This is a list of the most popular posts on Takuin.com for 2009. This list is not solely based on comment count alone, but also on the quality of the comments, the variety of responses, and also the amount of email received for the post.

2009 was a good year. This site has grown beyond what I might have anticipated, and the response from readers, through email and comments, has been wonderful.

I’ve had many wonderful conversations through comments, skype, and in-person, and I know this will continue for some time to come. I appreciate all of you that take the time to read each post, comment or send email, and I am also appreciative of the lurkers on the site (those that look, but never participate).

I am really looking forward to meeting more of you in 2010, and I am excited to write and speak more on this nonsense I seem to be known for.

Thank you all very much!

The 12 Most Popular Posts of 2009

In Chronological Order:

January – Where does it hurt?

A very short post on hurt, and the target of the hurt. Does the victim or perpetrator exist at all?

February – Water Fasting – Day 17

17 days into a 28 day food free experiment. This post recaps the first two weeks, and also goes into basic functioning during a fasted state.

March -  Mayumi’s Letter

The final message of a recently deceased friend.

April – The Grief of a Buddhist

How a human being might come up against loss and grief.

May -  Zen and the Cockroach

An actual experience, and a koan of sorts. But I will not explain the possible meaning.

June – Are You Enlightened?

This short back and forth is from a conversation on enlightenment with my friend Boosy.

July – A Question for My Peers…

A question for my peers on the importance of ‘teaching’ enlightenment. Now over 100 comments.

August – Are You More Than Experience?

A short post questioning the importance of experience.

September – Does the Wind Blow?

The wind blows, but is it really there at all?

October – Notions of I AM

A short back and forth with Mike Sayers on the notions of what we think we should be.

November – The End, The Beginning

The shortest post I’ve ever written. This piece also inspired the meme, A Silent Post.

December – The Wound of Forgiveness

A group writing project of sorts between myself, Albert Foong, Tom Stine, Daphne Lim, and Davidya, on the subject of forgiveness.

Archives

There were a total of 58 posts for 2009 (making it a grand total of 228 posts since December of 2006). You can see all of them in the Archives.

Beyond the Known

2009 also saw the release of my first book, Beyond the Known: 365 Days of Exploration. I have received a lot of feedback so far, and even found out that it works with the Kindle (with a few glitches here and there).

It was an exciting process to put that book together, and I might release something completely different for 2010. Stay tuned to find out!

2010

I don’t think I will change much on this blog for 2010. I will still keep posting one or two articles per week, and keep up my responses to all of your comments.

But there is one thing I might do a bit differently; I may start being more personal in my writings. As many of you have probably noticed, I very rarely tell personal stories. But there may be something of value hidden away within one’s  experience that might benefit someone else.

I am still not sure how I’ll approach this, but it is something that will most likely come about here and there, little by little.

Am I Missing Anything?

What would you like to see on Takuin.com? More of a certain kind of post? More audio? Video? Is there something I’ve not written about that you would like to explore together? Please leave a comment below and perhaps we can begin 2010 with something new and interesting.

I appreciate all of your support over the last three years, and I look forward to all of our encounters in the years to come.

Stay safe, and be good!

どうもありがとうございました

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It is finally here…

Beyond The Known – 365 Days of Exploration

To download this book for free, right-click the above link and save as.

About the Book

398 Pages / 2.79 MB

This book is a calender of very short meditative explorations; one per day for an entire year. Some are statements, some are questions, and others just simple movements of words. Each one can be used as a jumping off point for your own daily meditations.

None of the phrases in the book are definitive. In other words, they did not arise from a center of belief, or the conclusions of self. And although some of the ‘days’ in the book will seem definitive, conclusive, or opinionated, do not accept them as true or false.

The words are not important anyway. What is important is to see how you rise to fight, rise to agree, or rise to flee.

Download For Free

This book is free and is not restricted, but it must always remain free. Other than that, you may do whatever you want with it. Send it to as many people as you see fit. Quote it. Give it away on your own site. It really doesn’t matter to me.

If you find you have enjoyed the book, you could throw a link my way, but you don’t have to do that, either.

Beyond The Known – 365 Days of Exploration (Right click to save as)

War is not the fault of the soldier.

They do not want to destroy, kill, or cause pain.

They want it all to end. They want to go home.

Many governments in this beautiful world do not take care of their soldiers. Once the job of a soldier is done, once usefulness is surpassed, they are tossed aside as bent and rusted tools to be replaced by newer models.

