Words may describe...

Words may describe a glass of water, yet they cannot quench ones thirst.

Words are just symbols that elicit a certain response in the perceivers mind. They are distinct from experience in that they are purely descriptive. Words are no replacement for actual sense-experience. They are a representation of that experience.

In this way, when we communicate to another person we are expressing that which that person already knows. The process of communication is a process of illumination whereby the speaker and listener reveal each others thoughts through words.

I often think that knowledge is akin to illumination. I believe that the moment of knowledge is no different from the realisation of something one has forgotten. We simply remember what we have forgotten, yet it appears new.

Learning Japanese is like that. At first, the characters are purely symbolic, pictures devoid of meaning. Yet with a little study, the meaning becomes linked to the symbol. When the character is seen, it’s like a light in one’s mind –“Ah I can read that” and knowledge is there.

Knowledge is light yet darkness is ignorance. Where there is light, there can be no darkness.

Blogger for Word

I’ve just installed the new Blogger for Word toolbar. Hopefully it will encourage me to post more of my ramblings up there onto the web.
This is a test post to ensure it’s all working – if you can read this – it is!

Life is Japan is peachy, it’s an amazing place to live. I’ve finished my first two years and am starting the third and final year of my contract. In a way, I’m looking forward to returning home to New Zealand but I still enjoy my life and work here.

The Way of the World

ah, after sometime, I get back to the keyboard here, not writing for anyone in particular but rather just to put thoughts to paper. I've decided to recontract for a third year here in Japan. Largely a result of my recent holiday to New Zealand and realising I wasn't ready to return home yet. Japan is such an interesting place to live, there is still so much more to learn and do.
I might right a short spiel about a recent thought. I was thinking about time, seems like it's always changing right? well, is it? I was thinking about the planet earth and how we are all sharing the same moment here on the planet. Although it's 9:00 Monday morning here in Japan and 12 noon in New Zealand, surely we are experiencing the same 'now' moment. Even though we call it 9 in JApan and 12 in NZ it's still the same moment. A person dies, a baby is born. well it's the same for the whole planet isn't it? What about the Universe? is there simply one eternal now moment that is existing throughout the entire Universe? HOw does it work? I now the gravity bends space and time and often time and measurement is simply relative to the observer. But is there an absolute time where everything simply 'is'? Everything is not 'becoming' but it simply 'is' there is an infinite quality to this concept. Like the term infinity implies, there are no numbers to constrain what is essentially outside the bounds of personal mental and sense experience. Sure, the mind creates a point of perception and cognition in space and time but surely that space and time is also existing in the larger scheme of the universe, albeit in a grander and more inconceivable tapestry? Perhaps this 'eternal now moment' is what is experienced by those in enlightenment. Everything is changing yet existence simply 'is' Although the changes are so fascinating, its the pure absolute that contains the essence of all fascination. Like the sayings go 'One can never step into the same river twice' yet 'although the river is always changing, it is always the river' peace out.

the heat death of the universe.

The energy decays into subatomic vibrations which vibrate at certain frequencies. These frequencies decay further until they become heat radiating in the cool depths of deep space, eventually condensing to an eternal stasis.

Love

I was thinking recently about love. Maybe love is all that we need. Love transcends cultural and social boundaries and embraces the whole of creation. If there is love then there is happiness. Jesus once said "love one another as I have loved you. If you have love for one another, people will know that you are my disciples" 

Love constitutes the relationship between the self and God. Love contains every individual spirit soul as it journeys through the cosmos. we are all eternal living entites, intricately entwined in the fabric of space and time. Making our way, through each and every day. I believe it is love that sustains us, love that is all around us. in the whisper of wind through the trees and the light summer breeze on grasses. Love is free and without condition. "...see a world in a grain of sand, heaven in a wildflower. To hold infinity in the palm of ones hand, eternity in an hour..

last of the summer holidays

Just working my way through the last of the summer holidays. School will start again next week. I'm looking forward to teaching the japanese kids and seeing the elementary school teachers again. The weathers been hot, consistently 30 degrees plus and humid (yay for air-con). I'm also looking forward to the advent of autumn which should occur sometime soon. The autumn leaves are amazing with japanese maples dotted throughout the mountain sides. Kyoto temples are especially beautiful in autumn. However the autumn will be followed by the chilly winter I remember from last year (bring out the kerosene heaters!) hopefully I'll still be able to get to school on my scooter and the roads are not too snowy. Mind you, the cycle will complete itself with the coming of spring and the cherry blossoms.

I sometimes think about why the seasons are different in NZ and Japan. I think it's because the Earth is on a slight tilt on the axis so one hemisphere is a little closer to the sun (correct?) as the earth spins and rotates about the sun, once every year, we get the four seasons emerging at different points on the ellipse - something like that, I think

I've been swimming in the rivers here when it gets to hot. The countryside rivers are so fresh and clear. I bought a mask and snorkel and I'm amazed by the variety and number of fish swimming in the rivers. It's a great way to cool off after a sticky-hot day - jump in the local river and rinse that sweat away in the cool clean water.

