Real-time Healings and Rinzai Roaring

[Guest guest]

Dear Mazie,

This is a most wonderful news. Thank you for sharing it here with your

friends.

I am so happy for you and Bob.

Love,

Harsha

Mazie Lane wrote:

My Dearest Friends,

I went to the

neurosurgeon's office on the 4th of April as was planned for. The

appointment was to set the exact date for the surgery to correct my

spinal vertabrae's deterioration, and to locate and excise the pockets

of foreign matter located along the sheath covering my spinal cord.

What was the time frame going to be like? Would I be having the surgery

in a month? In a week? Immediately? Although I had not been nervous at

all prior to April 4th, that morning I was uneasy, a bit unsettled at

the idea of once more undergoing such invasive measures to remain

actively playing in the game.

You wouldn't believe

what happened, what the doctor said to me, and what he showed me. It

"appears", and quite literally so, that whatever was my condition

before, the grave stenosis and the bone deformities, the pockets of

air/likely infectious material all along the spine, well my Beloved

companions, they have apparently vanished. Yep. Your heart's ears and

your body's eyes are not deceiving you. This old world-warhorse once

again has been gifted in being a template-testiment of Love and of God,

yes, odd enough it is, but absolutely true ... of the Merciful, the

Compassionate. Whatever it was that there before, it has utterly and

completely disappeared. Mind you, I saw the cat scans and xrays and

mri's taken, and I stood in front of those pictures with the doctor as

he explained and pointed out the depth of the damage done, and the

places where the lumbar bones were too narrowed, the portions of the

cervical spine, also damaged greatly, and I looked at the places where

the dark pockets of (whatever it was), were. When I went to discuss the

surgery's timeline and details, well, my Beautiful Friends, all those

things were gone, and nothing is the same.

When the old quote

"everything changes" comes to mind now, it has a whole new pertinence

and humorousness to it in lieu of these great changes in my life as I

know it, as I have always known it.

Now, mind you, the

doctor, he offers up his guesses, like perhaps the pockets were cysts

that somehow now have 'burst.' But you and I know they weren't cysts

that somehow burst on their own. Most doctors don't allow themselves

to go anywhere near the word "miracle." But how else explain the fact

that now my spine is, (as the doctor put it) remarkably healthy and

well considering the 42 years of rheumatoid arthritis that's been

indefatiguably at work. I am so healthy and so changed from the

previous scans, xrays, mri's, doctors/technicians diagnosis', etc.,

that now, WOW oh wow, there is obviously no surgery that's going to be

needed to fix me up! Yup.

Can you believe this?

Me? Me, indeed. And you know, my Dear Friends, there's a lot more at

work than we will ever be able to conceive. All your prayers and Loving

intentions for me, sheesh, who could ever have imagined the impact that

they would have on what would happen and not happen to me and my body?

All the week before my appointment I had had a book propped-up and

opened out, that I might copy some new Rumi stuff I'd found in it,

profoundly moving Rumi things. I never got around to actually typing it

out, but I read it, repeated it with my eye's voice often, as it was

lying open right next to my computer. It began like this (and I'm still

looking at it propped up) -

"In the name of God, the

Merciful, the Compassionate...."

I watched also, the movie

"Resurrection" with Ellen Burstyn this week-end. And Dear Ones, that

movie's messages hit me so deeply, so profoundly, and not in the way it

did when I watched it in the past. I was literally lifted in a bliss

that has no name, and no comparison to. Not in thinking or seeking a

cure or lifting-off of this disease, this pain, but in realization of a

sincere Compassion for all those beings who suffer, for all

those living in pain and fear of pain. My Joy was that I understood

entirely, as much as was possible at the time, surrender to what is,

exactly as it is. I had already been gifted with a Peace so profound,

that when viewing this movie, seeing the great messages of Love and

Kindness and Compassion for others, something inside of me once again

.... changed greatly. I don't know what it is, but I know that somehow,

in some way, all of this that's been leading-up to what happened in the

neurosurgeon's office on April 4th were already in play for this

marvelous, miraculous occurence to become manifest in this spare

little body. Oh Loves! my Dear Friends! God is inconceivably Gracious,

and Love is beyond what we conceive it to be, and please know this - my

Gratitude for all of you cannot find its expression, or its breadth.

But I know that you all must surely know how great my Joy is at how

this has all unfolded. My Friends, my Cherished and Beautiful Friends

.... I Love you so. I Love you all.

And now a word from our

truth-sponsor:

Rinzai, shootin' truth

straight atcha -

Followers of the Way come from

all over to study the Way. I myself in past years turned to monastic

discipline and delved into the sutras and treatises. But later I

realized that these are just medicines to cure the sickness of the

world, expositions of surface matters. So finally I tossed them aside

and sought the Way through Ch'an practice. Later I encountered an

excellent friend and teacher, and then my Dharma eye at last became

keen and bright. For the first time I could judge the old teachers of

the world and tell you who was crooked and who was straight. But this

understanding was not with me when my mother gave birth to me; I had to

probe and polish and undergo experiences until one morning I could see

clearly for myself.

