conversations with constance

Hey there constance.
Here's your thread, open for discussions and for questions, to you, and from you.

I always seek solace at the sea, and I know Keats is your favourite poet, so:

ON THE SEA
by John Keats

It keeps eternal whisperings around
Desolate shores, and with its mighty swell
Gluts twice ten thousand Caverns, till the spell
Of Hecate leaves them their old shadowy sound.
Often 'tis in such gentle temper found,
That scarcely will the very smallest shell
Be moved for days from where it sometime fell.
When last the winds of Heaven were unbound.
Oh, ye! who have your eyeballs vexed and tired,
Feast them upon the wideness of the Sea;
Oh ye! whose ears are dinned with uproar rude,
Or fed too much with cloying melody---
Sit ye near some old Cavern's Mouth and brood,
Until ye start, as if the sea nymphs quired!

1817

I remember you and sj talked once about Buddhism and the concept aof life-as-suffering. You and I later talked about Guanyin:

Guan-yin is shown standing on clouds or riding a dragon in front of a waterfall. As Guan-yin of the Southern Sea, she stands on a cliff in the midst of flaming waves and rescues shipwrecked persons from the sea...

Constance wrote:
So if you have anything to say, get right to it.
And if you have anything to ask me, ask it now.
... things are slowing down in our nice forum and I thought I'd spice it up.

Okay constance...on with your mission to spice up the forum.
You get to ask any question you like of anyone who posts on this thread.
I'll take the first question.

Oh Moonie it's September 18 and I just found your thread! I came to this portion of the forum to find the Where's Eddie? thread and write a welcome back, and here I find your nice welcoming thread. Thank you!

Stuck now at 8:16 getting Julia dressed for the 8:30 bus. Will report later!

This is the cover of this month's National Geographic. Tom subscribed to it for Elisabeth because she likes maps. This issue is in my kitchen and I am so upset by the cover story. Elephants are such beautiful and intelligent animals. What could take a person to kill an elephant for its tusks? How can people be so cruel?

Power, majesty, beauty. That is Keats to me. Thank you for the poem, Moonie. It had been a while since I had read it and I enjoyed doing so just now.

NYC has a great big organization called the Buddhist Association of the United States and its web site is baus.org. A fun site to visit. The country campus is Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel NY, just a few miles from me. I used to go a lot, getting there late for morning meditation but just in time for an incredibly good vegetarian lunch. The photos of the Monastery and the buildings and the statues at the site are very amateurish which is a shame because some of the statues are beautiful, one Tang--a wooden Avalotikesava--Guan Yin as a young man, lifesize-- and ( I think) an old Song smiling Guan Yin with a child, about 4-5 feet tall. I wish I could get good photos of these statues but I keep getting lost in the baus.org site.

The Monastery has beautiful nature walks with Chinese gardening, walkways, rocks, a big lake full of fat red goldfish and dark carp. Signs ask people not to feed the fish but the Chinese do anyway. Oh yes, it is very Chinese. Sometimes we are the only Westerners there. The Chinese come up in buses from Flushing Queens, a middle class China town and lower Manhattan, a poorer Chinatown. In the autumn they come up on the "APPLE PICKING BUSES" -- buses take the folks to first pick fruit and then to the Monastery. Must be such a nice excursion.

In 1998 the Great Buddha Hall was dedicated. Largest Buddha in N America. We saw him being built layer by layer and then the temple was build over him. The Dahlai Lama came to dedicate the hall and he shook my hand.I had Madeleine with me who was about 3-4. He had a special reception for the Westerners. He spoke very simply in English about compassion and he said that he did not hate the Chinese. There were many Tibetans there, dressed in traditional garb. I guess that they came long distances to be there. I remember the DL making great efforts to connect with as many Tibetans as he could That's how I came to shake hands with him. I was talking to two Tibetan teenage girls and the DL walked over to talk to them and politely said hello to me.