But there are few human beings able to fix a broken tool. And resources are certainly not funneled in that direction.

When you see an old soldier, you might feel pity, but that is not necessary. You might feel hate, but please don’t. You might hope to help them, if it is necessary. That is a start…

It might be enough just to give your full attention to another human being. It will never be a waste of time.

War is not the fault of the soldier. They are just another casualty.

A message from a friend:

Whats the possibility of you two moving back to the USA? At least out of the way of North Korea’s ballistic and long range missile range. I fear that Japan will see a lot of violence if the situation keeps escalating.

Thanks for the concern. Akiko and I will stay here, though. Please don’t worry for us too much!

The problem with this kind of potential violence is it is a WORLD problem – a problem for all of humanity – and not just something for Japan and the neighboring countries to deal with. It seems more immediate for us because it is physically so close, but that does not remove the responsibility from every human being to end this violence within themselves.

Violence is, of course, a human problem. Not a nationalistic problem, religious problem, social problem, but a human problem. It is true, this violence is born from nationalistic separation, religious separation, social separation, and so on. But these systems of separation will never be able to conquer this problem they have created.

The ‘cure’ for violence is beyond its system of creation. So the responsibility is that of every human being on this beautiful planet, and the solution will not be found in another system.

This separation can only be dealt with on the individual level, if I can put it that way. It is for you, and you alone. Others may talk about it or point to it, but in the end, it will be your courage and curiosity that takes you all the way to the end.

The human race has never been away from the shadow of war. But this violence does not have to continue within any of us.

Question of the Week: 9/22 – 9/28

This great question comes from iamasimpleman on the short post, No Mystery. This is a great and deep topic that human beings seldom explore in themselves.

I have read your words several times and the begin to touch my heart. But there is something against it which comes directly from my heart, anger. And this anger says, want to say, sit Takuin in a time machine to Ausschwitz and than let him talk to these people. I can tell you and send you to a thousand places in history.
So in a way your words would sound to people also arrogant and ignoring undoubtfull facts in form of flowery words. Now the anger is out, outside.
Thank you for your words still touching

This is a deep and expansive area to go into, and I am grateful that you have brought it up. Let’s explore this a little bit.

(By the way, I may say You many times in the following paragraphs, but I do not necessarily mean you personally, iamasimpleman.)

I understand your words, but I do not understand what you mean. If there is anger, where does it come from? From what Takuin says? Is that possible?

Find out from where this anger arises.

What is it that you have added to the words? Takuin says something, and someone else may get angry. Are they angry at the words? How can someone be angry at a word? How can someone be angry with a sound? The only reason anger may arise is due to the story in the mind; the story of what the words mean, and what it means to an identity.

This is Your Teaching

These things that arise within will teach you everything you need to understand about this world. Do not be angry and point outward; be angry and point inward. Find out why these things arise. Forget about someone making you angry.

You mentioned that Takuin may be ignoring certain things, but what exactly is being ignored? The horrors of Nazi Germany were very real, but how can you wish for it to be different from what it was? It was real and it happened. That is what is. It is not good, not great, and not the ideal world we want to live in, but that is what we have.

Now, if you see that, and understand it completely, what will you do with it? Use it to get mad? Use it to be right?  We have seen the horrors. What will you do with it?

It is not ignoring anything. We see it, we know it. We are there. Now, what do you do? Take the step for yourself. What do you do?

Look Within

All anger is inside. All war is inside. It does not exist outside of us. It is the bastard child of humanity. We have created all of this suffering that has gone on in this world. The death, the struggle, the horror, is all the result of what we believe. So if you wish to end it, that is where to start. Don’t look to others to give this freedom to you.

If this war has ended within you, then your actions become clear. Then everywhere you move, it moves with you. You will never have a question of what is right or wrong. You cannot help but bring peace.

You also brought up going back into the past and talking to those various peoples that have suffered greatly. This is interesting to go into, and it brings up many things. For example, human beings do not learn from these mistakes. If we could, all war would have ended thousands of years ago.

We see this pain and suffering, the inhumanity, the murders, rapes, and executions, but we let it go on. We do not stop it. We say things like, “How can you say it is all within, when all of this war is going on? How dare you ignore this!” That is all well and good, but you let it go on and on. You do nothing to stop it. Don’t look to others to tell you what to do. End this now. You can do it.