Followers of the Way, if you want to get the kind of understanding that

accords with the Dharma, never be misled by others. Whether you're

facing inward or outward, whatever you meet up with, just kill it! If

you meet a Buddha, kill the Buddha. If you meet a patriarch, kill the

patriarch. If you meet an arhat, kill the arhat. Then for the first

time you will gain emancipation, will not be entangled with things, and

will pass freely anywhere you wish to go.

There's never been one student who didn't appear before me depending on

something. So I start right out by hitting them there. If they come

with a raised hand, I hit the raised hand; if they come mouthing

something, I hit them in the mouth. I have yet to find one who comes

alone and free; they're all caught up in the idle devices of the men of

old.

I don't have a particle of Dharma to give to anyone. All I have is cure

for sickness, freedom from bondage. You followers of the Way from here

and there, try coming to me without depending on anything. I would like

to do some testing with you. For ten years, for five seasons, there's

never been such a person. All I get are things stuck to stems, wild fox

spirits! They chew away frantically at every lump garbage they happen

on.

I tell you, there's no Buddha, no Dharma, no practice, no

enlightenment. Yet you go off like this on side roads, trying to find

something. Blind fools! Will you put another head on top of the one you

have? What is it you lack?

Followers of the Way, you who are carrying out your activities before

my eyes are no different from the Buddha and the patriarchs. But you

don't believe that and go searching for something outside. Make no

mistake. There's no Dharma outside, and even what is on the inside

can't be grasped. You get taken up with the words from my mouth, but it

would be better if you stopped all that and did nothing. Things already

under way, don't go on with them. Things not yet under way, don't let

them get under way. That's better for you than ten years traveling

around on pilgrimages.

The way I see it, there's no call for anything special. Just act

ordinary, put on your clothes, eat your rice, pass the time doing

nothing. You who come from here and there, you all have a mind to do

something. You search for Buddha, search for the Dharma, search for

emancipation, search for a way to get out of the threefold world.

Idiots, trying to get out of the threefold world! Where will you go?

Buddha, patriarchs- these are just laudatory words and phrases. Do you

want to know what the threefold world is? It is nothing other than the

mind-ground that you who are now listening to the Dharma are standing

on. When you have a moment of greed in your mind, that is the world of

desire. When you have a moment of anger in your mind, that is the world

of form. When you have a moment of ignorance in your mind, that is the

world of formlessness. These are the pieces of furniture in your house.

The threefold world does not announce, "I am the threefold world."

Rather it's you, followers of the Way, who do so, this person here in

front of my eyes who in marvelous fashion shines his torch on the ten

thousand things and sizes up the world. It's he who assigns names to

the threefold world.

Fellow believers, this body made up of the four major elements has no

permanence. Things like spleen and stomach, liver and gall, hair,

nails, teeth are simply evidence that all phenomenal things are empty

of fixed characteristics. When your mind has learned to cease its

momentary seeking, this is dubbed the state of the bodhi tree. But

while your mind is incapable of ceasing, this is dubbed the tree of

ignorance. Ignorance has no fixed abode, ignorance has no beginning or

end. As long as your mind is unable to cease its moment by moment

activity, then you are up in the tree of ignorance.

Followers of the Way, I tell you there is no Dharma to be found

outside. But students don't understand me and immediately start looking

inward for some explanation, sitting by the wall in meditation,

pressing their tongues against the roof of their mouths, absolutely

still, never moving, supposing this to be the Dharma of the buddhas

taught by the patriarchs. What a mistake! If you take this unmoving,

clean, and pure environment to be the right way, then you will be

making ignorance the lord and master. A person of old said,

"Bottomless, inky black is the deep pit, truly a place to be feared!"

This is what he meant.

But suppose you take motion to be the right way. Every plant and tree

knows how to move back and forth, so does that mean they constitute the

Way? To the degree that they move, it is due to the element air; to the

degree that they do not move, it is to the element earth. Neither their

moving nor their not moving comes from any nature innate in them. If

you look toward the area of motion and try to grasp the truth there, it

will take up its stand in the area of non-motion, and if you look

toward non-motion and try to grasp it there, it will take up its stand

in motion. It is like a fish hidden in a pond who now and then slaps

the surface and leaps up.

A man of old said:

The mind changes, following along with ten thousand environments;

The way it changes is truly most mysterious.

If you follow its flow and can perceive its nature,

You will have neither joy nor sorrow.

Followers of the Way, you lug your alms bag and rush off on side roads,

looking for buddhas, looking for Dharma. Right now, all this dashing

and searching you are doing, do you know what it is you are looking

for? It is vibrantly alive, yet has no root or stem. You can't gather

it up; you can't scatter it to the winds. The more you search for it,

the farther away it gets. Don't search for it and it's right before

your eyes; its miraculous sound always in your ears. But if you don't

have faith, you'll spend your hundred years in wasted labor.

In the space of an instant you may enter the Lotus Treasury world,

enter the land of Vairochana, enter the land of emancipation, enter the

land of transcendental powers, enter the clean, pure land, enter the

Dharma realm, enter filth, enter purity, enter the state of a common

mortal, enter that of a sage, enter the realm of hungry ghosts or

animals. Whatever place you journey to, whenever you hunt or search,

nowhere will you find the living and the dead. All are mere empty names.

The way I do things at present is to go about in a true and proper

manner constructing and demolishing, toying and sporting with

supernatural changes, entering every kind of environment but doing

nothing wherever I am, not permitting the environment to pull me awry.

