http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl Random jots and scribbles of Bernie Simon en http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/heart_sutra_explained.html The Heart Sutra is more often chanted than understood. It was criticized by a Theravadin practitioner on a forum for preaching nothingness. I thought that was a misunderstanding of the sutra, but I wasn't able to explain the meaning there, so I am doing it here. I'll take the sutra a little at a ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/correcting_mistakes.html The pugnacious, but always interesting, Bill Scwartz misquotes the First Karmapa , saying: As the 1st Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa put it, "To see the mountain on the other side, you must look at the mountain on this side." The way I remember the quote, it goes, "To see the mountain on the other side, ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/innate_enlightenment.html If enlightenment is ours already, then why do we need to practice? Here's an analogy I've used before. If a jeweler is carrying a bag of gems and they fall out of the bag into the mud, he won't leave a single one of them behind or think that they've lost a single penny of their value. But he won't ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/perl_and_mu.html It's not often that I get to talk about Perl and Zen in the same post. The Perl 6 type system is unusual in that a class is an instance of itself. An undefined instance of the class is set to the class type object. This is done to give a natural way to handle class methods. The question then is ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/boy_cant_help_it.html Maybe, as Brad Warner says, the need to gossip is hard wired into our brains. In that case, you'll have forgive me for ladling this spoonful of gossip, because the boy just can't help it. Last night I saw Lama Phurbu Tashi for the first time since he got back last night. I couldn't have seen him ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/kagtu_news.html On January 1st, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche announced that a North American version of the Kagyu Monlam would be held at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra. During his announcement, he stressed the sacredness of the area: These lands were considered to be sacred by the Native American people. Their special ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/meaning_of_devotion.html Seeing your teacher as a Buddha means that for you he performs the function of a Buddha, by teaching you the dharma. The Buddha is no longer here, and it is only through the instruction of your teacher that you will be able to appreciate the dharma. And for that, you should feel sincere gratitude. http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/tergar_international.html Until now it has escaped my attention that Mingyur Rinpoche has been building off the success of his books by setting up a network of meditation centers that he calls Tergar International . I think he has been planning the group for a while, even before his books were published. A woman from ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/iron_tiger.html Today is the start of the Tibetan New Year. This year it coincides with the Chinese New Year as well, that seems to happen about half the time. This is the year of the iron tiger. The five elements and the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac combine to make a sixty year cycle. There was no ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/emptiness.html Emptiness is the unfindability of a thing when searched for. The classic example is a wheel. When we take apart the hub, the spokes, and the rim, the wheel can't be found in any of them. Nor is the collection of parts a wheel. When we assemble the parts, we call it a wheel, but that is nothing ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/hole_in_the_head.html An article in Scientific American talks about a study that shows brain cancer patients become more spiritual after brain surgery . The effect only happens when certain parts of the brain are operated on. Some skeptics commenting on the article at Slashdot commented to say that the study shows that ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/dharma/seventh_realm.html Internet junkies are fond of calling the physical world "meatspace." Two way electronic media, from cellphones to Facebook, have developed into a seventh realm, along side the traditional six realms of Tibetan Buddhism. People interact, just as they do in the other six realms, and wit the same ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/myself/snowpocalypse.html This was the weekend of the big snowstorm of 2010. I've survived the experience and here's the story. I took off from work Friday so that I could get my usual weekend shopping done before the storm hit. This is Baltimore, so of course the grocery store was mobbed. (Does this happen in other ... http://carelesshand.net/weblog.pl/altmed/follow_the_money.html The critics of homeopathy have been much in the news lately. I thought I should raise my lonely voice to make simple point. And that is that no one stands outside on a cold winter's day to pull a stunt out of an abstract respect for the truth. The whole campaign against homeopathy started when the ...