In this morning's post comes a letter from my buddy Tharpa, who apart from introducing the soon-to-be-immortal phrase "skandiferous imaginings" to the lexicon, also poses the rhetorical question ---
Are the arising, abiding and dissolution of appearances
really simultaneous?
Not having sufficient horsepower to hip-shoot an answer, I consulted Redneck Rinpoche, and this is the reply:
"Well, Tharpa... every can of Bud has a pop-top, right? What does that tell you? Don't take a rocket scientist to pop that top and pour that Bud into a glass on account your wife is watchin', now does it? Don't take no instant replay to watch them tiny little bubbles come a'bubblin' up that glass and just go "pow" when they reach the surface, now does it?
"Now, Tharpa... let me ask you something. Where does whatever is inside them tiny little bubbles go whenever it meets up with whatever is inside the sky?
"You seen that bumpersticker? That "Shit Happens" bumpersticker like Steve has on his truck and i'm talkin' about red Ford Steve not that other motherscratcher? Well, I am here to tell you that shit DON'T happen! We MAKE that shit happen! So, you tell me... what is the difference between what is inside them tiny little bubbles and what is outside them tiny little bubbles, and where does it come from, where does it stay, where does it go, and how long does it take to do that?"
"Don't be wastin' no time on impermanence! It's just like ol' Willie Nelson said....
I'm seeing the road
That I've travelled
A road paved
With heartaches and tears
And I'm seeing the past
That I've wasted
Watching the bubbles in my beer
"Now... you see there what Willie done? He pointed out that we got to start with what is right in front of us, right this minute. He's sitting there at the bar, watching the bubbles, and he thinks, 'What the hell is happening now?' That's what we got to do, alright. We got to start with whatever is right to hand and just take it from there."
KEYWORDS: enlightenment in one lifetime in one body, skandiferous imaginings, Willie Nelson, Redneck Rinpoche, Budweiser, Shit Happens, Shit Doesn't Happen, Bubbles in My Beer, essential expression of the sublime ati leading to immediate realization of the refined emptiness encompassing all possibilities, Buddhism without all the bullshit, my buddy Tharpa, liberation by open information sharing.
"Well, Tharpa... every can of Bud has a pop-top, right? What does that tell you? Don't take a rocket scientist to pop that top and pour that Bud into a glass on account your wife is watchin', now does it? Don't take no instant replay to watch them tiny little bubbles come a'bubblin' up that glass and just go "pow" when they reach the surface, now does it?
"Now, Tharpa... let me ask you something. Where does whatever is inside them tiny little bubbles go whenever it meets up with whatever is inside the sky?
"You seen that bumpersticker? That "Shit Happens" bumpersticker like Steve has on his truck and i'm talkin' about red Ford Steve not that other motherscratcher? Well, I am here to tell you that shit DON'T happen! We MAKE that shit happen! So, you tell me... what is the difference between what is inside them tiny little bubbles and what is outside them tiny little bubbles, and where does it come from, where does it stay, where does it go, and how long does it take to do that?"
"Don't be wastin' no time on impermanence! It's just like ol' Willie Nelson said....
I'm seeing the road
That I've travelled
A road paved
With heartaches and tears
And I'm seeing the past
That I've wasted
Watching the bubbles in my beer
"Now... you see there what Willie done? He pointed out that we got to start with what is right in front of us, right this minute. He's sitting there at the bar, watching the bubbles, and he thinks, 'What the hell is happening now?' That's what we got to do, alright. We got to start with whatever is right to hand and just take it from there."
KEYWORDS: enlightenment in one lifetime in one body, skandiferous imaginings, Willie Nelson, Redneck Rinpoche, Budweiser, Shit Happens, Shit Doesn't Happen, Bubbles in My Beer, essential expression of the sublime ati leading to immediate realization of the refined emptiness encompassing all possibilities, Buddhism without all the bullshit, my buddy Tharpa, liberation by open information sharing.