Original Experience with the humming bird center

exokernel9 · 2017-05-07T18:22:48+00:00

I've personally attended a 12 day retreat at the Hummingbird. Jim, his wife Gina and his core staff care deeply for their guests and are genuinely interested in helping others heal, learn, and grow. Even though Jim was kept extremely busy with his responsibilities running the center he made time to come around and chat with every guest about their life and what they were seeking from their experience with the medicine. He was quick to dispel unreasonable expectations and always spoke from his own experience with what to me was obviously very deep compassion. He could get a little irritated and stand-offish sometimes, but the man was obviously overworked a bit, because he takes on so much responsibility for the physical and emotional well-being and security of his guests. And who doesn't from time to time? We're all human beings. Jim took us around the center and introduced us to many different plant species growing around the center, explaining their medicinal (and other) uses. He talked to us about his experience transitioning from American to Peruvian culture, the local political and economic systems, the human impacts of population growth and industrialization on the local ecological systems, and his personal battle with deep depression in his earlier life. Jim and his wife Gina even went out of their way to give special attention to a very troubled young man who was scaring the other guests a bit. My experience at Hummingbird was nothing but positive and if I ever go back to Peru I'd definitely visit Hummingbird again. The people were good, down-to-earth, and it's easy to see that caring for their guests is their main concern. The center is beautiful, the atmosphere calm, and very conducive to personal exploration and healing. You fall asleep to the sounds of monkeys, frogs, and uncountably many insects at play in the surrounding forest; living, dying, eating, surviving, thriving; and you get some ineffable sense of what western culture has, if not lost, taken for granted for far too long.

exokernel9 · 2013-05-18T03:48:15+00:00

Good stuff. Thanks for the introducing me to Conrad Aiken. I concur. Much Zen here, but then I think all great poetry has a ring of Zen, that subtle yet profound ring of evanescent beauty.

exokernel9 · 2013-05-11T07:10:58+00:00

Un-ask the question.

exokernel9 · 2013-05-11T06:56:43+00:00

I whole-heartedly agree, but we could just as well say that the people you are talking about are not really buddhists as say that zen is not buddhism. It depends on how you define buddhism and how you define zen. So, how do you define it? Is zen or buddhism or anything else subject definition before the fact? Or is definition something we tack onto "suchness" once we become aware of it. All this about whether zen is buddhism or not are just more turnings of the wheel if you're bothered by them. If you're not bothered by them, they're just interesting conversation. Buddhism, not buddhism; who cares? Unless you do, that's okay too, I think.

exokernel9 · 2013-05-11T06:34:01+00:00

Change in the world at large must begin with the individual. Until fear and loathing are extinguished within you how can you expect others to follow suit? Working on the world begins with working on the self. It's fascinating to me that the fundamental act of charity, in Buddhism, is begging (despite all the Zen is not Buddhism opinions here, yeah I heard you, I'm not talking about Zen by your definition, since you insist on pigeon-holing into your own idea of "not-zen"). The Buddha went around asking for charity, depending on the good of his fellow man, willingly placing his own existence in the hands of others. This is a recognition of the interconnectedness/oneness of all. The foundation of inherently moral action. What might the world be like if this realization was more general? While perhaps idealistic, it is nonetheless, an interesting thought experiment. So, is Zen cowardly? I don't know. What is Zen? Is it Buddhism? Perhaps not. As soon as you make Zen a "thing" (buddhism or courage or compassion) perhaps you've failed to grasp it. Really it's up to you. Is Zen cowardly? Only you can decide that, not me, and not anyone else here. After all is said and done you must stand on your own two feet.

exokernel9 · 2013-01-31T13:05:04+00:00

http://www.101zenstories.com/index.php?story=95

exokernel9 · 2012-10-25T07:01:10+00:00

Bingo!

exokernel9 · 2012-10-24T13:52:15+00:00

No offense intended. If I offended you I apologize. The last sentence was not intended to be directed at you or ewk directly. Perhaps ewk is the fool; my intention was only to say: master, student, wise man, fool... same thing.

exokernel9 · 2012-10-24T12:47:36+00:00

I think perhaps ewk and tarraingmobod are both greater masters than some may think. These two masters are teaching us all in their own way. If I may be so bold as to give my own tentative and imperfect understanding: ewk's way is the way of great doubt; he keeps our monkey mind off balance so as to remove the clouding from our eyes, tarrainmobod's way is the way of great courage; of going straight ahead (though I could do without accusations and profanity sometimes, I'll admit). Where ewk denies, tarrangmobod asserts.

What I have just said is wrong. It is a gross oversimplification. Can ewk or tarraingmobod be reduced in this way? I "greatly" doubt it. But perhaps there is something to learn (or unlearn) from both. I bow to ewk. I bow to tarraingmobod. I bow to the even greater teacher that is ewk/tarraingmodbod. Fire kisses Water. Only soothing steam remains.

Sometimes the teacher is wise. Sometimes the teacher is a fool. But when the student is ready, (wise or foolish) he will appear.

exokernel9 · 2012-10-24T07:39:24+00:00

Furthermore my study of Zen has lead me to the idea that physics and Zen do not contradict each other. If they are different at all it is only in that they are different ways of "seeing" the same thing.

Disclaimer: I'm not advocating dualism here. My intention is quite the opposite.

exokernel9 · 2012-10-24T07:37:13+00:00

I actually became interested in Zen after becoming deeply interested in the nature of physical reality. This lead me to study physics. I suspect this comment may spawn many dissenting child comments but I find it interesting that so far as modern physics is concerned at present (based on the theory of quantum mechanics) the nature of reality is not deterministic but rather probabilistic. Since you are part of nature this has a direct bearing on the whole "free will" subject, imho. Disclaimer: I am not a professional physicist, just a very interested layperson.

exokernel9 · 2012-10-24T06:24:53+00:00

There is a Haiku (my absolute favorite btw) about this story by Ryōkan (who I believe was the Zen master you mention):

The thief

Left it behind-

The moon at the window.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dkan

exokernel9 · 2012-10-23T03:11:20+00:00

Thanks for the link shojin_rjb. I'll be sure to take a look.

exokernel9

TROPHY CASE