Whoever comes to me seeking something, I immediately come out to size

him up, but he doesn't recognize me. Then I put on various different

robes. The student forms an understanding on that basis and begins to

be drawn into my words.

Hopeless! The student concentrates on the robe I'm wearing, noting

whether it is blue, yellow, red, or white. Don't get so taken up with

the robe! The robe can't move of itself; the person is the one who can

put on the robe. There is a clean pure robe, there is a no birth robe,

a bodhi robe, a nirvana robe, a patriarch robe, a Buddha robe. Fellow

believers, these sounds, names, words, phrases are all nothing but

changes of robe. The sea of breath in the region below the navel stirs

itself into motion, the teeth batter and mold it, and it comes out as a

statement of an idea. So we know for certain that these are mere

phantoms.

The karma of sounds and words finds outward expression; the objects of

the mind are manifested within. Because of mental processes thoughts

are formed, but all of these are just robes. If you take the robe that

a person is wearing to be the person's true identity, then though

endless kalpas may pass, you will become proficient in robes only and

will remain forever circling round in the threefold world,

transmigrating in the realm of birth and death. Better to do nothing,

"to meet someone but not recognize him, talk with him but not know his

name."

The trouble with students these days is that they seize on words and

from their understanding on that basis. In a big notebook they copy

down the sayings of some worthless old fellow, wrapping it up in three

layers, five layers of carrying cloth, not letting anyone else see it,

calling it the Dark Meaning and guarding it as something precious. What

a mistake! Blind fools, what sort of juice do they expect to get out of

dried bones?

You rush around frantically one place to another. What are you looking

for, tramping till the soles of your feet are squashed flat? There is

no Buddha to be sought, no Way to be carried out, no Dharma to be

gained.

Seeking outside for some Buddha possessing form

This hardly becomes you!

If you wish to know your original mind,

Don't try to join with it,

Don't try to depart from it.

Followers of the Way, the true Buddha is without form, the true Way is

without entity, the true Dharma is without characteristics. These three

things mingle and blend, fusing together in one place. Because you fail

to perceive this, you let yourselves be called creatures muddled by

karma- created consciousness.

Someone asked, "What do you mean by the mind that moment to moment does

not differentiate?"

Master Lin-chi said, The moment you ask such a question you show that

differentiation has already taken place and that inherent nature and

its manifestations have gone separate ways. Followers of the Way, make

no mistake! The various phenomena in this world and other worlds are in

all cases devoid of intrinsic nature. They are also devoid of any

nature that manifests itself. They are empty names, and the words used

to describe them are likewise empty. But you insist on mistaking these

idle names for reality. This is a great error. Even if something did

exist, it would in all cases be no more than an environment that

changes with what it depends on.

There is the dependent condition called bodhi, the dependent condition

of nirvana, the dependent condition of emancipation, the dependent

condition of the threefold body, the dependent condition of environment

and wisdom, the dependent condition of bodhisattva, the dependent

condition of Buddha. You live in a land of changing dependent

conditions, what is it you are looking for?

And things like the Three Vehicles and the twelve divisions of the

scriptural teachings, they're all so much like an old rag to wipe away

filth. The Buddha is a phantom body, the patriarchs are nothing but old

monks. If you seek the Buddha, you'll be seized by the Buddha devil. If

you seek the patriarchs, you'll be fettered by the patriarch devil. As

long as you seek something, it can only lead to suffering. Better to do

nothing.

There are a bunch of bald-headed monks who tell students of the Way

that the Buddha represents the ultimate goal, and that one must spend

three kalpas carrying out and fulfilling all the religious practices

before one can gain complete understanding of the Way. Followers of the

Way, if you say that the Buddha represents the ultimate goal, then why

after living just eighty years did the Buddha lie down in the grove of

sal trees in the city of Kushingara and die? Where is the Buddha now?

>From this we know clearly that he was no different from us in the realm

of birth and death.

Followers of the Way, the true Buddha is without form, the true Dharma

is without characteristics. You are striking poses and donning

attitudes all because of a mere phantom. Even if in your seeking you

got something, it would all be the work of wild fox spirits, certainly

not the true Buddha. It would be the understanding of the non-Buddhists.

A true student of the Way never concerns himself with the Buddha, never

concerns herself with bodhisattvas or arhats, never concerns herself

with the blessings of the threefold world. Far removed, alone and free,

he is never entangled in things. Heaven and earth could turn upside

down and she would not be disturbed. All the buddhas of the ten

directions could appear before him, and his mind would not feel an

instant of joy, the three realms of hell could suddenly confront him,

and his mind would not feel an instant of alarm. Why is this? Because

they know that all things of the phenomenal world are empty of

characteristics. When conditions change, they come into existence; when

there is no change, they do not exist. The threefold world is nothing

but mind; the ten thousand phenomena are nothing but consciousness.

These dreams, phantoms, empty flowers, why trouble yourself trying to

grasp them?

There is only you, follower of the Way, this person in front of my eyes

now listening to the Dharma, who enters fire without being burned,

enters water without drowning, enters the three realms of hell as

though strolling in a garden, enters the realms of hungry ghosts and

the animals but undergoes no punishment. How can one do all this?

