Why the "Comments" Are Turned On

It never occurred to me that I should disable the comments. As I'm getting back into things here I started reading other "Buddhist Blogs", and in most cases the comment option is either moderated or absent entirely. Does this suggest that the Buddhist community is not able to converse in a civil manner? Or that everyone who blogs fashions themselves as a teacher and therefore sharing the soap-box is forbidden? I find it highly amusing. Here's an image from a community garden in Austin, Texas, which seems relevant to the point I'm trying to make. So, is this or isn't this a Zen garden?

The Blue Ridge Sutra

The Blue Ridge Sutra:
No Robes
No Bowls
No Vows
No Ordination
No Lineage
No Transmission
& Ain’t No Never Mind
Silence
Solitude
Simplify,
Simplify,
And again I say, Simplify
Barefoot
Naked
& Shaved
Fresh Air
& Sunshine
Off the Grid,
Off the Beaten Path,
Walking Backwards.

(completed Saturday, August 20, 2011)

2nd Hut

We must have collapsed with exhaustion, but Guide must have cared for me because I awoke comfortable, while upon the ground, with the smell of breakfast cooking in what I would soon learn was second hut. I explored the new terrain; I signed my name in the book there on the mountain, along with the inscription "All Is Full of Love" which although is not technically correct, reflected my feeling at the moment.

Second Hut

We went for what must have been hours but seemed like days. The altitude was overwhelming, an exhaustion set in that on moving slowly could cure, and moving slowly seems to be a hypnosis that saturated the consciousness. At times I felt like my heart was exploding. Maybe second hut is only a myth. Maybe second hut is only a broken heart. We could camp anywhere, but the goal 'lies ahead'. The sun is setting, and a view of the peaks lit with late day sun burns into the heart. It is hard to press on when everything seems already well beyond expectation. The guide urges on, I follow.

Beyond the Mountains, are More Mountains

(Fiction, Part 4) After hours of climbing and several false summits, I realize I have no clear idea of the scope of the problem. I am not even sure where second hut is. My guide and I have some language barriers so I can only trust that he knows what we are doing.

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