Each time you point a finger, it strengthens war and suffering. See this for yourself, and do not take my word for it. Go there and find out. Then, you will never again ask how to live your life.

This comment is from the previous post, Questions on Peace and War.

War will always be a constant in our lives. Violence and peaces are just smaller peices in the stream of chaos. Chaos rules all of us and everything we percieve as reality.

The war within ourselves, I believe is nothing but the constant struggle one goes through to find who we are as a person. Once you come to terms with who you are, then you can achieve “peace”.

This can never stop war because who we are as individuals is opposite from others, thus creating conflict and adding to the chaos that rules us all.

War may have been constant, and may indeed currently be underway as it is. It is all plain to see that it is caused by ideas and beliefs saying there are differences and opposites. But are there any differences or even opposites? Or only ideas about differences and opposites?

This is all very important to see for yourself. Just because something appears in one way doesn’t meant that it has to continue. Why do you accept it? Why do you say it is a constant, and therefore, doomed to continue? I don’t care about what has happened before, just look at it now, as it is. Why do you want it to continue?

You might say, “I don’t necessarily want it to continue,” but what do you do to stop it? You clearly see that the belief in the opposite, the belief in the individual, is the root cause of conflict, but why do you accept that it has to be that way? Why do you see it, and at the same time, cling to it?

Why do you assume there is a “who” at all? If you have never gone into it, it may seem confusing, but what if there is no who? What would happen? Is it even possible for the “who” come to terms with itself? These are important questions to meditate on.

I am not saying any of this is right or wrong, and please keep in mind, I am not necessarily talking about “YOU.” This isn’t a “you are wrong” kind of thing. Not at all. But you see the movement there. It is clear that you see it. But do not stop there. Keep going and find what is at the root.

Don’t stop…this is your life, and more importantly, your children’s lives. No one else can give this to you. You have to find out for yourself. Not, “find what is right or wrong based on a conclusion.” Just find out. Be curious.

I say it can come to an end. You might rightfully ask, “How do you know?” I say these things because it doesn’t exist here. And if it is not here, it doesn’t have to be there.

There is absolutely nothing special about this organism (Takuin). And if it lives with no conflict, you don’t have to either.

These questions come from various e-mails received over the last week.

“Do you think we will have peace in the world?’”

It is difficult for one to project a future in order to see what may happen. One can only sit with what is essentially the blood that pours through the veins.

The future, if seen as a projection of the past, as seeds of what has come before, holds little hope for peace. There may indeed be rest between various wars, but that is in no way peace, nor is it a reason to be hopeful.

Peace is not a rest between wars, but a stillness within the organism. All war begins and ends with you; with each of us. There can be no hope for peace as long as you continue to project war from within.

So forget the question about peace in the world, and ask about the peace within.

“I would never kill anyone, so how can I project war?“

And what about the person that cut you off on the freeway? The person that spilled coffee on your shirt? The person that is now dating your ex-wife? The drunks in the alley, the obese people, gay people, black/brown or otherwise “differently” shaded people? Have you ever had the thought that they should be different from what they are, or should do different things from what they have done? THAT is war, not just the blood spilled for stupid nationalistic reasons.

You want to end the war outwardly, but have not the courage to see the killing you do within your own mind. Can you see the violence that lives within you? Don’t say, “I am not violent,” or “I follow non-violence,” or some other nonsense. The self in operation is violence in operation. It separates, justifies, and defends its own limited position.

None of this is good or bad, just see it as it is. See the violence that lives in you already. Start with that. Forget the nicely painted “No Blood for Oil” signs and get to work on the only war that matters; the only war there truly is. It is the war of your own creation.

It all begins and ends with you, in every moment.

“How do I go about doing it?” (being peaceful)

Are you peaceful? Probably not. Otherwise, why ask the question? If you are not peaceful and are trying to suppress that in order to be peaceful, THAT IS WAR.

Peace is not about changing what you are. Can you see what you are without the desire to change it? Can you see that you are violent, sexist, greedy, racist, or whatever it may be? If that is what is there, that is what is. You stay with that movement, seeing it as it goes from place to place, as it arises in certain situations. Be there, in each moment. This observation of the movement, devoid of self-centered observation, brings it to an end.

I use the term observation, although it might not be quite accurate. It is not a seeing that is based on memory, justification, prejudice, or preference. In other words, it is not based on the self or the identity, as that is a part of the very same movement. The activity of the self is plain to see. It poses no great difficulty in finding it. But here is a question you may wish to meditate on: Is there activity beyond the self?