While you love sages, loath common mortals,

You're bobbing up and down in the sea of birth and death.

Earthly desires exist because of the mind;

If no mind, what can earthly desires fix on?

Don't labor to discriminate, to seize on marks;

Then without effort, you'll gain the Way in a moment.

- Zen Master Lin-Chi (Rinzai)

As I Am,

Mazie

[Guest guest]

font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold">

[]

On Behalf Of Mazie Lane

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 7:32

AM

[

- Ramana Guru] Real-time Healings and Rinzai Roaring

12.0pt">

My Dearest Friends,

I

went to the neurosurgeon's office on the 4th of April as was planned

for. The appointment was to set the exact date for the surgery to correct my

spinal vertabrae's deterioration, and to locate and excise the pockets of

foreign matter located along the sheath covering my spinal cord. What was the

time frame going to be like? Would I be having the surgery in a month? In a

week? Immediately? Although I had not been nervous at all prior to April 4th, that

morning I was uneasy, a bit unsettled at the idea of once more undergoing such

invasive measures to remain actively playing in the game.

You

wouldn't believe what happened, what the doctor said to me, and what he showed

me. It "appears", and quite literally so, that whatever was my

condition before, the grave stenosis and the bone deformities, the pockets of

air/likely infectious material all along the spine, well my Beloved

companions, they have apparently vanished. Yep. Your heart's ears and

your body's eyes are not deceiving you. This old world-warhorse once again has

been gifted in being a template-testiment of Love and of God, yes, odd

enough it is, but absolutely true ... of the Merciful, the

Compassionate. Whatever it was that there before, it has

utterly and completely disappeared. Mind you, I saw the cat scans and

xrays and mri's taken, and I stood in front of those pictures with the doctor

as he explained and pointed out the depth of the damage done, and the places

where the lumbar bones were too narrowed, the portions of the cervical spine,

also damaged greatly, and I looked at the places where the dark pockets of

(whatever it was), were. When I went to discuss the surgery's timeline and

details, well, my Beautiful Friends, all those things were gone, and

nothing is the same.

When the

old quote "everything changes" comes to mind now, it has a whole new

pertinence and humorousness to it in lieu of these great changes in my life as

I know it, as I have always known it.

font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:blue">

font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:blue">mb

font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:blue">Dear Mazie,

font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:blue">I am thrilled to hear of this

miraculous event and I sincerely hope that you continue to improve and to live

without the ill effects of the blight that was once there upon your spinal

cord. I hope that the arthritis itself will improve as well. I know

that at times it must be terribly painful.

font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:blue">Recently I was informed that I may have

a “bodily-life” threatening illness. At best this body faces

a very serious situation. I will know the results of all the tests and

biopsy around the middle of May. Mercifully I am not in any pain at this

time.

font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:blue">All this has provided me with a

wonderful opportunity to reflect upon the transitory nature of the body.

I almost long for the end, for the release into that quiet repose. Whether

sooner or later, the body will reach its end and I enjoy the opportunity to fully

embrace that inevitability. I do not wish for healing, because all things

occur as they will. I am at peace in this wondrous existence of holy

light.

font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:blue">Further good luck to you Mazie.

font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:blue">Love and Peace,

font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:blue">michael

[Guest guest]

, "Michael Bowes"

<aumshanti wrote:

>

> _____

>

>

[]

> On Behalf Of Mazie Lane

> Tuesday, April 18, 2006 7:32 AM

>

> Real-time Healings and

Rinzai

> Roaring

>

>

>

> My Dearest Friends,

>

> I went to the neurosurgeon's office on the 4th of April as was

planned for.

> The appointment was to set the exact date for the surgery to

correct my

> spinal vertabrae's deterioration, and to locate and excise the

pockets of

> foreign matter located along the sheath covering my spinal cord.

What was

> the time frame going to be like? Would I be having the surgery in a

month?

> In a week? Immediately? Although I had not been nervous at all

prior to

> April 4th, that morning I was uneasy, a bit unsettled at the idea

of once

> more undergoing such invasive measures to remain actively playing

in the

> game.

>

> You wouldn't believe what happened, what the doctor said to me, and

what he

> showed me. It "appears", and quite literally so, that whatever was

my

> condition before, the grave stenosis and the bone deformities, the

pockets

> of air/likely infectious material all along the spine, well my

Beloved

> companions, they have apparently vanished. Yep. Your heart's ears

and your

> body's eyes are not deceiving you. This old world-warhorse once

again has

> been gifted in being a template-testiment of Love and of God, yes,

odd

> enough it is, but absolutely true ... of the Merciful, the

Compassionate.

> Whatever it was that there before, it has utterly and completely

> disappeared. Mind you, I saw the cat scans and xrays and mri's

taken, and I

> stood in front of those pictures with the doctor as he explained

and pointed

> out the depth of the damage done, and the places where the lumbar

bones were

> too narrowed, the portions of the cervical spine, also damaged

greatly, and

> I looked at the places where the dark pockets of (whatever it was),

were.

> When I went to discuss the surgery's timeline and details, well, my

> Beautiful Friends, all those things were gone, and nothing is the

same.

