the world," Christopher Robin started, "but it has many complicated political and economic problems at the moment and the current crisis is a culmination of these."

"An accumulation of bees!?!" Pooh gasped in a startled voice, and immediately stopped humming and trying to remember the words to his song about the Way, and started looking around nervously, shielding his pot of honey.

"Let me make it simple for you. The root of the problem is that those people living in the remote mountainous areas are very poor and have very little, whereas those who have governed them have always lived comfortably in the cities, with plentiful food and security. Despite people in rural areas having the least access to basic provisions and services, and therefore needing most help, traditionally the ruling urban elites have not provided them with the support they need to improve the quality of their lives."

"So who's ruling the country?" Piglet asked, hoping this might bring him closer to understanding what a revolution was.

"Good question, Piglet, and arguable currently no one is."

"See, I told you. Boredom. No one is even ruling," Eeyore huffed.

"Prior to 1990 the country was ruled by the King but a democratic government replaced the monarchy following a revolution at that time." Piglet sighed to himself, there had now been two revolutions and he still didn't know what one was. "However the government that replaced the King," Christopher Robin continued "still did not represent the rural poor or increase their access of basic services despite it being the poor who sacrificed the most in the 1990 revolution. As a result those people within the country, who believed in the political thought of Mao, started a quest…"

"Like ours one to find the North Pole or catch a Heffalump?" Pooh inserted.

"Sort of…. a quest to capitalise on the disillusionment among the rural poor," Christopher Robin continued "and encourage them to take up an armed struggle against the government for their rights. The fighting has spread across the country and led to many people being killed, the erosion of human rights and the crimpling of the rural economy."

"It doesn't sound like it is helping the rural poor very much," Piglet said in a concerned voice.

"Civil wars mostly have the greatest negative impact on those that they claim to be trying to bring justice to," Rabbit said confidently, pleased he was able to engage in the discussion again.

"Certainly in the short term, Rabbit. Then in February 2005 after over a decade of fighting between the Government and the Maoists a dramatic event happened, the King seized power back from the government claiming they were not doing enough to tackle the Maoist insurgency and in doing so become an authoritarian ruler…"

"An author? With a tartan ruler?" Pooh interrupted in a confused tone, once again removing his head from now even deeper inside the honey pot.

"An authoritarian ruler is one that takes control without the will of the people and governs without checks on his power, normally resulting in abuse of their position," Christopher Robin explained. "As a consequence of this, during the last year a strange pact has formed between the Maoists, representing the rural poor, and disposed government, made up of the urban elite, as both desire the removal of the King, with the former wanting a Republic and the later a return to democracy." Christopher Robin paused for breath, by now even Rabbit and Owl looked a little lost. "In recent months both the Maoist and the democratic parties have been carrying out an increasing number of activities to disrupt daily life and unsettle the current regime, in the form of strikes, protests, road blockades and in the case of the Maoist more brutal and concentrated violence. This has culminated in the mass protests, violence and disruption of the last few weeks, which has seen both groups join together and mobilise a significant number of people onto the streets, bring the country to a stand still and demanding a change of regime and a new constitution in Nepal – the start of a revolution."

"But how will people know when the revolution is over," asked Piglet, who now was a little clearer on what a revolution was, but was not sure whether it was a good or bad thing as yet.

"Well if successful, the demands of the revolutionaries have to been met, i.e. the King must steps aside and a new leader has to be identified to bring stability back to the country through a new constitution," Christopher Robin stated.

"But the revolutionaries are only united over the removal of the King. With the King now saying he is willing to pass power to the people, won't their conflicting demands and ideologies and the fact there is no obvious leader among the revolutionary movement, or at least no one everyone will agree on, mean that Nepal will drift into anarchy." Pooh suddenly interjected.

"I told you, bother, a whole lot of bother!" Eeyore groaned.

"Sounds like revolutions are more about getting lost, than finding the Way – I think we should stick to Taoism," Piglet concluded, picking up his bunch of violets, "come on Pooh, let's go and play Pooh Sticks, which at least has a clear objective and a winner."

April 25--Nomad Photo Journal on BBC

A photo journal of mine just went up on the BBC web site entitled, 'The Life of a Tibetan Nomad' with about a dozen photos. I worked with the BBC to walk through a day in the life of Jigme and his family who I stayed with for a couple weeks. Check it out. Paste this into your brower:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/06/asia_pac_tibetan_nomads/html/1.stm

The last time I had an on-line photo journal, which is a stark contrast to the current BBC series of nomad photos, was a few years back in HIMAL magazine. You can check those out by pasting the link http://www.himalmag.com/2002/september/# into your browser and click on the Tibet Special Photo Gallery (photos by Scruffy Squirrel Prints).

