Dear friends, Welcome to a colder than usual 2009, at least in the US. You know it is cold when you start to see your own breath. Well, at least it is not North Dakota cold where I suppose your snot freezes as soon as it gets out of the nose. Let us hope it gets warmer (politically speaking) with the inauguration of Obama. Perhaps the rescue of those passengers from a plane crash on the Hudson River is a good omen, maybe even a metaphor for a rescue of the world itself. Also, in the spirit of forgiveness and new beginning, let us wish George Bush many peaceful, happy years in his Crawford ranch. The man says he did everything with good intentions, so let us take his word for it and hope that history will vindicate him. Grateful for your friendship and grateful to be alive, Sankar Random Thoughts (71) 1/16/2009 1. (Monday, 12/29/08) I saw “Gran Torino” tonight. Always been a fan of Clint Eastwood and his brand of rugged, self-reliant manhood though I have also been aware that it was not quite grown-up and wise. This movie is generally good, except for patches of exaggerated machismo and gratuitous obscenity –sometimes it is as if the writer were making a manual for how to be a construction worker. But this movie continues –even brings to maturity – the growth beyond machismo that Eastwood had exhibited in the characters he has played in the twilight of his career— some say it is Eastwood’s farewell movie but I hope not. If it is, though, it is a darn good farewell. He seems to be leaving his legacy for the next generation of men, showing them what true manhood and heroism are about. Problem of America today is that the true manhood of the older generation has been replaced by the papier-mâché machismo of the newer generation—there are all the outward trappings of rugged manhood – even that they don’t get it quite right sometimes. In the end they come off more as jerks than men—instead of sacrifice and hard-work, their manhood is based on empty bravado and superficial smartness, epitomized by Dick Cheney and his misadventures in Iraq and the Quail hunting range. To see that he has made a movie that is really about peace and love—Clint, you made my day. BTW, Thanks for the entertainment as well. 2. Bush’s acts to protect marine areas in N. Mariana Islands along with parts of northwestern Hawaii earlier came as a big surprise to me. I couldn’t believe it when I read it in the papers. 334,000 square miles – almost equal to Texas and Oklahoma combined—or all the states on the eastern seaboard from Maine to South Carolina including Pennsylvania. Says his record on environment is very good. Not so fast, buddy-- you did a good deed, but that doesn’t mean we are ready to forget everything else. In his eyes, perhaps he is a good steward of the environment, but not in the eyes of most greens. 3. There is now a new category of meals--Laptop meals. These are meals that you eat with the plate on your lap while working on your desktop or with the plate on the desk while you work on your laptop. 4. I am trying to fill my mind with lots of silence and emptiness. I know what you are thinking –it is already empty –yeah yeah –but you know what I mean. I feel like there is no other way to develop the equanimity amid activity that I want to attain. The past several months have taught me that I am simply not ready to plunge into incessant activity and stay mindful and equanimous at the same time. I need much time for quiet contemplation and meditation. 5. The other day at the universalist church I was going through the Bible while waiting for service to begin. I was struck by some of the passages in the Old Testament that didn’t sound all that compassionate. Moses says God will wreak vengeance upon those who do not follow his path, etc., Of course the same is true if you look at some of the early Hindu scriptures or the Quran you will see similar passages. Alan Watts also talks about it in his “Way of Zen,” about how western God is all knowing, controlling, etc., while the concept of God in Zen and other eastern traditions (I guess the later ones, such as Buddhism and Vedanta) is more nebulous, in the sense that it is all pervading, more like the air and the sky than like a person. So I think what this shows is that the traditions themselves are not different from each other as much as evolving in time. Moses’ exhortations were appropriate to their time. I think Jesus’ ideas of God were a bit more evolved though they could not be explicit because then he would be considered a blasphemer. For instance, he depicts God as a compassionate, merciful being. In the same way, Buddha refined many of the teachings and practices of Hinduism. These are just my quick observations. I must admit my knowledge of the Bible is very limited. 