Murder the Buddha
Oct. 10th, 2006 09:21 amToday I just wanted to pin up a picture of me and Hisae goofing around Berlin recently... in playgrounds, at the exhibition Revisiting Home at Kreuzberg's NGBK, in restaurants and cafes, and at home.

If you want something of more substance, my new Wired piece is The Golden Age of Gobbledygook and it's about machine translation, and how some of us like the way it's currently so unreliable.
If you need more to think about, how about this, discovered in an article about flower arranging in Kateigaho International magazine?
"To cut flowers is murder. Having been murdered, they live on in beauty."
That's flower arranger Toshiro Kawase speaking. "We have heard that remark from him more than once," says journalist Miwako Sato. "At first I was shocked by it, but presently I began to see that it hit its target like an arrow. In Zen Buddhism there is the expression "murder the Buddha". It goes like this: "Having murdered the Buddha and the teacher who conveys his teachings, you are for the first time in repose." When you are no longer preoccupied with the teachings, you have taken the first step toward enlightenment."
"This is not easy for the mind to grasp. But when true Buddha Enlightenment is achieved, new creativity emerges... Sen no Rukyo, the 16th century monk who had the greatest influence on the art of ceremonial tea, said: "Be a distinguished murderer." He cut all the flowers by the roadside, selecting just one for the tokonoma alcove in his tiny tearoom, and invited the shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi to see it.
"Cutting makes for freedom," says Kawase about his state of mind when arranging flowers. "The flowers of Japan become real flowers only through the process of being arranged." And, presumably, murdered.

If you want something of more substance, my new Wired piece is The Golden Age of Gobbledygook and it's about machine translation, and how some of us like the way it's currently so unreliable.
If you need more to think about, how about this, discovered in an article about flower arranging in Kateigaho International magazine?
"To cut flowers is murder. Having been murdered, they live on in beauty."
That's flower arranger Toshiro Kawase speaking. "We have heard that remark from him more than once," says journalist Miwako Sato. "At first I was shocked by it, but presently I began to see that it hit its target like an arrow. In Zen Buddhism there is the expression "murder the Buddha". It goes like this: "Having murdered the Buddha and the teacher who conveys his teachings, you are for the first time in repose." When you are no longer preoccupied with the teachings, you have taken the first step toward enlightenment."
"This is not easy for the mind to grasp. But when true Buddha Enlightenment is achieved, new creativity emerges... Sen no Rukyo, the 16th century monk who had the greatest influence on the art of ceremonial tea, said: "Be a distinguished murderer." He cut all the flowers by the roadside, selecting just one for the tokonoma alcove in his tiny tearoom, and invited the shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi to see it.
"Cutting makes for freedom," says Kawase about his state of mind when arranging flowers. "The flowers of Japan become real flowers only through the process of being arranged." And, presumably, murdered.
Murdered journalist
Date: 2006-10-10 10:04 am (UTC)Re: Murdered journalist
Date: 2006-10-10 10:16 am (UTC)Re: Murdered journalist
Date: 2006-10-10 08:04 pm (UTC)Hopefully, others will still continue her work.
Re: Murdered journalist
Date: 2006-10-10 11:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 10:17 am (UTC)womenflowers?(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 10:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-11 04:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 10:32 am (UTC)More proof that Buddhism is as stupid a religion as any other.
The bleeding man on the cross. Elvis worship. Fetishism. The inability to love anything that isn't dead/inanimate/3rd party.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 10:43 am (UTC)milk mix
Date: 2006-10-10 03:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 03:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 12:24 pm (UTC)http://www.tartanspecials.com/well-be-coming.html
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 02:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 10:53 pm (UTC)Review
Date: 2006-10-10 03:57 pm (UTC)I hope it's of interest. Not being an accomplished musician, I found myself frustrated in attempting to describe the songs in concrete terms, so gave up on that bit soon for fear of embarrassing myself.
Re: Review
Date: 2006-10-10 04:48 pm (UTC)I found this part very moving:
"I realised after watching the video, with some surprise, that I was not depressed. I was thinking about all the fascinating, gorgeous, sensual things in the world around me just waiting for me to explore and play with."