Th Philosopher Has Escaped-Piatagorski

I recently heard of a Latvian film entitled 'A Philosopher has Escaped' which received top award at an International Film Festival...well, the festival was in the Russian outpost Anapa... but still, the documentary film, "Filozofs Izbedzis" (A Philosopher has Escaped) from the "Lokomotive" film studio and directed by Uldis Tirons, was awarded first prize in the CIS and Baltic Film Festival.

The film is about my crazy professor of Indian philosophy Alexandr Piatagorski who I referred to in the Hungarian Csoma de Kőrösi blog from a few weeks back. 'A Philosopher has Escaped documents the eccentric and paradoxical life of the Russian Piatagorski, a specialist in Buddhist and ancient Indian philosophy, who was a legendary figure in Russian intellectual circles.

In trying to track down the film, which I have not so if anyone can help please send me information, I came across his most recent book, 'Who's Afraid of the Freemasons'. Check it out.In the eighteenth century, Freemasonry was seen to be a force of enlightenment, yet it has come to be regarded as a sinister influence in public life. This definitive study reveals more about Masonry and the way it functions than any other work. Professor Piatigorsky considers the institution from the points of view of both Masons and their critics. In the first section, he gives an outline of Masonic history, from the foundation of the Grand Lodge in London's Covent Garden in 1717, through the extraordinary role of Masonry in Enlightenment Europe and the American Revolution, to the present day. In the second part, he describes Freemasonry's rituals and symbolism, within which all Masonic religious ideas find their place. It is here that Piatigorsky's wide knowledge of the world's religions comes into its own.

PHOTO of the WEEK April 24--Flavor Flav spotted in Tibet

Yeeaahhhhhh Boooooyyyyyyy. You found it here Under The Same Moon. Flavor Flav was spotted on the Tibetan plateau! He just exchanged his Clock for a similarly ridiculous sized Dzi-Stone.

It took the Oolong-aficionado turned Private-Eye Joe Wagner, known in Haiku circles as 'Wood-Cutter-Up-Yonder', to track Flavor Flav down in on the windy Nangchen plains in Eastern Tibet. "I had to sort through many butter-stained Tibetans trying to pass themselves off as ex-Public Enemy rappers," Joe said, granting exclusive rights of this photo to this Web-blog. "But, I will tell you this," Wagner continued, "The Flav has it goin' on."

It became known late last year that Flav is part of the US Witness Re-location Program after secret testimony in the Enron hearing. "We want to keep the Flav safe," an unnamed kevlar-vest wearing spokeperson from the US Vice-President's office told us. "There aren't many rappers who are so punctual."

If you thought that this (see second photo) look-a-like is the real Flavor Flav these days livin' it up in Beverly Hills, think again Holmes, it's all part of that surreal thing they have going on in Hollywood. But here is the real story: the lovely lady with the green hat and matching purse and fuzzy robust top, that is actually Private Eye Joe Wagner on another assignment. Stay tuned.

Costa Rica, Poem: Furry Pillow Covers

I landed into San Jose, Costa Rica a bit ago. Perhaps this appropriately follows the last Yak Head Posting? Anyway, a long lost friend hooked me up with an acquaintance of hers for the evening in San Jose so I wouldn't have to drop any cash at a hotel. My host: American expat interior designer with way too much cash who had been living in Costa Rica for a couple decades and obviously loved her German Shepard dog, a lot....perhaps a bit too much. So, here it goes...
FURRY PILLOW COVERS

Aging Costa Rican canine off duty in living room
New Jersey-born interior designer
Drop two star shaped ice cubes
Into her tall crystal glass of Chablis

She slides across the teak floor
Nestles onto her leopard skin couch
Invites me to join her to stroke
The many fuzzy rabbit pelt covered pillows

The animal skin trade
In San Jose backstreet market
She explains,
Makes for, 'Oh so inexpensive decor.'

A bit of rhino wrap on the kitchen counter top
A trim of ivory on the living room mantle
A wolf hide carpet in the landing
Really can, 'make the difference.'

Lamenting the troubles of her time
Husband’s infidelity
Those “dark skinned” violent ways
The cost of pain free waxing
Now, the time has finally come
To pack her palace
And move back home.


Her loyal hip displaced guard dog
Lulled to sleep by her nightly monologues
Contently sighs next to polished toe nails

But there are more uncertainties
She continues
with a hair flip,
Unable to pay transport cost of her canine watch dog
She explains whilst caressing the German Shepard ears
maybe he too can become furry pillow covers.