6. (Tuesday, 1/13) How to meditate in the city: The past week was hectic, and this morning I woke up feeling very tired in spite of sleeping for nine hours. After going for a run it felt better, but I did not eat until 2pm resulting in low blood sugar (or some hormonal problem causing low blood sugar). I could not concentrate on work. Even watching TV or reading a book was difficult. The brain felt like it would fade out any instant. So I just slumped on the couch and closed my eyes, trying to relax completely. The sounds of the city now filled my ears. I tried to think of a way to ignore that. Then the image of the birds in the lake floating peacefully came to mind. I wondered how they dealt with the sounds of the city. It occurred to me that they would just look at the cars passing by on Michigan Ave or Fifth street as the sun went down behind the stadium and it would be no different from watching the evening light reflect off the waters. That, I believe, is the best way to meditate in the middle of the bustle of everyday life. Just to observe life as it happens around you, without getting caught up in it. 7. Reading Alan Watts’ “The Way of Zen” has opened my eyes to the rich spiritual tradition of China. I knew about Confucius but I didn’t know too much about Lao Tzu and his Taoist philosophy, as profound as any Indian philosophy of that time. This provided China with a fertile spiritual soil in which the seeds of Buddhism could thrive, when it spread northward from India. Buddhism itself benefited and grew as a result of this cross—fertilization. The Zen traditions of Korea and Japan were influenced by Taoist philosophy even more so than Buddhism, apparently. 8. (1/13, Tuesday night) After taking some food high in sugar I felt a little better but nevertheless when I went to bed the mind was still feeble so much so that I was afraid to close my eyes for fear of not getting up in the morning. I calmed myself down by thinking about the impermanent nature of life and the universal, eternal nature of the spirit. It felt good to wake up in the morning, grateful to make it through another day alive (smile). As I was reading Watts’ book over breakfast I came across these lines in an imaginary conversation between Lao Tzu and Confucius: Upon hearing Confucius say that charity towards one’s neighbor comes from a capacity to rejoice in all things and universal love, Lao Tzu says “Does not universal love contradict itself? Is not your elimination of self a positive manifestation of self? Alas, Sir, You have brought much confusion into the mind of man.” This reminded me of my own thoughts before going to sleep, about the universal nature of the spirit. Certainly I can see why Confucius said what he said and why Lao Tzu said what he said. They are both appropriate for the times and audience they were meant for. In the evolution of man you pass through the stages of animal like selfishness, enlightened self-interest, universal love and finally unconditional feeling of oneness when you realize, finally, that even animals are endowed with the same divine spirit as you are. 9. (1/15, Wednesday) This morning I was on the Red line train returning home from my sister’s home in Rockville. When I got into the train at White flint an old, disheveled white man was walking behind me shouting obscenities. Everything about him suggested that he was deranged and not in control of his faculties. Looking at him I started wondering, what happens to the universal spirit (as described in previous paragraph) when one loses his or her mind? Perhaps there is no such thing as a universal spirit? Maybe we are just machines – when the hardware malfunctions, we die. When the software malfunctions, we go crazy. This was a depressing thought. But upon reflection this made it doubly clear the impermanent, superficial nature of the body and mind. I was only looking at his body and mind but not at his spirit. It is not in the nature of the spirit to be active at all moments so that we can clearly see it. It is our failure to see it rather that makes it invisible sometimes. As I was getting ready to exit the train he was standing in my way, in front of the door. As I approached the door he put up his hands in a boxer’s stance, as if he were preparing to fight or defend himself. Clearly in his mind, hatred for dark- skinned people was most dominant. I simply smiled at him to let him know that I meant no harm. But it was clear nothing was registering in his mind except the fact that I was dark-skinned and hence probably dangerous. I simply went around him and as I walked out I could hear him spitting but I didn’t look back to see if it was meant for me. As I walked back my mind was filled with sorrow thinking about the fact that such hatred exists. I wondered if he would express himself that way if he had not lost his mind, but then remembered all the occasions when I had encountered similar behavior from normal white men. But as shown in “Gran Torino” such hatred is among the many dark feelings that lurk in the heart of all men, including me and you, that are dispelled in an instant as the light of understanding and love shine upon them.