james vogel
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For much of my adult life I have studied the teachings of Buddha. I have found them to shed light on my temporal existence. Because I value these teachings, I have sought to embody them. Lama Thapkay has said "Save one and you save the world" and Suzuki Roshi said something like "Pick up a pebble and you pick up the universe." These quotes are relevant to this story because it occurs in a small personal part of my world - my garden. Lately, I found insight in something that occurred in my garden. As a result it has become clear to me, more exactly, who I am. I built a raised bed garden in the yard beside our house. Its one of the few places on our lot that gets a good amount of sun. In fact, in this spot, we even get enough sun to grow lettuce in the winter. We live in Sonoma County. Its one of the best places in the world to grow things. That fact Luther Burbank set up shop here and more people suffer from plant allergies here than any where else in the world, supports this fact. Gardening in this area is a slam dunk, or so I thought.Over the years my gardening practices and methods have evolved. My current gardening practice includes a raised bed built out of pieces of concrete from a demolished slab. They work well for building walls because they tend to be somewhat dimensionally uniform and therefore stack well. It was built over my former garden bed that had served for my first attempts at gardening. It was an improvement in that it was higher - about three feet - which meant it was more easily defended from one of the two major enemies gardeners have in Sonoma County - snails. In fact the jagged edge of the broken concrete seemed to discourage the slimy buggers from making the the climb up the walls to get into the bed. It seemed to act as a passive barrier for the snails. I like forms of passive protection or natural barriers when it comes to protecting my garden because one of the things I strive to grow with my garden is peace of mind. I find it counter-productive to be faced with killing sentient beings to achieve my gardening goals. This spring I harvested the last of the winter lettuce and made room for the new crop of seed planted spring lettuce. With what I had learned last year about preparing the the soil before planting, this year my garden promised to be more productive that ever. I carefully planted the tiny seeds in three neat rows, neatly covering them with 2 to 3 inches of soil and watered. I had high hopes.Two days later I was alarmed when I noticed that something was energetically digging up what I had so carefully planted. I couldn't figure out what was occurring until one row had been entirely excavated. It was then that I saw the feathery buggers cheerfully tossing dirt over their feathery shoulders in pursuit of my well laid seed. With my hard work at stake I sought a remedy to my problem and reacted with a solution I had learned a boy on my Dad's farm in New Jersey. There, I had discovered something about birds. That is, when you shoot at them they disappear and you don't have to hit them to keep them away for quit a while. With this in mind I knew I could deal with the my issues with the birds and keep intact my more <span style="font-style:italic;">lately</span> acquired Buddhist image of myself. I found a sling shot one of my son's had discarded and placed it ready by the door. It wasn't long, maybe a day or two, and I saw the birds again zestfully destroying my vegetable ambitions. I rushed out with all the fury and bluster of a one man Light Brigade - sling shot in hand - and fired widely but convincingly near the offending birds. Now terrorized and duly respectful the birds were once again my friends and since I had not actually hurt anything I could again assume the identity as someone who is compassionate toward animals - a Good Buddhist. Spring progressed; it rained a few times and there is nothing a slimy bugger likes more than wet ground and new leaves. My newly sprouted lettuce starts began disappear under the onslaught of an army of snails. Like James Wolfe's men at the Battle of Quebec they had scaled the the seemingly unassailable craggy walls of my defenses. My serenity was at stake, once again I must engage human ingenuity to maintain human dominance over the environment. "Cory's Death to Snails" was way too obvious a violation of my firmly held beliefs. So the more expensive monetarily, karmic-ally cheaper, " wildlife friendly", snail eradicator was the right choice. I happily sprinkled the "friendly" poison around my plants and Volia! Problem solved.Time passed, spring progressed, all was well in my Peaceable Kingdom. Little plants got bigger and vegetable promises were coming true when, abruptly, my bean plants began to disappear. In fact they disappear so completely I wondered whether the plants were real or imagined in the first place, which lead me, naturally, to contemplate the difference between dream and waking reality. In the mist of this metaphysical reverie dirt brought me back to earth. I noticed small holes in the soil and small mounds! My deepest vegetable fears are realized - Aye Carumba!! Gofers! This means WAR!The generals are summoned and counter attracts are discussed. Strangely, none of the remedies include diplomacy. They all involve different methods of extermination. Jeff at Rex Hardware suggests traps and when I ask him about gas, he says, he does