>

> When the old quote "everything changes" comes to mind now, it has a

whole

> new pertinence and humorousness to it in lieu of these great

changes in my

> life as I know it, as I have always known it.

>

>

>

> mb

>

> Dear Mazie,

>

> I am thrilled to hear of this miraculous event and I sincerely hope

that you

> continue to improve and to live without the ill effects of the

blight that

> was once there upon your spinal cord. I hope that the arthritis

itself will

> improve as well. I know that at times it must be terribly painful.

>

> Recently I was informed that I may have a "bodily-life" threatening

illness.

> At best this body faces a very serious situation. I will know the

results

> of all the tests and biopsy around the middle of May. Mercifully I

am not

> in any pain at this time.

>

> All this has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to reflect

upon the

> transitory nature of the body. I almost long for the end, for the

release

> into that quiet repose. Whether sooner or later, the body will

reach its

> end and I enjoy the opportunity to fully embrace that

inevitability. I do

> not wish for healing, because all things occur as they will. I am

at peace

> in this wondrous existence of holy light.

>

> Further good luck to you Mazie.

>

> Love and Peace,

>

> michael

>

 

 

(((((((a big hug, brother)))))))

 

wishing you a painless, fast and easy death

when the time comes

 

yosy

[Guest guest]

font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold">

[]

On Behalf Of yosyx

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

7:55 PM

Re: Real-time Healings and

Rinzai Roaring

12.0pt">

,

"Michael Bowes"

<aumshanti wrote:

>

> _____

>

>

[]

> On Behalf Of Mazie Lane

> Tuesday, April 18, 2006 7:32 AM

>

> [ -

Ramana Guru] Real-time Healings and

Rinzai

> Roaring

>

>

>

> My Dearest Friends,

>

> I went to the neurosurgeon's office on the 4th of April as was

planned for.

> The appointment was to set the exact date for the surgery to

correct my

> spinal vertabrae's deterioration, and to locate and excise the

pockets of

> foreign matter located along the sheath covering my spinal cord.

What was

> the time frame going to be like? Would I be having the surgery in a

month?

> In a week? Immediately? Although I had not been nervous at all

prior to

> April 4th, that morning I was uneasy, a bit unsettled at the idea

of once

> more undergoing such invasive measures to remain actively playing

in the

> game.

>

> You wouldn't believe what happened, what the doctor said to me, and

what he

> showed me. It "appears", and quite literally so, that whatever

was

my

> condition before, the grave stenosis and the bone deformities, the

pockets

> of air/likely infectious material all along the spine, well my

Beloved

> companions, they have apparently vanished. Yep. Your heart's ears

and your

> body's eyes are not deceiving you. This old world-warhorse once

again has

> been gifted in being a template-testiment of Love and of God, yes,

odd

> enough it is, but absolutely true ... of the Merciful, the

Compassionate.

> Whatever it was that there before, it has utterly and completely

> disappeared. Mind you, I saw the cat scans and xrays and mri's

taken, and I

> stood in front of those pictures with the doctor as he explained

and pointed

> out the depth of the damage done, and the places where the lumbar

bones were

> too narrowed, the portions of the cervical spine, also damaged

greatly, and

> I looked at the places where the dark pockets of (whatever it was),

were.

> When I went to discuss the surgery's timeline and details, well, my

> Beautiful Friends, all those things were gone, and nothing is the

same.

>

> When the old quote "everything changes" comes to mind now, it

has a

whole

> new pertinence and humorousness to it in lieu of these great

changes in my

> life as I know it, as I have always known it.

>

>

>

> mb

>

> Dear Mazie,

>

> I am thrilled to hear of this miraculous event and I sincerely hope

that you

> continue to improve and to live without the ill effects of the

blight that

> was once there upon your spinal cord. I hope that the arthritis

itself will

> improve as well. I know that at times it must be terribly painful.

>

> Recently I was informed that I may have a "bodily-life"

threatening

illness.

> At best this body faces a very serious situation. I will know the

results

> of all the tests and biopsy around the middle of May. Mercifully I

am not

> in any pain at this time.

>

> All this has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to reflect

upon the

> transitory nature of the body. I almost long for the end, for the

release

> into that quiet repose. Whether sooner or later, the body will

reach its

> end and I enjoy the opportunity to fully embrace that

inevitability. I do

> not wish for healing, because all things occur as they will. I am

at peace

> in this wondrous existence of holy light.

>

> Further good luck to you Mazie.

>

> Love and Peace,

>

> michael

>

(((((((a big hug, brother)))))))

wishing you a painless, fast and easy death

when the time comes

yosy

color:blue">

color:blue">mb

color:blue">Thanks bro. What could be better??

[Guest guest]

Michael,

I once faced what you are facing. My biopsy came back malignant and

newly aggressive. Surgery was needed quickly as the doctor indicated

it was trying to metasticize.

 

I had about a month to wait and at first was struck by how numb I

felt. Then I was reminded of one of my companion dogs who had recently

died, and how he faced his death. I now understood what he had done.

 

I no longer fought, nor feared. I realized that 'what will be will be'

and I also realized how precious each day is. I seemed to weaken each

day and lost weight steadily. The only pain was discomfort at night so

I took a very mild sedative so I could sleep.

