QueryLily "...I would never have thought of asking How you'd got that peculiar name..."

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How shall we live?

[21 November 2002]

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O! a Sunday morning and afternoon dedicated to listening to poetry, hanging out with the grand-daughter, trying to get some work completed all the while thinking about the week ahead.

Yesterday I managed to find my way over to the Hartford Street Zen Center, home at various times to both Issan Tommy Dorsey and Philip Whalen for pleasant orientation, conversation, and a forty minute sit...the latter which I managed to get through with only one foot asleep. Afterwards,a dharma talk, then cookies, tea, more pleasant conversation, the F line over to Broadway, missing the stop, then a brisk walk by the farmer's market and up and over to City Lights where I bought a copy of poems by Philip Whalen, back to Berkeley, coffee with Drew, a little work then home, watching all of Goldfinger with the grandson and a little bit of Rohmer's The Lady and the Duke, before the grand-daughter came home from her school chum's birthday party and reclaimed control of the television set.

So tomorrow morning I am keen to get up early and make it over to Hartford Street for the morning sitting, starting at 6 a.m. I have long days planned for both Monday and Tuesday, and that's without taking into account whatever comes my way from the realm of the unexpected. So this may indeed be a case of best laid plans...etc. We'll see.

The New York Times this morning had a nice piece on Pedro Almodovar and his new film Talk to Her. Unfortunately, it doesn't open in the Bay Area - as far as I can tell - this coming weekend, so I will have to wait, which is not what I want to do in this particular case! No, no, the new Harry Potter and the new James Bond are far from adequate substitutes.

[17 November 2002]

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Mahayana

Soap cleans itself the way ice does,
Both disappear in the process.
The questions of "Whence" & "Whither" have no validity here.

Mud is a mixture of earth and water
Imagine WATER as an "Heavenly" element
Samsara and nirvana are one:

Flies in the amber, sand in the soap
Dirt and red algae in the ice
Fare thee well, how very delightful to see you here again!

- Philip Whalen

[16 November 2002]

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Hail the conquering hero. And farewell.

[16 November 2002]]

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Despite the self-generated gravity well of anxiety which keeps pulling me back into the depths of the familiar and comfortable, I did launch myself over to the City yesterday, spending two hours with the Gay Men's Buddhist Sangha and hearing an interesting, personal, perspective on the The Three Refuges.

Just what are my refuges? One of them, I know, is my critical, judgement-making mind.

[4 November 2002]

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Yes...I am planning to vote tomorrow. I absolutely can't vote for Bill. I absolutely won't vote for Gray. So I guess it's you, Peter.

On the national level, I wish that the current cast of characters in charge could surprise me in a good way. Sadly, they are staying true to form.

[4 November 2002]

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More catching up...three bat cheers for Lisa Wildflower and a nice little piece on the Gay Games featuring I Love Lezzie.

[3 November 2002]

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Catching up with myself. After a week, I finally got my four mile walk in this morning...I am not counting the four miles plus I must have put in walking around in my heels with the glamorous Miss SJ on Thursday night (hopefully photos will follow soon - reminder to self: buy a digital camera! ). I don't know what kind of look I was going for, but at least one person sweetly thought I was channeling Shirley MacLaine. Of course, I was thinking The Apartment and he likely had in mind Terms of Endearment...oh my!

This morning I met up with my friend dk at the Capoeira Arts Café, then wandered over to the Saturday Farmer's Market to pick up some vegan carrot raisin bars and organic apple and cherry juice. Tomorrow I am planning to go over to New Leaf Services to sit with the Gay Men's Buddhist Sangha and maybe...just maybe...treat myself to a visit to Piedmont.

Sometime, in the midst of all this activity, I plan to get my hair done by the fabulous Sandra, get some needed work done and read more of Darlene Cohen's wonderful book, "Turning Suffering Inside Out, A Zen Approach to Living with Physical and Emotional Pain."

I plan on attending the Monday Meditation group for LGBT Buddhists at The Center and Tuesday I begin a five week series of classes with Darlene Cohen on "The Bodhisattva Path: Practicing with Emotions", at the Zen Center.

Whew! I am exhausted!

[2 November 2002]

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