Wednesday, May 21, 2008
War - Fuck the system
War - Fuck the system fuck the system
War - Fuck the system
I need to fuck the sys
I need to fuck the sys
I need to fuck the sys
We all need to fuck the system
Lyrics by System Of a Down. Hats off to singer and lyricist Serj Tankian, and wishes of success in his ambition to "fuck the system". One wonders, if he succeeds, what will happen to his royalty cheque, but still....
War - Fuck the system fuck the system
War - Fuck the system
I need to fuck the sys
I need to fuck the sys
I need to fuck the sys
We all need to fuck the system
Lyrics by System Of a Down. Hats off to singer and lyricist Serj Tankian, and wishes of success in his ambition to "fuck the system". One wonders, if he succeeds, what will happen to his royalty cheque, but still....
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
More realistic than the original
At least as far as I was concerned:
When I was seventeen
I Drank A Very Good Beer
I Drank A Very Good Beer I purchased with a fake ID
My name was ‘Brian McGee’
I stayed up listening to Queen
When I was seventeen...
With apologies to Homer Simpson.
When I was seventeen
I Drank A Very Good Beer
I Drank A Very Good Beer I purchased with a fake ID
My name was ‘Brian McGee’
I stayed up listening to Queen
When I was seventeen...
With apologies to Homer Simpson.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
This Town, Is Comin Like A Ghost Town
Today I read an essay on the Interwebs by someone who has visited the preta realm. Initially rather confused, and skeptical of anyone's claim to Mogallyana-like experiences, I read on with interest.
Now this doesn't read like the usual archaic traditional Buddhist descriptions of the world of the Hungry Ghosts. Rather, I find:
"Odd, it strikes me -- this hell realm is not dark and foreboding. It is bright and clean and alluring. Tinkling music and sweet voices fill the air from some invisible source. Throngs of beings walk with me surrounded by row after row of bounty"
Weird. And refreshing. But then it dawns:
"There are fruits from throughout the world -- deliciously common apples and oranges and berries.....A man over here frowns as he maneuvers an overburdened cart laden with meats ...."
Ahhhh, VERY clever. He hasn't gone ANYWHERE except his local branch of Marks and Sparks. Or something. Cue the long description of the greedy, capitalistic awfulness of it all. We get:
"A man stands here -- screaming at another man and waving an expresso maker. "I'm telling you it doesn't work!" he shouts at another man. "The expresso it makes tastes like mud." "
Excuse me. I have been to a few stores in my time, and even on more than a few occasions visited the sort of section that contains coffee machines, toasters et al. Never, ever, has anything like that happened within my earshot. Screaming? Really? Either this guy was extremely unlucky (or lucky depending on how you see it), or he is lying. Maybe he visited the store a few thousand times and eventually hit the jackpot.
The bloke is in fact looking for incense (what did we expect, a pillow-case?) Clearly then, he towers morally above the rest of the plebs (sorry, pretans) who are, we are told:
"scowling and frowning in paradise as they struggle overburdened by their collected things"
Again, er, hang on just - one - minute. As I said, my shopping experience is far from minimal. If you were to put Britney Spears at 10 and an undernourished North Korean peasant at zero, I reckon I'd be a 7. Scowling? Nope. Don't see much of that. Musing, smiling, the odd laugh (the latter two generally in conversation with others), or most usually, not much expression at all.
Just one thought: maybe, just maybe this man's perception of reality is being conditioned by his own state of mind. Nah, surely not. Nothing in Buddhism which suggests that THAT ever happens. But let's be impudently radical just for a moment and consider it. Then we would be forced to conclude that he's, omigod, in a hell of his own devising.
Our suspicions deepen when:
"Retreating from the overbearing bounty and the countless temptations, my mission becomes simple -- get out. Resolve the confusion by abandoning my thoughts. Foot before foot, step by step, find a door and exit this realm. "
Yes, I remember when I used to feel like this in shops and crowded streets. Then I learned to meditate properly and be aware of my own mind state, at least on a good day. Now I find I rather enjoy shopping - even maybe buying the odd coffee machine (it has never made me scream). I run into other people and sometimes exchange smiles and the odd courteous remark if we have to dodge our trolleys round each other or someone lets the other person go ahead in the queue because they have less stuff. All in all, I find the experience is very much what I make it, and the vast majority of other shoppers tend to make it a lot easier by being pleasant people in a fairly pleasant, relaxed mood.
What strikes me is that this guy is a Buddhist. I think I'd rather not be one, if that's OK.
Now this doesn't read like the usual archaic traditional Buddhist descriptions of the world of the Hungry Ghosts. Rather, I find:
"Odd, it strikes me -- this hell realm is not dark and foreboding. It is bright and clean and alluring. Tinkling music and sweet voices fill the air from some invisible source. Throngs of beings walk with me surrounded by row after row of bounty"
Weird. And refreshing. But then it dawns:
"There are fruits from throughout the world -- deliciously common apples and oranges and berries.....A man over here frowns as he maneuvers an overburdened cart laden with meats ...."
Ahhhh, VERY clever. He hasn't gone ANYWHERE except his local branch of Marks and Sparks. Or something. Cue the long description of the greedy, capitalistic awfulness of it all. We get:
"A man stands here -- screaming at another man and waving an expresso maker. "I'm telling you it doesn't work!" he shouts at another man. "The expresso it makes tastes like mud." "
Excuse me. I have been to a few stores in my time, and even on more than a few occasions visited the sort of section that contains coffee machines, toasters et al. Never, ever, has anything like that happened within my earshot. Screaming? Really? Either this guy was extremely unlucky (or lucky depending on how you see it), or he is lying. Maybe he visited the store a few thousand times and eventually hit the jackpot.
The bloke is in fact looking for incense (what did we expect, a pillow-case?) Clearly then, he towers morally above the rest of the plebs (sorry, pretans) who are, we are told:
"scowling and frowning in paradise as they struggle overburdened by their collected things"
Again, er, hang on just - one - minute. As I said, my shopping experience is far from minimal. If you were to put Britney Spears at 10 and an undernourished North Korean peasant at zero, I reckon I'd be a 7. Scowling? Nope. Don't see much of that. Musing, smiling, the odd laugh (the latter two generally in conversation with others), or most usually, not much expression at all.
Just one thought: maybe, just maybe this man's perception of reality is being conditioned by his own state of mind. Nah, surely not. Nothing in Buddhism which suggests that THAT ever happens. But let's be impudently radical just for a moment and consider it. Then we would be forced to conclude that he's, omigod, in a hell of his own devising.
Our suspicions deepen when:
"Retreating from the overbearing bounty and the countless temptations, my mission becomes simple -- get out. Resolve the confusion by abandoning my thoughts. Foot before foot, step by step, find a door and exit this realm. "
Yes, I remember when I used to feel like this in shops and crowded streets. Then I learned to meditate properly and be aware of my own mind state, at least on a good day. Now I find I rather enjoy shopping - even maybe buying the odd coffee machine (it has never made me scream). I run into other people and sometimes exchange smiles and the odd courteous remark if we have to dodge our trolleys round each other or someone lets the other person go ahead in the queue because they have less stuff. All in all, I find the experience is very much what I make it, and the vast majority of other shoppers tend to make it a lot easier by being pleasant people in a fairly pleasant, relaxed mood.
What strikes me is that this guy is a Buddhist. I think I'd rather not be one, if that's OK.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
First test
This should hopefully be an occasional blog, mainly on matters spiritual / whacko. If I ever catch myself getting political I shall remove it.
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