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April 7, 2026 at 10:58 pm in reply to: Happy Chinese New Year, Happy Lunar New Year and Ramadan Mubarak #456717
Thomas168ParticipantHi Alessa and Anita,
Good to hear from both of you. Toyota is very popular here along with Honda. Yes, American cars are also popular. But, I find Toyota has less issues.
I hope everything is good with you and yours. I am beginning to think that being happy is life’s reward. Hopefully everyone can find some peace and happiness.
Any news about the cat walk project? Oh, walking the dog and he pulls? I like watching the dog whisperer on YouTube.
Well good nite. Hope you find whatever you are looking for in life.
April 6, 2026 at 6:38 pm in reply to: Happy Chinese New Year, Happy Lunar New Year and Ramadan Mubarak #456691Thomas168ParticipantSorry for the interruption. Had to drive my daughter to her school for class. One class in person and the others are on line. These days the teachers don’t teach. They set up classes on line and have the students do their studies on line. No presentations. No actual teaching. Schedule tests and that is it. So, different from when I went to college. Anyway, proud of her progress.
Yeah, truly like working on cars. Unfortunately, getting older and many things aren’t as easy as before. Had a nail in the tire today. Took it off and pulled the nail out. Put a plug in with glue. Holding air now. The TPMS sensor alerted me to the leak.
Oh, yeah, thoughts about death. Nothing new in the world about it. Because of our ego and thinking mind, we have created this idea of self. Our world is made up of our thoughts and we created this ego. So, it can not see its own end. And death is only allowing the energies to migrate to another vessel. The Karma created during this life needs to find it resolution. And so, the next life finds its way to do this.
Of course, people have always said that energy can not be created nor destroyed only transformed from one state to another. And so, when we die, the energy moves along. What we experience along the way is the way it has always been from the beginning of life to the end of the universe. And then on to the next universe.
Sorry, got carried away in my thoughts. I really need to start meditating again. The quiet. The emptiness is where we came from and it is where we go.
So, how is everything with you? Are you happy?
April 5, 2026 at 10:53 pm in reply to: Happy Chinese New Year, Happy Lunar New Year and Ramadan Mubarak #456659Thomas168ParticipantHappy Easter everyone,
Sorry, having been busy. Trying to fix TPMS light on the car. One sensor in tires is dead. Replaced it. Now the car needs new brakes. Need to measure rotors before ordering them. Toyota has different versions of the car. So not sure the size. Different for Japan built or North America built. Other than that, just trying to stay healthy. Have been getting headaches lately. So stopped meditation for a while. Been dizzy.
Been thinking more about death. Realize nothing to worry about. It will come for everyone. Only can try to live well and be happy. Otherwise the time we have will be wasted. Don’t know the future. Or got to go.
Thomas168ParticipantI think without the motivation to seek for better that one would wallow in what is comfortable. I know this true for me as I have never accomplished any grand thing I had set myself to accomplish. Oh, I did finish school. Went to get a job. Worked and got married. Normal things, I think? But, I never set up that company to create jobs. Nor amass that fortune. Did not find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. So, misery and suffering seem to be motivation to do better. I don’t want to starve so I find work and keep the job to pay the bills and get food. Without the need to feed myself then I might be just another bum.
Some people never make it out of the suffering. And some find the light at the end of the tunnel. I have got to say that reading about all your pain that I am amazed you have gotten this far. So being alone and suffering has given you courage to be better than what was given to you. I hope someday that you do find the peace you are looking for.
Thomas168ParticipantConfused said, “I was feeling so intensely when we were up-close or in videocall but as soon as this passes, it was like those feelings never existed.”
Being in love is a wonderful feeling but it is similar to being drunk on wine or high on heroin. Over time and away from the object or thing or loved one, one will come down. That is just the way the body is built. I love my wife but I don’t feel that overwhelming love all the time. And what was there in the beginning has changed over time. However, when holding her in my arms and kissing her, I feel the love that brought us together. Just remember your life and the plan. Hope you find that happiness.
Thomas168ParticipantI would think that what is needed now is to sort out what it is that you really want and stick to the plan. If you are over thinking stuff then maybe spend some time relaxing. Or meditation. Live in the moment without extra thought about the moment. A monk was walking around when he heard the sound of a tiger. Chased by the tiger, he ran to the edge of a small cliff and hung by a vine. Below he could see two more tigers looking up at him. On the vine, he saw a berry and he took the berry and ate it. He enjoyed the berry very much. So when there is so much stuff happening, sometimes you just got to enjoy the berry.
Thomas168ParticipantNo, no, please analyze all you want. We all need to make sense of the world. This is just so you know Zen is all about the actualization of the enlightened mind. Shikantaza. Of course, such practices really do require a good teacher.
I think I saw Peter’s story in a Doctor Who episode. How a race of people picked up on a piece of truth and made a religion out of it. LOL.
