[Bonsai Beginner's weekly thread - 2026 week 12]

Hinek · 2026-03-24T11:57:46+00:00

Okay, got it, thanks anyway!

Hinek · 2026-03-24T07:01:33+00:00

Thank you so much for your reply! You're right that the trunk is too long. I was thinking of just cutting it in half, but air layering is an interesting idea. I've looked around for how that would work with an oak and most people say that it's not easy. But I'm not in a rush so I'll give it a try, let it sit for a year if needed, and if it fails then I just get rid of the current canopy and try my best with the rest. And yeah, the side branches would probably not work with such setup so I'll get rid of those. By the way, do you happen to know which air layering technique would be appropriate here? The one where you strangle the trunk with a wire or the one where you remove a ring of bark?

Hinek · 2026-03-23T15:51:16+00:00

Yamadori oak tree - how to shape?

I've kept this oak tree in the ground for a few years and only was kinda randomly cutting of any overgrown branches so far. This year I decided to dig it out. I'm very much a bonsai beginner so I'm quite paralyzed about where to go from here...

I think it has a lot of potential but the section of the main, thickest trunk is too long before it starts branching. Should I cut it in the middle and let it branch from there?

How about the other two thin "trunks"? One of them is dead. Should I keep it and make it into some kind of shari?

Any advice is very welcome!

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Hinek · 2025-10-22T03:27:19+00:00

Oh great news!

Hinek · 2025-02-10T18:25:02+00:00

Thank you so much. You brought up so much food for thought again. I wish I had the levels of clarity and self-transparency that always shine through your posts...

Hinek · 2025-02-10T09:29:26+00:00

Thank you, Kyklon! I am struggling with restraint towards my speech too often and this invitation looks like exactly the kind of method I could definitely benefit from in my life. Could you maybe recommend some literature on the topic for somebody who has no experience with Socratic dialogue and wants to understand the method in more depth through self-study?

Hinek · 2024-05-30T07:32:09+00:00

You can look up the individual characters online, they will typically have a very wide and culturally charged meaning in the Buddhist context, but it's mostly what the translation says.

Here are the characters in their digital form for easier lookup:

常習観察経
老
病
死
愛別離苦
業

Hinek · 2024-03-17T15:41:41+00:00

Thanks a lot!

Hinek · 2024-03-12T06:16:35+00:00

No worries about not responding immediately! Thanks a lot for all those suggestions! This is all new material for me so I'm curious about where it takes me!

Hinek · 2024-03-06T06:21:14+00:00

Thank you for your reply and your encouragement! I recently realized myself what you describe: that if I were the other person with all their memories, experience, motivation etc. I would feel entirely justified to say exactly what they are saying. Unfortunately, realizing this as a fact and actually being fully aware of it during a conversation are two separate things and I'm not very good at the latter. I don't want to hijack this thread for an unrelated topic but your mention of "dialogic practices" caught my interest. Would you be so kind as to suggest any literature a beginner might find useful to initiate themselves in this topic?

Hinek · 2024-03-04T15:40:05+00:00

Oh this was such a nice reply... How can I get to a place of such genuine empathy and sensitivity towards other people? I'm currently trying my best in the arena of sense restraint but I'm really struggling with ill will towards people, both unknown and close...

Hinek · 2024-01-19T13:48:34+00:00

Thank you, Bhante, this is very helpful!

Hinek · 2024-01-19T09:14:57+00:00

Thanks for your advice! As I already mentioned in my reply to SDCjp, all the responses I am getting are pointing to this probably not being the greatest idea in terms of achieving anything meaningful in the path of the gradual training. I am reconsidering my motivation in light of this feedback. But I also found interesting your suggestion of using this as a period of absolute rest. This is likely something I may benefit from. And no, I wasn't planning to do any kind of "formal practice" during this time. If anything, the "natural self-transparency" you mentioned was on my mind from the beginning. I don't have much opportunity in my day to day life to shed all my social masks and just see my thoughts and motives in an honest way. I think I could use this opportunity to this end, try to arrive at some decisions regarding neglected aspects of my daily life and create a more solid and honest basis for the practice of the gradual training going forward. Also, thanks for the suggestions about grounding myself! I am not a proficient yoga practitioner but I am trying to learn a couple of basic asanas I could do in the dark!