Usually, an event occurs, and one thinks, “This is happening to me.” But in the observation discussed above, an event occurs, and one realizes, “This is happening.” (Or you might even say, “This is happening to the self,” but be careful with it.) Eventually, “This is happening,” becomes less and less apparent, as you will discover there is no way to really identify with it anyway. I dissolves into, “Happening,” but in the end, even that is unnecessary.

Finally, it is simply…

“What about Byron Katie’s The Work, or the Sedona Method? Do these help?” (in bringing peace)

They have helped countless millions of people, I am sure. To find out more, visit Byron Katie’s blog, and Tom Stine’s write up on the Sedona Method.

The Work and the Sedona Method are both forms of inquiry, and seem to work well for many people.

Takuin’s present situation would seem to have been induced by inquiry, although as the body sits here, it is impossible to say with certainty. In the end, one can’t really say it is attributed to anything. Having said that, inquiry can have a tremendously calming effect on the organism. Although I am not at all sure that one’s personal form of inquiry can bring another to a final realization.

I have said before, the world does not need Christians and Buddhists, it needs Christs and Buddhas. The same would seem to go for these forms of inquiry. I have heard of people coming to the end through inquiry, but I have never heard of someone coming to the end through another person’s form of inquiry. Do you know what I mean? But they are both tools that will certainly make you feel a hell of a lot better.

I am not at all saying there is anything wrong with either of them. They seem to bring clarity to millions of people. And I am not even sure that what I do within is really any different from what they teach. But eventually, you’ll have to face the predicament of Who is asking these questions? And that is something you will have to do on your own.

I love Byron Katie…she is so funny and loving. This is one of my favorite videos of her work.

Thanks for all the emails while I was away. I am slowly getting through them all. And thanks for all of the birthday wishes. I think I have finally digested all of that cake.

I have far more to say about war and peace, along with other writings on stillness that I penned in Toyama. They’ll all be posted here in due time.

Eckhart Tolle has a bit of a different definition. He calls us all consciousness, but it is all trapped in the form of identification with thoughts, beliefs, emotions, etc. The start of enlightenment is the slow removal of consciousness from all these forms, and letting just be pure consciousness, which he calls presence. He doesn’t explicitly say so, but I get the idea once we withdraw consciousness (or energy or whatever you want to call it) from all our thought forms (such as the ego), that is awakening.

Well, the way I use the word consciousness is that it is the same as the content it contains. There is no consciousness if there has been no experience, no memory, no thought, etc. Those things ARE consciousness.

These things accumulate over time, and that is the pool that one draws from. So, if there is no content, then there is no consciousness, because the content IS the consciousness. (You will hear J. Krishnamurti talk about this quite a bit. He speaks of it as a container AND the contained.)

Can the ego be here without consciousness? If we say the ego is the self, the center, or whatever, then it must be built from something. This ego is a part of consciousness.

Is there a start to enlightenment? I take it to mean that enlightenment takes time. If that is the case, is that enlightenment? Does wholeness require any time? One might say it takes time to get there, but where does one have to go? How long does it take to move from zero to zero?

Can consciousness be removed? It isn’t a matter of removing anything. It is more like seeing what is there for what it is. I’ll give you an example from my own life if I may:

I noticed that after this realization, I seemed to have lost so many memories. It was what I imagined amnesia to be like. But I later came to understand that the memories (the consciousness) are still there, but since there is no self to be emotionally involved, they are not present.

The self is linked to many events that solidify its existence. I was beaten, I was robbed, I am good at sex, I am stupid because of an event, I am better than others because of this or that, etc. These things become important and solidify what we consider the self to be. These feelings of who we are define the things that we do and the things that we say. And it all comes from what has happened before (the past).

Now, if the self is gone, there are no longer important connections to what has happened before. Since there is no self to define, the definitions (the past) become useless. The definitions are still there, but there is no connection.

Maybe it is like having a phone book; it is filled with numbers, but you do not know what is there unless you need a number. Unless you look. Otherwise, it is just there, causing no harm to anyone.

That is as close as I can get to it in words.

