Published in 1855, H.G. Bohn's "Hand-Book of Proverbs" includes the one-liner,
An idle mind [brain] is the devil's workshop.
Variations on the theme include, "Idle hands are the devil's playground" etc.
It seems to me that an idle mind is never a problem.
It's a narrow mind that kindles the fires of hell.
And which of us does not have that problem?
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I have been stuck at yet another life experience again, the closest approximate to the "problem" is captured by the last few stanzas of the theravadish Bhaya Sutta. There are dangers, said the sutra, in life and one of the genuine dangers is when a mother and a child are both going through the process of aging, sickness and death.
ReplyDeleteThe vagina is one of the narrow-est passageway in existence, and never mind if it is idleness or not that gets it busy, still I imagine lots of mammalian offspring are born from the narrow-est of passageway. How it can even happen, I guess, ask a dad and a mom (and I'm neither).
I often read on your blog about the favourite quote by zen teacher Ta Hui, preferring to burn in hells than to express the dharma as an emotion. Twist it around abit, sometimes I am more reluctant to express emotions as a dharma instead.
.. A sample dharma exam question may read, "Explain birth and how it takes place, and describe in details the process of aging, sickness and death (25 marks)" - a dead person can't tell u what death is like!
I had to work hard to ask a girl to offer real-life analogies about how I may give birth with her together. Or to spend time with retirees, or to visit hospitals to learn more about aging and sickness. Yet .. no yet! When the sun sets, and when a person passes on......I DUNNO I DUNNO I REALLY DUNNO! :)
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Lionel