Wendie and I do Seattle!
Wendie and I spent our 6th anniversary in Seattle on the 22nd and 23rd. While up in Seattle we watched the Portland Trailblazers get smoked by the Seattle SuperSonics, we walked around downtown Seattle and visited the Pike Street Market, Pike Brewery and Pub, and visited some friends of ours who live in the area. Our trip up and back was on the Cascades line on Amtrak, which was a first for both of us… I really enjoyed the trip on the train, and we plan on doing it again indeed. Here are a few pics:
Fiddling with my DSLR
Just a quick post with a few pics that I took while I was out and about yesterday afternoon.. Oh yea, the place I bought my camera from on Ebay, J&K Cameras, sent me the Nikon D40x instead of the D40!! Score!!
Bald Hill, stitched panoramic
Bald Hill
Looking up Bald Hill at Sunrise
Looking toward Corvallis from Bald Hill at Sunrise
“Essential Buddhism”, by Jack Maguire
Last night I finished reading a really great book called “Essential Buddhism“, written by Jack Maguire. The book is written as an introduction to the three main vehicles (which I’ll refer to as branches) of Buddhism known as Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. I think the author does a great job at comparing Buddhism with other worldly religions that we in “The West” might be more familiar with, as well as comparing the three so that I can understand the primary differences. I think most people have heard of Zen Buddhism, but may not realize that it is an order of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism. I’ve read a few other Buddhism books but was left with a bit of confusion on why one book would belabor some aspects while another book almost disregards some.. Part of this confusion is just my own lack of understanding, but also because there are differences (most are subtle) in the three main branches of Buddhism.
Here’s a very brief summary of the primary differences given my understanding after having read this book:
Theravada : The earliest organized teaching of Buddhism (established in 250 BC) which puts much emphasis on a structured sangha (community of practitioners) as well as monastic life and ceremonial aspects of Buddhism. This is not to say that a layperson cannot practice, its just that the focus of learning will not be the same. Becoming awakened, or enlightened as most westerners might understand, is largely thought to be a process that happens over time.. most likely many many lifetimes of practice.
Mahayana : A branch of Buddhism (established between first century BC and first century CE) which puts less emphasis on monastic life and more on layperson practice, though there are definitely still monasteries with monks and nuns who take the Buddhist vows and follow the precepts (sort of like the commandments, in a way). Mahayana seems to state that enlightenment can be attained by anyone and any point in time, during a single lifetime. Zen as an example, puts its main emphasis on zazen (sitting meditation) as the main form of practice and does not put as much focus on the structure and ceremony found in Theravada. I recall a short story about a monk who practiced too hard to become enlightened that after his teacher (zen master in this case) had gotten through to him on his trying too hard, the monk became enlightened while watching a leaf fall off of a tree and float to the ground while the monk was doing his daily duties maintaining the grounds of the temple. In my opinion, Mahayana is the most approachable branch to most easily start to integrate into my own daily life in this society.
Vajrayana : Also known as Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayana is the most recently (mid 8th century CE) established branch of Buddhism. This branch puts emphasis on some of the more cosmic (universalism, quantum mechanics?) as well as ceremonial aspects of Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism focuses on compassion meditation styles as well as skillful practice techniques for attaining enlightenment during a single lifetime much like Mahayana. We have watched a documentary called “Tibetan Book of the Dead” which was both powerful, beautiful imagery, and a really interesting look at the cultural practices in Tibet.
While I consider myself a practitioner of Buddhism, or more succinctly a Buddhist, I don’t know just yet if I would label myself with one particular branch.. Along those same lines, I think there are aspects of all three branches which I would use and adopt in my own practice. As I mentioned earlier in the blog posting, I think Mahayana (Zen in particular) seems like the most approachable and easiest to help me on my own path and a means to work on various aspects of my own life.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Buddhism but doesn’t know where to start.. This is going to make reading (and re-reading) other more detailed books much easier!
electronic Goban… I’d buy one!!
So I’m a Go addict, and I tote around my gear almost every week to the Corvallis Go Club meetings at New Morning Bakery on Wednesday nights. I’ve often thought about, and infact brainstormed design ideas with my buddy Paul, exactly the product I just discovered online! I’m thinking that if some manufacturer actually makes one of these, I’d gladly purchase one ASAP!