I was at a talk last night on the topic of Order. I was not there as a speaker; just an observer. I sat quietly for the two hours, listening and observing my thoughts. It was wonderful to go into the subject of order, to find out what is there, if anything, and see if it can be brought about in some way. A still mind, a mind that is in the moment, or a mind that is present, whatever you want to call it, is a remarkable thing. In that state, is there Order?

You ask the question, How can we have Order in this world? Some might answer that only through God can we find Order. Only through his/her guidance can we be set upon the right path. But how many thousands of centuries have we done this? Religion after religion, cult after cult, we are still in the same horrible state of affairs. They say, God will show us the way. Well, when? And which God? And why should we believe you anymore? For thousands of years we have been promised this freedom, and nothing has come of it. I do not want to be fooled anymore.

I can no longer believe that any religion has a monopoly of the enlightenment or salvation of humanity. If one did, we would have it. And I cannot be tricked into believing that we just have not found the right one yet. What is the difference between them, anyway? No, I must walk alone, and see it for myself.

You ask the question, How can we have Order in this world? Some might say that we will find it in a social system. Does anyone still believe this? How could it be possible? Society has fragmented us. Our nationalities keep us at war with one another. There is always that difference, and that fatalistic comparison. How can the United States be any different from Canada, or Mexico? I cannot understand this kind of thinking at all. How can India be any different from the U.K.? I do not understand. Is it because we look different? There are different languages, and different cultures. But so what?

I was born in the United States. That is all. I was born there. But so what? Some might say that I am unpatriotic. Why does patriotism have to be an opposite of unpatriotism? They are both their own conditions. It is not, if you aren’t one, then you are the other. Why would I need a label to see another person? If I used the label or the image, then I cannot meet that person ever. If someone asks me, are you patriotic?, and I say no, then immediately I am unpatriotic or an anarchist or whatever. But why? If I say I am not patriotic, that is all. Nothing else. I do not waste energy on pursuing some anti-patriotic stance. If I did, that would be no different from being patriotic. Can you see this?

Some might ask, don’t you have pride in your country? That question confuses me. I was born in a place. How can I be proud of a place? You country has done wonderful things, they might say. Aren’t you proud? It becomes difficult to talk about; I am not proud, and I am not non-proud. I am just here. Why must I be one or the other? I have no desire for conflict with other human beings. Why would I want to adopt a feeling given to me by another, when I know it will eventually put me into conflict with another?

I hope I can make it clear that there is no action here that is against something. I am not saying I am against a nation, and I have no negative energy here. It becomes difficult. How can I even be proud of myself? There is nothing here. If I have set a difficult goal and then achieve it, am I supposed to be proud of that? If I am proud, disappointment is just around the corner. I do not know that I am able to make myself clear here.

You ask the question, How can we have Order in this world? Some would say through political action. We have had similar, if not the very same, political structures we have had for thousands of years. In what way has this set human beings free? There is always division in politics. Why would I even want to entertain the idea of being interested in their promises? It makes no sense to me. I have no desire to be divided any longer. There is nothing in me that wishes for some new system to set me free. I have no conflict here. In fact, if as a result of reading this, someone becomes angry, I have NOTHING to do with it. There is no division here. Why would I have any hate or anger for anyone? It is none of my business what other people think about me. And only I can upset myself. Am I to believe that someone has some kind of magical power to get into my mind and make me mad? That is insane.

It is always difficult to make oneself understood when speaking like this. Many people take these things personal for some reason. I am sure at one time, I would have done the same. But do we really need to be in the dark anymore? In this current age, we have more knowledge than we have ever had at any time in history. It continually grows exponentially. But what has all of this knowledge given us? We still kill each other, hate each other, become more and more isolated from one another. What can knowledge do to set us free? All knowledge is from the past. It is the creation of memory. But humans are present creatures. How can we use a dead thing, something born from the past, to free us into the present? Is it at all possible?

Some might say that we learn from our mistakes. Is that true? Why do we still hurt each other? Why do we still have all of this terrible division in the world? If we could learn from our mistakes and set things right, then why don’t we?

Please believe me, when I write these words, all I can feel is joy and love. I do not say these things, or anything for that matter, out of a need to prove a point or to be right. I have no agenda that will take away my self-created hurt in order to make me feel like a bigger person.

I can truly say that I love you. To anyone that reads this. I know that humanity can see through these things. I know that we human beings can express this love and joy, for the betterment of all. And I know that we can live together, in real loving relationships with one another. But why haven’t we done it?

Ask yourself right now. Why haven’t you done it?