some good zen or buddhist quotes

People in the West are always getting ready to live.
—Chinese Proverb

The mind, the Buddha, living creatures - these are not three different things.
—Avatamasaka Sutra

If you live the sacred and despise the ordinary, you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion.
—Lin-Chi

The heart Sutra teaches that "form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. "Many people don't know what that means--even some long time students of meditation. But there is a very easy way to see this in our every day lives. For example, here is a wooden chair. It is brown. You sit in the chair, and it holds you up. You can place things on it. But then you light the chair on fire, then leave. When you come back later, the chair is no longer there! This thing that seemed so solid and string and real is now just a pile of cinder and ash which the wind blows around. This example shows how the chair is empty: It as no independent existence. Over a long or short time, the chair will eventually change and become something other than it appears. So, the brown chair is complete emptiness. But though it always has the quality of emptiness, this emptiness is form: you can sit in the chair, and it will hold you up. "Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form." ....Zen Quotes byZen Master Seun Sahn, The Compass of Zen

saturday in oakland and other musings

A great day so far, went running for the first time in a long time. My biking, climbing, and maybe even skateboarding have paid off and my legs were ok with an hour and 15 min. run/walk/jog, felt really strong. Ran down to Lake Merritt, nice and flat, and then around and over to Peets were I saw James and his Cherie and dog Kosmo. After my iced mocha I ran back to Jen's and ran into Duane and Adeeba which was great. Duane's new book, Black Artists in Oakland, written with Jerry Thompson, is a fascinating look at the history of black artists here as narrative in photographs.

I have recently upgraded and expanded my Linkedin profile and network, and I appreciate everyone who has opted in, even if you don't know me that well. I have been using Linkedin alot for work and it is very helpful in terms of finding contacts and opportunities.

Work is challenging but hopeful: if you or someone you know is in the market for systems integration tools or other development tools and wants something better, drop me a line. My Linkedin page has more details about my company and the solutions we sell.

Tonight is going to be mellow as Jen had a class all day and I am feeling the need to relax. Chilling with a nice dinner, movie, maybe the L-word or Harry Potter.

Other news: I saw Sunshine recently and thought it was good, very good visually. I'm reading Count Zero which is the second William Gibson book. Still reading Proust, I'm on the 3rd book. A friend in Thailand started reading my latest completed novel, Daydream Nation, and found it "more engaging" than my first novel. I like the idea of getting better.

Tomorrow we go to Mighty to start getting ready for Burning Man. Jen completed her Landmark Forum last weekend, which was great, and for me very helpful as my Advanced Course leader was her leader. I got to see how I want to be more creative in my life, and dynamic, and empowered. In addition, I started attending an informal men's group on Thursday with 3 other guys. That was cool. It looks like a lot of things are coming together...