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#3607 - Tuesday, July 28, 2009 - Editor: Jerry Katz  

Nonduality Highlights - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights    


 

I was searching for information on the death of musician Bill East. I couldn't find anything, but I came across this obituary, which I like:

EAST, Nannie

Nannie East was born April 5, 1925,in Coeburn, VA. She went home to be with her maker on July 11, 2009, after an illness in the hospital. Her family was at her bedside. Nannie spent many years in Warriormine, WV, serving her community and cooking for Big Creek High School. Nannie was always willing to help others and she loved to serve her family and community. She enjoyed baking and cooking for many organizations in her hometown. I am sure when you mention her name she will be remembered for her rolls and peanut butter cakes. Nannie really loved her job at the school and when she got ready to retire after 40 years of service, Big Creek dedicated the cafeteria in her honor. She lived in WV for many years with her husband, William “Bill” East. They had two daughters, Billie and Dorothy. Billie married Coburn Kennedy and they have two children. Dorothy married Boyd Rutherford. They also have two children. Nannie moved to Mt. Juliet, TN with Billie and her family where many loving memories were made. She was a member of the Mt. Juliet Church of God. She is now in Heaven with all its beauty where she will forever serve her Lord and Savior. Gloryland is sweeter with her there. She will be greatly missed here, but never forgotten by those who knew and loved her. Nannie is survived by her sister, Charolette Williams, two daughters and two sons-in-law, four grandchildren and their spouses, two great-grandchildren and one more on the way. There is also a host of family, friends and a loving neighbor. Nannie was preceded in death by her husband, mother, grandparents, two brothers and one sister. Her final resting place will be Grandview Memory Gardens in Bluefield, VA. A private service for the family was held. Go rest high on that mountain, your work on earth is done. Arrangements by Sellars Funeral Home, 2250 N. Mt. Juliet Road, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122, 615-758-5459, Obituary Line 615-758-8818, www.sellarsfuneralservices.com

 


 

pain and pleasure are strains
in the tightly intertwined rope
making up this world of opposites,
no one without the other.
a rope that binds the illusion identity,
(whose true nature remains ever free)
to the addictive excitement game
of loss and gain,
attraction, rejection, joy of winning,
and pain.

in darkness, the light of truth hidden
by storm clouds of ignorant fears and desires
this rope appears to be a scary snake,
frightening to the core the gullible,
who identify self with a form and a name. 
but when understanding dawns
illuminating the heart with grace
all distinctions and separations cease.
the rope of illusion is burnt to ashes. 
the obvious is always self evident
how can the boundless be bound?
timeless truth was never lost. so
how can it ever be found?

yosy

 

~ ~ ~


Good poem.  Although the timeless truth
was never lost, it can be recognized
for what it is, rather than, as previously,
taken for what it is not.
 
Thus this recognition is not considered
a gain, but rather a loss, ajnana nivritti,
the removal of ignorance (of what the truth
of my present experience actually is.)

If I see the rope as a snake and react
in fear, then when some kind friend,
takes me by the hand and shines
a light on that rope, so that I
see what it truly is, I don't
gain a new experience, but rather
I loose my ignorance of what the
rope is, of what my actual experience,
which I had interpreted so incorrectly,
truly is.

I find in talking to people this is the most difficult
thing for them to get.  We are all so experience
oriented, looking for new, better, bigger,
more fantastic, flashy experiences as a way
of finding happiness.  And because the recognition of
the truth is reputed to be the best possible 'experience,'
one then thinks that this recognition is some really
'out there' big experience, bigger than one has ever
had before.

Because we are all familiar with pleasant mental
experiences, and because sometimes when we
are meditating, or in a quiet space, or in some
'satsang' setting, and we feel calm and peaceful
and happy, or we feel ecstatic and blissful, and
because we have heard descriptions like that,
and even received various encouragements
from 'teachers' who themselves are confused,
we think, "Oh this 'experience' this pleasant,
or blissful experience has got to be 'it.' "

Then, of course, because this is an experience, and
like all experiences temporary in nature, when we
loose that blissful state, we think we've 'lost it,'
and then we have to go 'find it,' or repeat
that experience again.

So, IMO, this is a big problem, and one that is
very difficult for people to understand. 

Experience seeking is natural.  It's all we know
how to do, until and unless we come to understand
that experiences (no matter how profound or
blissful) come and go, but the truth, which is
ever present, and totally accessible here and
now, does not come and go.  It cannot.

So, if one has an experience, and it goes, then
my advice would be to try and find out, who is
it this experience occurred to?  Is there
'someone' always there?  That's the first step,
the first question, in atma vichara, (inquiry
into the nature of the self.)

Always I am
Always I shine (from Advaita Makaranda [the Nectar of Nonduality])

--Durga

 


 

Orva Schrock sent this oldy but goody:

TWO WOLVES

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

"One is Evil -  It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

"The other is Good -  It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

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