tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129205467003129540.post2039225988361422911..comments2013-09-22T07:25:29.303+07:00Comments on Zen Sense: The Day Buddha Diednashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875845244276616381noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129205467003129540.post-19968964715495375542008-12-11T09:51:00.000+07:002008-12-11T09:51:00.000+07:00Dear Mr Marshall,Thank you very much for visiting ...Dear Mr Marshall,<BR/><BR/>Thank you very much for visiting my blog and kindly leaving a note.<BR/><BR/>Believe me, you are not the first reader who observed that what I wrote might fall on deaf ears. :-)<BR/><BR/>Although I fully realize that my humble article might not be of interest for the majority in our society, I still have some hope in humanity. <BR/><BR/>That is, the reason I agreed to become a columnist for BKK Post and to cover on this seemingly-niche subject is because I still hope there would be someone who would listen.<BR/><BR/>My goal is modest. I told myself, if there is just only <I>one</I> person who is intrigued by what I wrote and wants to try mindfulness practice for the first time, I would be happy already.<BR/><BR/>With the story on Obama, "The Mindful Candidate," my modest goal was already achieved. There is a gentleman who, upon reading my article, decided to visit my blog and read some more from the archive. <BR/><BR/>He then kindly emailed me to say that something in there resonated with his past experience, and that it prompted him to believe it is time to move to the next step, that is, to try mindfulness retreat for the first time. He also asked me to recommend places for him.<BR/><BR/>There is no words to describe the joy I felt from reading his mail. I believe that we have to start from one person at a time. Then, he or she would continue to affect the people around him/her.<BR/><BR/>If other readers happen to read this message, please know that I always send my best wishes to all of you every time I write anything. For, it is my personal conviction that mindfulness practice is the most valuable gift that one human being can give another. <BR/><BR/>Well, thanks again, Mr. Marshall, for kindly left a note and for your observation that the message in the article(s) might fall on deaf ears. I totally understand what you mean, for once I was deaf myself! <BR/><BR/>But may be because I myself have been deaf for a long time, I felt I have to reach out to others as much as I can, so that they would have it easier, and earlier, than I did! :-)<BR/><BR/>I would respond your other observation in this email, then.<BR/><BR/>Respectfully,<BR/><BR/>Nash Siamwalla<BR/>Bangkok, Thailandnashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10875845244276616381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129205467003129540.post-71622192342631466062008-12-10T18:46:00.000+07:002008-12-10T18:46:00.000+07:00Dear Mr. Siamwalla,In reference to your article on...Dear Mr. Siamwalla,<BR/><BR/>In reference to your article on The Day Buddha Died, Dec 5, 2008 and Mindfulness I thought your criticism cogent and appropriate but I suspect it is falling on deaf ears.<BR/><BR/>I am a simi-retired American Physicist who has just been recognized as a Buddhist Mystic by Pra Lompone Butane, Abbott of Wat Rachagond, about 30 km south of Ranong. Oddly enough, I suspect that what that actually means is culturally vague in both cultures but I was surprised at the recognition. Apparently he had a dream about me a week or so before we met. I took Upasaka vows at the Thai Temple in Bodhi-gaya India in 1979 as well as pasted an insight test given me by the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand at that time. It was all quite odd. I was taken around Thailand to visit remarkable forest monks and was given a number of amulets to commemorate the occasion, which seem to be quite valuable now, a couple of million baht! You can see these at; <BR/><BR/>forestmonkmedallions.blogspot.com <BR/><BR/>I also studied Zen with Sung Saneme a Korean Zen Master in Providence RI in the early 1970's as well as Tibetans Mahayana and Chan Buddhism at Gold Mountain Monastery in San Francisco.<BR/> <BR/>As a Physics researcher I principally worked on Mapping Strategies for Predictability in Decision Making and actually figured it out with the help of ancient Buddhist visualizations. It seems that the Buddhist figured this our 2500 years before we in the west asked the question. <BR/><BR/>In reference to mindfulness of politicians the problem is that the political circumstances at this time in an actual chaos state such that it is not possible for any decisions to be made at all - ever. The decision making rules are undecidable on a social level and by inference unmanageable. The Thai political landscape can not change until the entire process changes via a new constitution or coop more likely. By the way, all democracy's are having the same problem, they no longer work on a technical level. There are option but I suspect things will get much worse before anyone willing to make the fundamental comceptual changes that need to be made. Much of this work in being done at the Santa Fe Institute by the people who figured out Hedge funds.<BR/><BR/>I am comming to Bangkok sometime about 18, Decemer if you want to talk. There are Buddhist options to these problems if we can get one of the Monks to take a position, which is against their vows!!!<BR/><BR/>Thank you, <BR/><BR/>James Marshall<BR/>Tambolianmap@gmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com