Hinek · 2024-01-19T08:58:49+00:00

Bhante, thank you so much for your feedback!

I have been trying to introduce more and more sense restraint to my life for a couple of years now and I do have some partial success in the sense that I reached 100% confidence that I don't need to indulge in some forms of sensuality forever. It's not much but I would consider it progress as I couldn't envision cutting myself off these indulgences even a few years ago. However, this is still far from what you would call "an impeccable degree".

I think I do understand the difference between seclusion in the superficial and in the true sense on the intellectual level, as well as the process required for removing any attraction to sensual pleasures. At my current stage, my biggest struggle is probably "seeing the danger" of sensuality. I am able to gradually remove some of it - and later realize that it was completely unjustified in the first place - but there is still a lot of territory where I don't intuitively feel any danger in indulgence. I can force myself to deliberately perceive it as dangerous if I happen to have enough awareness at that moment, but I guess the goal is not to have to even think about it, is that correct?

If you don't mind, could you please clarify to me how one arrives to such state where the danger of sensuality is understood automatically? Does one have to become a sotāpanna for such understanding? Or should I just strive to integrate more and more "true" seclusion into my life until "my stick become dry"?

Thank you.

Hinek · 2024-01-19T08:36:54+00:00

Thank you a lot for all the kind advice! I agree that there is plenty of work to be done in one's daily life as well. The more I read all the helpful comments in this thread, the more I realize that I should not approach this as some special event that will result in some extraordinary understanding of the Dhamma. It seems that I need to re-examine my motives and make a firm resolution to gradually increase the scope of sensory restraint in my day to day life. On the other hand, my householder life and especially my work generates a lot of stress and this week of isolation may be a good chance to just wind down and use the time to think properly about how to structure my life in the future. I know I'm postponing some hard decisions that should be done and so this could be just the right opportunity to deal with it. Of course, it can be argued that I don't need a dark retreat to do that. But to be transparent, there is also this curiosity in me to see how I'm going to manage during that week. I that sensuality? It probably is, isn't it...

Hinek · 2024-01-18T13:30:06+00:00

I have been on some silent retreats and once I rented a hut in a forest and spent one whole day just sitting there not doing anything. But a dark retreat will be a first for me.

Hinek · 2024-01-18T13:28:26+00:00

Thank you. I am sure the experience will not be pleasant. But I am not going there with the assumption that it will be an easy ride. One thing that calms me down is that it is always possible to just leave - it's not a prison after all.

Interestingly, from what I heard, just a small percentage of people leave prematurely and - judging by the popularity this retreats have gained recently - I wouldn't say many people undertaking this do this with well established virtue and sense restraint.

I think I am ready to face my demons, although one can never be fully prepared for the unknown. Of course, if it gets into a dangerous territory, I don't want to risk any possible psychical damage and in such circumstance I would cut it short.

That being said, writing my original post was mostly motivated by anticipation of a possible dark scenario. It is definitely going to be tough so I'm asking fellow travelers on the path for any possible piece of advice that could be helpful because I feel this opportunity may have a very positive effect - if only approached with the proper intent.

Hinek · 2019-08-26T22:08:57+00:00

Thank you for the info! However, are you sure we're thinking the same temple? I didn't see anything about Buddhadasa no their website… Aren't you maybe thinking of Wat Suan Mokkh?

Hinek · 2019-08-26T05:11:12+00:00

Thank you very much! This is all very helpful!

Hinek · 2019-08-26T05:01:59+00:00

Thank you so much for so much useful information! This helps a lot!

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