I don't think an artist could have a higher aspiration than to be this kind of healer of souls. I hope the transformation effected by the music (and music is a form of airborn magic) lasts.
As for live shows, there's a slight possibility that I'll play this Saturday at Tate Britain. But it's very last-minute, and the Tate programmers are still working on convincing all the staff to do it, so watch Click Opera for confirmation or otherwise.
Re: Review
Date: 2006-10-10 05:52 pm (UTC)Re: Review
Date: 2006-10-10 06:15 pm (UTC)Sorry to hear that you can't make the Tate. But I do look forward to your next visit to these shores.
Re: Review
Date: 2006-10-10 06:08 pm (UTC)Re: Review
Date: 2006-10-10 06:16 pm (UTC)I'm actually eager now to listened to Otto Spooky again, after the pause I've given it, to see how it sounds now.
Re: Review Bowie/Momus/Lennon
Date: 2006-10-10 07:08 pm (UTC)also I saw a preview for the film US vs John Lennon last night. I know that Bowie and Lennon were pretty close friends, what does Momus see in that relationship? Is there a yang to yin in there? Is there a political side to Bowie? Is Momus Bowie's alter politico-ego??
Re: Review Bowie/Momus/Lennon
Date: 2006-10-11 06:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 04:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 04:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 04:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 04:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 05:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 05:46 pm (UTC)I bought it for €15 from a most interesting little place around the corner, it's called the Insektarium (I think) and at the moment it's just selling funky junk (plastic keyboards, trick beetles) but on November 11th it launches as a club, insect museum and art gallery.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 05:54 pm (UTC)&while we're talking about insects, HERE (http://www.neatorama.com/2006/10/09/cockroach-as-living-jewelry/)'s a link from Neatorama involving crystal studded brooches made from living Madagascar hissing cockroaches!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-10 05:42 pm (UTC)Gobbledygook
Date: 2006-10-10 05:53 pm (UTC)Apparently, Ezra Pound produced a phonetic translation of his own name into Japanese characters; re-translated back into English, it read `This picture of a penis costs ten yen'!
Stephen James
Re: Gobbledygook
Date: 2006-10-10 05:57 pm (UTC)My name translated back from Japanese means "Meat Curry".
Re: Gobbledygook
Date: 2006-10-10 06:22 pm (UTC)fantastic! never noticed the niku! :)
Re: Gobbledygook
Date: 2006-10-10 08:17 pm (UTC)Re: Gobbledygook
Date: 2006-10-10 10:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-11 01:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-11 04:46 am (UTC)i just noticed this on stylus:
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/momus/ocky-milk.htm
OK FRED
Date: 2006-10-11 05:15 am (UTC)did you see that both EYE and rusty santos r in the new OK FRED! do you know of a good place to order it online?
http://trafika.jp/pureplus/img_uploaded/item_008_456%5B2%5D.jpg
r
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-12 11:10 pm (UTC)http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trashcan+man
Trashcan Man:
"Refers derogatively to Caucasian men who date Asian women. The phenomenon of this interracial coupling is that nearly always an unattractive, also obese or scrawny, Caucasian man--who is consistently rejected by his Causcasian female counterparts--is involved in a relationship with an equally unattractive, and often fobby, Asian woman. The white man, often a Japanophile, usually seeks an Asian woman who fulfills the American stereotype of the meek, submissive, yielding Asian woman; she is an ideal fit as she is the only person who would date him and is also someone who would not post a threat to his fragile--often nerdy--manhood. The jest in the term is derived from the perception that these Caucasian men are often seen as Trashcan Men, in that they always pair up with the most unattractive Asian women, thereby cleaning up the dating pool for Asian Men. Term of largely Southern Californian origin and usage, where there are significant Asian enclaves in the Los Angeles, Orange County, and Bay areas."
(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-15 06:54 am (UTC)http://groups.google.com/group/nheb-horny-disney-1
Date: 2008-09-27 08:24 pm (UTC)