not know since he has not had any gofer chili lately. Ha, Ha. Michael, who lives next door, a professional landscaper, gives me the bleak news that nothing works except, maybe, dope and guns. He suggests I get a gun and, since it may take all day, find a shady spot where I can watch the garden and get stoned. He loans me his gun.So with my experts consulted and my research complete I opt for a three pronged attack. I will gas, poison and shoot them. Oops, where is Buddha in all this? I struggle with "greater good' arguments and positive karma of locally grown food, but in the end, I knew something more primative had been awakened.The battle raged on. For weeks I see my best plants continue to fall. None of my defenses were working. Now the furry buggers were into the cucumbers and the biggest plants with blossoms and little budding cucumbers tumbled over like GIs on Omaha. I remember one battle as being particularly fierce:I came out late in the afternoon. The garden had just slipped into shade and I saw that one of my egg plants had been pulled under. Then there he was! I <span style="font-style:italic;">saw</span> the little bugger jumping back down into his newly made hole. Quickly I lit the gas bomb and shoved it down the hole. A loud hissing came from the the bomb as it forced the poisonous gas through the chambers of my enemy's liar. Then I saw a neighboring egg plant shivering as a I supposed the varmint was trying to make his escape. Grabbing the the 22 rifle I fired into the shaking soil. The soil stop moving; the gas blasted on. Victory was surely mine. One day, two days, three days went by and all was quiet. The war was over. It was early in the season; I could replant and have a late season harvest. All had not been lost; one of my cucumbers had survived and was soon to deliver delicious lemon cucumbers. I went about putting new plants Then the unspeakable happened; my remaining lemon cucumber, yes the one I had pinned my hopes of redemption on, fell. I couldn't believe it. I had prevailed against the Feathery Buggers and the Slimy Buggers only to fall in final defeat to the apparently immortal Furry Bugger.Crestfallen, I considered my options. All my toxic and violent remedies were to no avail. It seemed this little piece of dirt I called garden was as much the mole's as mine, but as I said, it was still early in the growing season. After all, real farmers in this area manage to farm all year round. I could begin anew, dig up the entire raised bed and put in new wire mesh - something I had planned to do in the fall. That was a lot of work and would mean that I would be destroying what was left of my garden. Or I could just accept the few remaining plants in the garden were the property of the mole and put any new starts in wire baskets. This form of "passive income" was requiring way too much work. Neither option seemed particularly attractive. The answer came from an unexpected source.What was it that G.W. <span style="font-style:italic;">said</span> he was allowing to happen before he invaded Iraq? What is the nature of the communication when opposing forces resolve their differences without force or violence? DIPLOMACY. What is the physical nature of diplomacy? Sound. And what is sound? Vibration. Well, after I finally understood the mole believed I had no interest in my garden when I was not physically there; I realized I needed to maintain a physical presence in the garden at all times. I had to station a diplomat to convince the furry buggy even though I was not actually in the garden at the time, I still had a "vital interest" in the region. Enter the solar powered "Sweeney's Sonic Spike". It, "Drives Moles and Gophers Away" That just what I needed; a diplomat to come and drive my mole away. I didn't care where Sweeney drove my mole. He could drive him to some foreign garden to live in luxurious exile for all I cared; I think he ended up in Laurie's flower bed - Oops.Despite Sweeney's high salary - $30, I would recommend him to to any other sovereign garden. He does a fine job communicating, vibrating, driving and all. I wish I had considered using it in the first place. It would have saved me time and money; let alone been a more compassionate solution to the problem. The fact that it was the last thing I tried, is informative in my quest for self knowledge. Without extracting too many conclusions from this relatively small series of events; I can see quite clearly my own hypocrisy. This little garden drama showed my closely held beliefs about the effectiveness of violence. If I imagine my responsibilities to be greater than this little garden and my power subsequently greater as well, I can also imagine myself resorting to violence in the endeavor to protect my domain.I don't know what I will will do with this new won self knowledge. I can't promise it will change my behavior in to future. It does allow me some understanding for those that do resort violence whether they be world leaders or simple gardeners. <span style="font-weight:bold;">To view complete blog or subscribe to "Travels with Vanny" go to</span>:http://fishemail.blogspot.com/ … Read More
October 12, 2009 | In Belief
james vogel commented on Laurence Tribe on Human Nature on May 28, 2008, 12:37 PM
Larry misses the point but manages to infuse the air with academic wizardry. The difference between Humans and other living creatures is the their relationship to thought. All Homosapiens are not Human.