Thomas168ParticipantThere are similarities in almost every thing. But, it doesn’t mean they are the same. The Zen stories are not so much to think about as to present the reader with something to stop thinking and just live in the moment without all the baggage the mind carries. Much like a joke makes one laugh. We don’t have to dissect it with thoughts. Just enjoy and laugh. That is why we tend to be around people who makes us feel good about ourselves and just have a good time.
Mis-interpretating social encounters is not new. I do it all the time. But, the saying is to keep quiet and not let everyone know I don’t understand. Then when it becomes clear what is going on, I can jump in and show I am good. LOL.
Thomas168ParticipantPeter said, “Beneath all movement there is a quiet seeing.
It does not argue. It does not choose sides. It does not call itself “peace.”
Yet it is never disturbed.
To live here is not to escape the fire, but to stop feeding it.
Not to silence the world, but to hear it without becoming it.
The breath leaves and enters the body without effort.
This is enough.
And in that moment, the world exhales.”
That was beautiful. Thanks
Thomas168ParticipantWell, it is a fictional story. But in real life, daughters have family pressure to do what is required of them. So, they may be forced to marry. The emperor also have restrictions to marry to combine two nations. It does no good to kill the woman that represents the other nation. The daughter having the hutspah to speak up may be imaginary. However it does make for an intriguing beginning??
Yes, you get it. Wife does criticize and I have developed a defense mechanism. Which reminds me of the story of the woman who complains to her friend how her husband get so mad. The friend suggests to swish water in her mouth when her husband gets angry. Two weeks later she talks to her friend and aske why does swishing water calm her husband down. The friend explains that keeping her mouth shout helps. LOL That was a YouTube video joke I saw recently.
Thomas168ParticipantAnother short story, …
An emperor, who was known for his foul temper, entered the bedroom of his soon-to-be-bride. She was being forced to marry him against her will as it was a duty she had to do for her family.
“Hello” he said to her, but she didn’t answer.
“I said hello to you. And you will respond when I talk you! Do you understand me??” he snapped at her. She didn’t reply.He angrily asked, “What are you thinking?”
After a long silence, she answered him. “Two things. One, that I do not wish to marry you because you are mean and disrespectful. And the second thing is that I was wondering if you have it within your power to have something changed.”
“What!” the emperor exclaimed with anger. “How dare you question my authority! Since I can do anything with the snap of my fingers and whatever I command within my kingdom will be done, what is it you are wondering I could change?”
“Your attitude,” she quipped. And with that she got up and walked out of the bedroom, leaving him in silence.
My wife has got me trained. When she ask about anything that I have done, I shout back that it was done right. Then she goes about explaining. I listen and apologize for yelling. There is no anger. Just something we do as an old married couple.
Thomas168ParticipantThe tree was leaning over the back yard fence into the neighbor’s yard. If it fell down then it would crush his house. His insurance company wrote to him to tell us that we would be financially responsible if the tree fell. So, spent over $4000 to have it removed. That was the money for the shed I was going to build in our back yard. The tree was really leaning and we feared having to pay for fixing his house if it fell. So, things get pushed back another year or two. Hot water heater is ready to be replaced. Bought the replacement. Just waiting for my wife to give me the go ahead.
Ohh, Buddha for the fridge? My wife believes in the Feng Shui. The orientation of the house, the number on the mailbox, how the furniture is set up and stuff like that. I do not think it belongs on the fridge. LOL. Maybe on one of the cat walks?? Haha.
Thomas168ParticipantThere was a monk who complained that he could not sit in perfect meditation. The master said that the act of sitting in the struggle with the wandering mind is the what is sought. The struggle itself is the way. So, not perfection but the struggle is the path to Nirvana.
I was cracked when I was made. And that has made all the difference. Whether bad or good, well that depends on where you stand and what you see as obvious. For me, it was a time of fear of being found out. Of not being normal. Not being accepted. Not being able to prove myself as worthy. Now, being much older and closer to death, it doesn’t seem to matter as much. It becomes easier to accept my flaws for they will never change even though I listen for advice to change.
Thomas168ParticipantWould that mean, since I am broken that I was cracked before when I was made?? Maybe that would explain a few things? LOL.
Thomas168ParticipantThe word rumination makes me think of someone who is deep in memories of negative feelings. Such thinking can only drain one of feelings and strength. Much like Cancer patients who go thru Chemo therapy. Their body has been fighting the good fight and is exhausted. Your thoughts do affect the body. The body stores that energy. But if the thoughts and feelings are in conflict then the body can be drained of energy.
I hope you are taking care of your health. Remember that one doesn’t need to feel the emotions all the time to have the emotion in their body. For example, I love my wife. But, I don’t always feel that love in my head. Then there are times when I am holding her next to me that the love surges into my body. One can not always be on the up swing. There has to be times of rest. Don’t dwell on the negative energy. Well, Sorry about my two cents. It is like my foot is attracted to my mouth.
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Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 