 

During the day, I would do what came before me, and then I would take

my folding chair and go outside and "drink the day" and all that was

in it. I found that the trees knew how to sit with me; they didn't

intrude so we just sat together and watched the world go by.

 

When the time came I went into the surgery asleep and came out in a

hospital room, tied down and all tubed up. I was told the surgery had

lasted 11 hours.

 

It has been six years since and I still from time to time take my

folding chair and go sit with the trees and together we watch the world.

 

I do not fear death, I do not seek it either. There is just abiding.

Day by day. Purpose is what comes before me and is no longer something

I seek. Now I understand Herman Hesse's picture of Siddhartha who has

become the ferryboatman.

 

This is a special time for you, a very special time. A time to reflect

on what you have learned, and what you are learning from this

experience. Perhaps it is time to watch the cloud critters in the sky.

 

Many blessings,

John L.

Today is a beautiful day.

 

, "Michael Bowes" <aumshanti

wrote:

> Dear Mazie,

>

> I am thrilled to hear of this miraculous event and I sincerely hope

that you

> continue to improve and to live without the ill effects of the

blight that

> was once there upon your spinal cord. I hope that the arthritis

itself will

> improve as well. I know that at times it must be terribly painful.

>

> Recently I was informed that I may have a "bodily-life" threatening

illness.

> At best this body faces a very serious situation. I will know the

results

> of all the tests and biopsy around the middle of May. Mercifully I

am not

> in any pain at this time.

>

> All this has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to reflect

upon the

> transitory nature of the body. I almost long for the end, for the

release

> into that quiet repose. Whether sooner or later, the body will

reach its

> end and I enjoy the opportunity to fully embrace that inevitability.

I do

> not wish for healing, because all things occur as they will. I am

at peace

> in this wondrous existence of holy light.

>

> Further good luck to you Mazie.

>

> Love and Peace,

>

> michael

>

[Guest guest]

John,

Thanks for

sharing that. I appreciate it.

Everything that

life brings us presents us with an opportunity to deepen our experience of this

wondrous existence. It is heartening to know that you have gone through a

similar experience and that your life was enriched by it.

Thanks again.

michael

font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold">

[]

On Behalf Of John Logan

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

10:47 PM

Re: Real-time Healings and

Rinzai Roaring

12.0pt">

12.0pt">Michael,

I once faced what you are facing. My biopsy came back malignant and

newly aggressive. Surgery was needed quickly as the doctor indicated

it was trying to metasticize.

I had about a month to wait and at first was struck by how numb I

felt. Then I was reminded of one of my companion dogs who had recently

died, and how he faced his death. I now understood what he had done.

I no longer fought, nor feared. I realized that 'what will be will be'

and I also realized how precious each day is. I seemed to weaken each

day and lost weight steadily. The only pain was discomfort at night so

I took a very mild sedative so I could sleep.

During the day, I would do what came before me, and then I would take

my folding chair and go outside and "drink the day" and all that was

in it. I found that the trees knew how to sit with me; they didn't

intrude so we just sat together and watched the world go by.

When the time came I went into the surgery asleep and came out in a

hospital room, tied down and all tubed up. I was told the surgery had

lasted 11 hours.

It has been six years since and I still from time to time take my

folding chair and go sit with the trees and together we watch the world.

I do not fear death, I do not seek it either. There is just abiding.

Day by day. Purpose is what comes before me and is no longer something

I seek. Now I understand Herman Hesse's picture of Siddhartha who has

become the ferryboatman.

This is a special time for you, a very special time. A time to reflect

on what you have learned, and what you are learning from this

experience. Perhaps it is time to watch the cloud critters in the sky.

Many blessings,

John L.

Today is a beautiful day.

,

"Michael Bowes" <aumshanti

wrote:

> Dear Mazie,

>

> I am thrilled to hear of this miraculous event and I sincerely hope

that you

> continue to improve and to live without the ill effects of the

blight that

> was once there upon your spinal cord. I hope that the arthritis

itself will

> improve as well. I know that at times it must be terribly painful.

>

> Recently I was informed that I may have a "bodily-life"

threatening

illness.

> At best this body faces a very serious situation. I will know the

results

> of all the tests and biopsy around the middle of May. Mercifully I

am not

> in any pain at this time.

>

> All this has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to reflect

upon the

> transitory nature of the body. I almost long for the end, for the

release

> into that quiet repose. Whether sooner or later, the body will

reach its

> end and I enjoy the opportunity to fully embrace that inevitability.

I do

> not wish for healing, because all things occur as they will. I am

at peace

> in this wondrous existence of holy light.

>

> Further good luck to you Mazie.

>

> Love and Peace,

>

> michael

>

[Guest guest]

Michael,

 

Anne Cushman wrote something which has sustained me wonderfully:

 

"This world is impermanent but this world is also a sacred place."

 

In the light of my life and my conditions this, I think, says it well.

 

Lawrence Leshan points out that any "terminal" appearing condition is

a door; it is the kind of a door which once one goes through it one

can never go back - only forward. This is true no matter what the

outcome. For me there is only now and going forward; I may look back

for the learning but there is no turning back. Curiously the same is

true for the major caregiver in my life, my wife. She is not the same

either. Just as curiously the habits which contributed to my having

the cancer and which I no longer practice don't seem to have made an

effect on her. She continues in many of the habits which don't

contribute to wellness. Which proves that such learning is really

one's own responsibility.