Do you wish you could edit your responses? Do you sometimes later wish you had said something in a certain situation? We all have wished we had said or done something we did not do. Maybe some one has asked you a question and later, you realize your answer was less than honest; or your response was judgmental and you have unwittingly excluded yourself from an desirable relationship. Sometimes we are given openings into relationships we do not see until later and think: "Oh, if I had only said (or done) that". Perhaps there is an attitude we can adopt to remain open to life's opportunities. An attitude in which the meaningful nature of our lives would be spontaneously expressed?If we acknowledge the importance of attitude in our lives, we must first ask: What is attitude, and then, what are the origins of my attitude?As to the first question, " What is attitude?", a fair description would be: It is a conscious or unconscious display of an individual beliefs, opinions and intentions as expressed in one's posture and demeanor. Demeanor often comes to mind when we think of attitude and with demeanor we naturally think of manners. Attitudes vary from the subtle to the obvious. Belligerent, aggressive or conversely-shy and withdrawn attitudes are easily detectable. Often people appear so one-dimensional that we can accurately refer to them as positive or negative. Attitude can be affected for both positive and negative results.As to the second question: What are the origins of my attitude? The best way to find the answer to this question is to is to view your attitude in different lights or circumstances.Events in our lives challenge our attitudes . We may value a positive attitude. We may see the importance of attitude in our own happiness, there are times in life when it is difficult to maintain a positive attitude. I think this has more to do with where and how we believe attitude originates. If we believe the origins of our attitude lie in the conditions of our temporal existence, then we are subject to the vicissitudes of daily life. The weather, health, economic and social conditions can all effect our attitude if we believe these conditions are the basis of our happiness. We can instead realize, or understand that the basis of our happiness is established before our birth. We can accept or allow that happiness is our essential inheritance. This is not to say we can ignore the outward conditions of our lives and expect to be happy. Acting in ways that are contrary to the facts of life or choosing to ignore them will make the road to happiness very rough indeed. And this is not to say there will not be times of adjustment: grief, hardship, sickness, and old age are all times when we evaluate the basis of our attitudes.At this point, I think it serves us well to consider what we are in essence. Let us examine the totality of our existence in the context of time. The who, what and where we were, are and will be. In conventional thought we think of our existence as limited to our life span. For this post I would take our existence to mean something more than our life span. There is past, present and future. In the context of this post, I would have us look at our existence at the time, before our birth , during our life and after our death. Limiting our considerations to the physical realm and what can be observed by the empirical eye; it could said we are a mass of free floating atomic particles that came together in an organized fashion at the time of birth, maintained this government of atoms and then after a period of time reverted back, via the compost pile or similar conveyance, to the state of free flowing atoms. Life, the Tibetans teach us, is a period of time when the essential elements of Earth, Wind, Water and Fire are balanced. At all the times in our existence there is inherent energy. There is energy in "our" atoms before our birth during our lives and after our deaths. There is chemical energy in the attraction of our parents, and hopefully in our conception. There is the energy as manifested by the heat of our living bodies and finally the composting of our dead bodies. Underlying all this chemical energy is of course the atomic energy in the atoms that compose our bodies living or dead. We have know since early in the twentieth century that matter is, at its simplest form, energy. So it would seem, energy is not something added but rather coexistent with the matter, the substance of our bodies, in our temporal and eternal existence.For the purposes of this post, let us see ourselves as a conduit or an instrument through which the unique form of energy called life is expressed. Taking this analogy further, and postulating air as life's expressive energy, imagine yourself as a tuba, saxophone or an oboe. The sounds you express, as air passes through you, is how you live your life. We know that the individual shape of a musical instrument dictates what sound it will make. Continuing this analogy would speak to the importance of the shape of our bodies and specifically of posture. We do have control of of our posture, but it is much like the control we have of our minds. In Zen practice the importance of posture is understood. In the in the first Zen lesson we are taught how to sit, the the second how to breath, but that is for another post. Of particular importance, we are shown how to hold our spine while sitting. In Zen there is great emphasis on the correct way to sit. In Mahamudra meditation the focus is on how you do sit. If you find yourself sitting all hunched over, then there you are - you've found yourself! And isn't that what you were looking for? The posited truth in both practices is that posture is attitude expressed physically and an enlightened attitude is the expression of enlightenment.Most young children have no awareness of posture. I see pictures of myself as a young child and I see myself relaxed, sitting squarely with a nice straight spine. As I grew older, say from age 9, I remember affecting a posture. I consciously slouched a bit. I did this for two reasons. The first reason was, I had grown taller than my class mates. I felt a sense of otherness, so in an effort to be a part of those around me I bent over. The second, was, I had seen pictures of James Dean and Elvis Presley and their slouching postures. This way of holding myself drew me into conflict with my father and in a sense was my first act of independence. My posture, though a constant source disagreement and anger with my father, became a habit and did not change until my early adulthood. At that point I was exposed to the practice of Yoga and different forms of dance. In my study of dance, I found it important to modify my acquired slouching posture. With considerable stretching and strength training, I was able to compensate for what had become my habitual posture. Though my interest in dance waned, the lessons I learned regarding posture remain. These lessons inform and corroborate my continuing practice of Yoga. My body still bears the marks of the posture of my early life ( my formative years). My natural stance is now somewhat stooped but with my Yoga I maintain flexibility and therefore some choice in the matter of my posture. All this by way of saying that through my practice of Yoga I have found a way with effort to remain open to the inherent energy of existence.This post does not address the question of what we do with the energy inherent in our existence. It is to acknowledge there is this energy and it is available. We need to recognize it and make ourselves available to it; not to block it with attitudes or "posture" that narrow our existence. We all will have difficulties life. Degrees of difficulty are not important but attitude in these times of difficulty is. If we allow ourselves to be consumed by hardship, whether real or imagined, the meaningful nature of our lives remains obscure. It is the face of adversity that molds our attitudes. It is how we hold ourselves, our stance, our posture in the light of this face that forms our character and it is in character we find the freedom to become ourselves.. … Read More
May 27, 2008 | In
james vogel commented on Big Think Interview with Harrision Ford on October 12, 2009, 1:39 PM
Nice looking man. There are four great male actors in english speaking film: Deniro, that Hannibal Lector guy and the two Hoffmans.