Subject: rt36 Date: Mon, 02 Aug 2004 15:19:32 -0400 Fun friends, Hope all of you are doing well. Please write for your details when you can. Also please let me know if you would like to be dropped from my mailing list. I don't want to be spamming people. The summer is drawing to a close and I hope you all got a chance to enjoy it to the maximum. Of course if you live in a hot weather country you are probably wishing there were no such thing. I myself grew up in a place where winter existed only in geography books, and summer was fun only because school was out. I guess if they could afford to air-condition the schools in India they would run them from March to November. But having spent the last ten years in Washington where sometimes winter can seem to last for six months (as was the case this year) I cannot wait for summer to arrive. This summer especially, perhaps due to the accumulated stress of the past few years, once summer arrived I felt like I never wanted to work. But all play all the time would mean no papers to publish, so I am postponing my annual summer trip to the Eastern shore for mid-August. Nevertheless, it has been a very fun summer so far. The weather has been surprisingly mild and pleasant. Spending my time mostly around Washington, I have been fortunate enough to enjoy some moments of pure joy and tranquility. As when watching a couple of girls building sand castles in a beach volleyball court on a sunny afternoon. It took me back to the days of my childhood when all I thought about was the next game of cricket or seven stones. Or when climbing up and then swooping down the roller-coaster roads of western Alexandria. The pure thrill, the adrenalin rush and the feeling of almost flying. 0r the evenings spent sitting on the benches around the fountain or eating at the sidewalk tables of Dupont circle. You get to see all sorts of people and activities, like reading poems, break dancing, calypso drumming, political speeches, and just today (saturday), a bride and a groom in splendid wedding dress having their pictures taken. With days like this here, I wonder, why do people go to Venice or Paris? Biking along the Potomac on the Mt. Vernon trail, I got to see a majestic Great Egret wading in the marshes near Roosevelt Island. A little farther along the trail is Gravelly point, the closest thing that we have to a beach, and it was great to just lay on the grass, listening to the planes landing, enjoying the warm sunshine. Finally, I spent the sunset this thursday walking on the C&O canal towpath. Sitting near Pennyfield lock, for a few moments my mind was completely merged with the tranquility of the gently rippling waters, the great blue heron honking as it flew to the other shore, water-bugs flitting about on the surface, geese cackling in the distance as the sun went down behind the lush green horizon. We are lucky to live near the Potomac river. Sankar Random thoughts (36) 7/31/04 1. We are all Buddhas, everyone of us. We just don't remember it most of the time. 2. Making progress in meditation over these past three years (for me) hasn't happened through any great revelations or ideas. Rather it has been a slow process of training the mind and body to be calm, much as training muscles in exercise. It is possible, if we stay completely and continuously aware of one thing, say the breath going in and out, to stay in that awareness for a very long time no matter what state we were in to begin with. Deep inside, our mind can be aware of only one thing at a time. It is much like this statement from a marathon runner that sticks in my memory: "It is easy. I just put one foot in front of the other again and again." 3. Recently I took my four year old nephew to the zoo and my six year old nephew hiking. Both ask questions incessantly. Some of them are merely annoying, such as "Why do flies like to eat poop?" or "Are we done yet?" or "Are we there yet?." My favourite question was the following: When I say that we'll be there in twenty minutes, the four year old would ask, "When will it be twenty minutes?" 4. While at the zoo, I found the gorilla exhibit somewhat disturbing. I realized that it is almost like watching people inside cages or prison cells. 5. I tried to remember that we are also, basically animals. I imagined the people without clothes juxtaposed with the other animals. This made me feel a bit detached and see them in a new light, but also reinforced the unity of nature. 6. Our primitive ancestors walked in the forest in nature's dress, just like animals. If we do that even for a few moments, we will feel closer to nature and also liberated from all the clutter in our mind, and feel the purity and innocence that is our natural state. We will also feel more proud of our body and less ashamed of nudity. 7. When we look at animals, they are also looking at us. As far as they are concerned, we are also animals, albeit decked in funny skin and, perhaps, a bit scary. 8. I am glad Kerry and Edwards are aggressively fighting the propaganda that liberals are unpatriotic and immoral. No one can be right all the time, neither conservatives nor liberals, though each side thinks it is always right. Liberals are constantly being accused of protesting against war but supporting the killing of babies. Countering this will take more than mere argument.They need to make it known that they try their best to avoid abortions, that they take part in prayer vigils and counselling for young women who are considering it, and that they are only against government intervention in women's lives. 9. Both liberals and conservatives are now accusing each other of hateful and divisive speech. Sometimes it is like listening in on a dysfunctional family, where the mother and father are fighting over who loves the children more.