 

She had to take care of me during much of my early recovery but very

quickly I found that though I liked the care, I needed to reclaim

responsibility for my life and consciousness, it wasn't hers to handle.

 

Keep in touch and let me know what is progressing and what you are

going through.

 

John

It is neither the same nor different.

 

Blessings on your adventure,

John

 

, "Michael Bowes" <aumshanti

wrote:

>

> John,

>

>

>

> Thanks for sharing that. I appreciate it.

>

>

>

> Everything that life brings us presents us with an opportunity to

deepen our

> experience of this wondrous existence. It is heartening to know

that you

> have gone through a similar experience and that your life was

enriched by

> it.

>

>

>

> Thanks again.

>

>

>

> michael

>

>

>

> _____

>

>

[]

> On Behalf Of John Logan

> Wednesday, April 19, 2006 10:47 PM

>

> Re: Real-time Healings and

Rinzai

> Roaring

>

>

>

> Michael,

> I once faced what you are facing. My biopsy came back malignant and

> newly aggressive. Surgery was needed quickly as the doctor indicated

> it was trying to metasticize.

>

> I had about a month to wait and at first was struck by how numb I

> felt. Then I was reminded of one of my companion dogs who had recently

> died, and how he faced his death. I now understood what he had done.

>

> I no longer fought, nor feared. I realized that 'what will be will be'

> and I also realized how precious each day is. I seemed to weaken each

> day and lost weight steadily. The only pain was discomfort at night so

> I took a very mild sedative so I could sleep.

>

> During the day, I would do what came before me, and then I would take

> my folding chair and go outside and "drink the day" and all that was

> in it. I found that the trees knew how to sit with me; they didn't

> intrude so we just sat together and watched the world go by.

>

> When the time came I went into the surgery asleep and came out in a

> hospital room, tied down and all tubed up. I was told the surgery had

> lasted 11 hours.

>

> It has been six years since and I still from time to time take my

> folding chair and go sit with the trees and together we watch the world.

>

> I do not fear death, I do not seek it either. There is just abiding.

> Day by day. Purpose is what comes before me and is no longer something

> I seek. Now I understand Herman Hesse's picture of Siddhartha who has

> become the ferryboatman.

>

> This is a special time for you, a very special time. A time to reflect

> on what you have learned, and what you are learning from this

> experience. Perhaps it is time to watch the cloud critters in the sky.

>

> Many blessings,

> John L.

> Today is a beautiful day.

>

> , "Michael Bowes" <aumshanti@>

> wrote:

>

> > Dear Mazie,

> >

> > I am thrilled to hear of this miraculous event and I sincerely hope

> that you

> > continue to improve and to live without the ill effects of the

> blight that

> > was once there upon your spinal cord. I hope that the arthritis

> itself will

> > improve as well. I know that at times it must be terribly painful.

> >

> > Recently I was informed that I may have a "bodily-life" threatening

> illness.

> > At best this body faces a very serious situation. I will know the

> results

> > of all the tests and biopsy around the middle of May. Mercifully I

> am not

> > in any pain at this time.

> >

> > All this has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to reflect

> upon the

> > transitory nature of the body. I almost long for the end, for the

> release

> > into that quiet repose. Whether sooner or later, the body will

> reach its

> > end and I enjoy the opportunity to fully embrace that inevitability.

> I do

> > not wish for healing, because all things occur as they will. I am

> at peace

> > in this wondrous existence of holy light.

> >

> > Further good luck to you Mazie.

> >

> > Love and Peace,

> >

> > michael

> >

>

>

>

> community blog is at

>

> http://.net/blog/

>

> "Love itself is the actual form of God."

>

> Sri Ramana

>

> In "Letters from Sri Ramanasramam" by Suri Nagamma

>

>

>

>

> _____

>

>

>

>

>

> * Visit your group "

> <> " on the web.

>

> *

>

> <?subject=Un>

>

> *

> <> Terms of Service.

>

>

>

> _____

>

[Guest guest]

_____

 

[]

On Behalf Of John Logan

Thursday, April 20, 2006 6:17 PM

Re: Real-time Healings and Rinzai

Roaring

 

 

Michael,

 

Anne Cushman wrote something which has sustained me wonderfully:

 

"This world is impermanent but this world is also a sacred place."

 

In the light of my life and my conditions this, I think, says it well.

 

 

 

Snip

 

 

Hi John and everyone,

 

 

Yes, the world is a sacred place and I love it immensely. It is also

impermanent and I love that too. But I have often felt a bit sad when

encountering people and philosophies that try to negate the "world" in an

effort to find the "permanent". Perhaps that they are not aware of the fact

that "change" is "permanent".

 

 

 

The following is from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna:

 

 

M: "Is the world unreal?"

 

 

MASTER: "Why should it be unreal? What you are asking is a matter for

philosophical discussion.

 

"In the beginning, when a man reasons following the Vedantic

method of 'Not this, not this' (Neti, Neti), he realizes that Brahman is not

the living beings, not the universe, not the twenty-four cosmic principles.

All these things become like dreams to him. Then comes the affirmation of

what has been denied, and he feels that God Himself has become the universe

and all living beings.