I met an old fisherman who gave me the go ahead to swim anywhere. I asked him 'sumimasen ga, kono kawa no naka ni, oyoide mo ii desu ka?' may I swim in this river?' and he replied 'oyoide doozo - doko demo ii, kirei da ne' basically ' go ahead and swim, anywhere is fine, beautiful river isn't it?' so it's all good.

Lots of love to the NZ peoples and to everyone in the world, though we struggle with day to day activites, in actuality, we are eternally blissful entities. Peace.

Meeting the new JETs

Hi, I spent a weekend of meeting the new wave of teachers to come to Japan. It's hard to believe a year has passed already and now I am a 'second year JET' while the newbies are arriving. It's good to meet the new people, some interesting new faces and personalities from all over the world. Japan is a great place to meet international people. I really get the common humanity feeling going on. Even though we come from different countries and backgrounds, we share a common situation and are friends. We went to a nice Indian restaurant which is quite a treat in Japan and finished off with ice-cream and karaoke. All in all an enjoyable weekend. When I come home, my hamster looks so happy to see me, he climbs the side of his cage and wiggles his nose in glee. I give him sunflower seeds.

 

I sometimes wonder about the feeling of love that exists between a person in knowledge and a  person in ignorance or suffering. The kind of compassion that causes some one to feel tenderly for a child or a person in need. There is that love all around us, in a sense we are all ignorant and suffering. we don't even know how many hairs are on our head, let along what the next day will bring. I prefer to think of it as innocence, there is really a fine line between ignorance and innocence. I suppose, a supreme omniscient being must look at us with love, in a similar way to a parent watching a young child. The child is innocent and the parent is compassionate. in the same way, I think, we as humans are innocent and God is compassionate, fulfilling our desires with love and compassion.

Hiroshima Peace Cranes 

Strange Feelings

I've been getting this strange feeling recently, like time has stopped and everything is floating in this etheric 'limbo' it's hard to explain, but it feels quite peaceful and relaxing. Kind of like the planets, floating in space, orbiting the sun in their slow yet steady course. I see people moving but they are not moving.  Though they create eddies in the fabric of space and time, reflected in their minds - the river remains the same. The trees are growing slowly and the universe is emanating energy. When I look away from the sense-fascination world and see the stillness of time, there is no movement but eternity and all the activities I see are but eddies and swirls on a vast ocean.

 

There is something about the perfect simplicity of existence that transcends conception. Our mere being-ness is magic. Like an infinite number of rabbits pulled, simultaneously, from an infinite number of magical hats - the world appears to the senses. Magically transformed from Nothingness into Being. and who knows the source of the magical rabbits? even a blade of grass...

Hiroshima Visit

I went to Hiroshima over the weekend. It was an interesting experience. The city itself is quite beautiful and modern though there are lots of reminders to the atomic bombing in its past. Here and there you see a sign 'this tree survived the atomic bombing' or 'this building was destroyed by the atomic bomb'

I visited Hiroshima with Chika. We went to Shukkeien garden which was a really beautiful example of the Japanese garden style, a nice central lake, little bridges here and there and immaculately pruned and groomed trees complete with little japanese gazebos. I particularly liked the turtles in the lake to whom I fed potato chips which they enjoyed. I even got the turtles to climb out of the water and eat from my hand! that was cool.

We visited Hiroshima castle which resembles Himeji castle. The entire building was destroyed and reconstucted after the atomic bombing in 1945. There were interesting artifacts including ancient samurai swords and the view from the top floor over the city was worth the climb.

The visit to 'heiwa-koen' or Peace Park was really the highlight. It was certainly a sobering experience. Standing in front of the 'atomic bomb dome' - that partially destroyed building which still stands as a monument to that horrific day in history - was quite eerie really. It was inspiring to see the thousands of colourful paper cranes made by children that festooned the various monuments in the park. The cranes are a symbol of peace and have their roots in a sad story about a little girl, a victim of the atomic bomb, who made paper cranes in hospital in the vain hope that to make one thousand would cure her - but she died. Today children continue her tradition in the hope for peace.

The musuem was quite moving really. I didn't realise the real extent of the damage in Hiroshima. The bomb exploded in the morning on August 5th 1945 and absolutely crushed the once thriving little artisan town. The energy released by the explosion melted the concrete and flattened all the buildings. Many people died instantly, those who didn't suffered horrific burns, many struggling to the town river to seek water, only to join the many corpses floating there. The accounts of the bombing are simply horrific. It was sobering to see the drawings made by survivors of their experiences among the dead and dying victims. The radiation after the bomb continued to inflict cruel suffering on the survivors in the form of cancers and various illnesses. The city was absolutely destroyed. It was a really terrible thing.

Today, Hiroshima is a truly peace-loving city with many signs of the desire for peace about the town.  Although the memory of the atomic-bombing is still relatively fresh in the cities memory, it is incredible and inspiring to see how much they have grown through such a difficult time. Today Hiroshima is thriving and properous and famous for 'Okonomiyaki' a special type of Japanese omelet.

My conclusion was really that the atomic bomb should never be used as a weapon. It is a disgusting violation of human rights and the laws of nature. to be used against innocent civilians is simply criminal. The destruction and suffering caused by the A-bomb in hiroshima is evidence enough that such an event should never occur again. One simply has to visit the city, the museum, the peace park etc... to become aware of this. I pray for peace.