 

 

 

I use this quote because I know it to be true. When one realizes Brahman,

one also realizes that Brahman has become the world, the universe and the

living beings. Brahman is also un-manifest and the un-manifest nature of

Brahman can be experienced; but it can't be described. The un-manifest

and undying nature of Brahman is vast, unborn, undying, beautiful,

frightful, loving and unimaginably blissful. I would trade five million

lifetimes of pure consciousness for one second immersed in the experience of

the un-manifest aspect of Brahman. None the less, all existence is Brahman

and I love it all immensely.

 

 

The body will die; but Brahman lives.

 

 

OM TAT SAT

 

 

Love to all,

 

 

michael

[Guest guest]

, "Michael Bowes"

<aumshanti wrote:

>

> _____

>

>

[]

> On Behalf Of John Logan

> Thursday, April 20, 2006 6:17 PM

>

> Re: Real-time Healings and

Rinzai

> Roaring

>

>

>

> Michael,

>

> Anne Cushman wrote something which has sustained me wonderfully:

>

> "This world is impermanent but this world is also a sacred place."

>

> In the light of my life and my conditions this, I think, says it

well.

>

>

>

> Snip

>

>

>

> Hi John and everyone,

>

>

>

> Yes, the world is a sacred place and I love it immensely. It is

also

> impermanent and I love that too. But I have often felt a bit sad

when

> encountering people and philosophies that try to negate the "world"

in an

> effort to find the "permanent". Perhaps that they are not aware of

the fact

> that "change" is "permanent".

>

>

>

>

>

> The following is from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna:

>

>

>

> M: "Is the world unreal?"

>

>

>

> MASTER: "Why should it be unreal? What you are asking is a matter

for

> philosophical discussion.

>

> "In the beginning, when a man reasons following the

Vedantic

> method of 'Not this, not this' (Neti, Neti), he realizes that

Brahman is not

> the living beings, not the universe, not the twenty-four cosmic

principles.

> All these things become like dreams to him. Then comes the

affirmation of

> what has been denied, and he feels that God Himself has become the

universe

> and all living beings.

>

>

>

>

>

> I use this quote because I know it to be true. When one realizes

Brahman,

> one also realizes that Brahman has become the world, the universe

and the

> living beings. Brahman is also un-manifest and the un-manifest

nature of

> Brahman can be experienced; but it can't be described. The un-

manifest

> and undying nature of Brahman is vast, unborn, undying, beautiful,

> frightful, loving and unimaginably blissful.

 

 

unequalled and undescribable...

 

 

I would trade five million

> lifetimes of pure consciousness for one second immersed in the

experience of

> the un-manifest aspect of Brahman.

 

 

 

why trade? forgeting the "i",

is what is;

no manifest nor un-manifest,

only

this...

no one to trade,

nothing to trade for -

 

tat twam asi!

 

 

 

None the less, all existence is Brahman

> and I love it all immensely.

>

>

>

> The body will die; but Brahman lives.

>

>

>

> OM TAT SAT

>

>

>

> Love to all,

>

>

>

> michael

>

 

 

 

BOOM!!!

 

_()_

yosy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

community blog is at

 

http://.net/blog/

 

"Love itself is the actual form of God."

 

Sri Ramana

 

In "Letters from Sri Ramanasramam" by Suri Nagamma

<*>

/

 

<*>

 

<*> Your

[Guest guest]

Namaste Mazie et al, Great news for you!

 

How long did you have stenosis? I have been diagnosed with stenosis

at the back of my neck, perhaps due to a past auto accident. I have

some numbing of arms etc after sleeping etc. I don't seem that

worried about it as I cancelled a visit to the neurosurgeon as it

was early days yet.

 

With regard to fear of death, my fear has all but disappeared. I had

to put my dog down recently Jai-Jai, a Shih-Tzu, was two weeks short

of 16 years and had slept on our bed all that time. I had seen him

overcome various problems, operations etc stoically during his life.

I was quite surprised at the grief that I felt as I had been through

this in my younger days with a wife dying and a child also. I was

not prepared for the emotional overwhelming of my intellect so

easily. I suppose the samskaras and vasanas had become deeply

ingrained over a period of time.

 

I'm just about through it now, however after witnessing his death in

the vets, and how easily the jiva left his body after the injection

it had an effect on me. As when my little daughter died so many

years ago, my reaction was 'I can do that', die that is. All fear

of death seems to have completely disappeared. It seems Jai-Jai was

my Brahmin's Cow as in the Krishna story where he killed the

Brahmin's cow as it was preventing his Moksha. I'm not saying I'm

ready for Moksha today, but I have a deeper understanding of

Sankara's statement that death is just separation from our

attachments. Love and attachment being different altogether. So now

I have a deeper acceptance of what surrender means, and also how

unreal the whole situation really is. However as long as there is an

ego there will always be a build up of vasanas and samskaras. One

has to be vigilant and in the end Who am I is the only solution, for

me or anyone.........Om Namah Sivaya..........Tony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

community blog is at

 

http://.net/blog/

 

"Love itself is the actual form of God."

 

Sri Ramana

 

In "Letters from Sri Ramanasramam" by Suri Nagamma

<*>

/

 

<*>

 

<*> Your