Seems like a miracle, I was able to reproduce a picture from Google of the Tang Dynasty (1,000 yrs old) Guan Yin/Avalokitesava which is in the Kuan Yin Hall at Chuang Yin Monastery.



No time now, but I'll try to get a picture of the porcelain one of the Guan Yin woman and child (or one that looks like it).

Constance wrote:How can people be so cruel?

Sometimes I think of the Mexican film by Buñuel "Los Olvidados" (The forgotten ones). I don't know if you've seen it, I don't remember much of it, I'm not even sure I've seen it from start to finish, but it is about poor kids of the streets. And there's a scene where they go hitting chickens violently with a stick (although I believe there were harder scenes).

I'm not giving you an answer and I don't know if it fits here cause those who make a business of elephant tusks I guess they don't do it from that poor situation. It is just that sometimes I think of that Mexican film by Buñuel.

Constance wrote: Elephants are such beautiful and intelligent animals. What could take a person to kill an elephant for its tusks? How can people be so cruel?

The photo of the axe-wielder is chilling!.
I'd guess dire poverty is one of the reasons for the slaughter, although that excuse is slightly negated by the waste of all that meat (I'm assuming the tusks are taken and the meat is left).
I'm ashamed to say that I avoid reading articles like that one in order to avoid the pain and sense of futility that it brings.

Constance wrote: The Dahlai Lama came to dedicate the hall and he shook my hand...I remember the DL making great efforts to connect with as many Tibetans as he could That's how I came to shake hands with him. I was talking to two Tibetan teenage girls and the DL walked over to talk to them and politely said hello to me.

I wish I'd been in your place Constance. I've tried to think of a similar auspicious meeting but the best I can muster is that I once landed at the feet of Lord Snowdon. I was running onto a plane in London, late because I'd dawdled too long at the duty-free shop. I tripped as I boarded and landed at his feet, cigarettes and whisky rolling over them (for some reason the entry was through First Class...)

Constance wrote:Seems like a miracle, I was able to reproduce a picture from Google of the Tang Dynasty (1,000 yrs old) Guan Yin/Avalokitesava which is in the Kuan Yin Hall at Chuang Yin Monastery.

Constance, I wish I knew more about Buddhism, but my knowledge is superficial.
I'm drawn to Guan Yin because she protects people at sea (as does the goddess Mazu, who some claim to be a manifestation of Guan Yin).
Because I had to sail back to Australia from China in a flat-bottomed 5,000-ton barge of suspect seaworthiness, I sought mercy from every source I could find.

Hello Constance. I hope you and your family are all well.

fill at your own will

soʎnʇ sol ʎ sǝıʇuɐd sıɯ wrote:. In Spanish they call it the book of mutations

In English, the Book of Changes'.

The coins in the picture are supposed to mean protection for the home and family.

It's a pictorial representation of my wish for Constance.

yes, that's what it looked like

blue moon wrote:

soʎnʇ sol ʎ sǝıʇuɐd sıɯ wrote:. In Spanish they call it the book of mutations

In English, the Book of Changes'.

The coins in the picture are supposed to mean protection for the home and family.

It's a pictorial representation of my wish for Constance.

Thank you, moonie. I wish you all the best! I wish I were in nice Australia now with the warm sun. The sun sets here at 4:28 and rises at 7:08 or so. We're approaching the shortest day, Dec. 21. I'm already looking forward to the third week in March when I see the first robin of Spring.

15 years ago I bought some old coins from China featuring the character for Ning, tranquility. I wish I could reproduce the character here. I'll go to Google images and see if I can find it and bring it here. I had wanted to frame the coins but I have them safe in an album.

Went to Chinese school today and Julia got back a quiz with 97% and 95% on her homework. She is doing best of the three girls. Elisabeth is getting 70s and 80s and Madeleine is just holding on. She graduates from Chinese school on January 18. She has to write a speech in Chinese! We're going to need a lot of help so have already lined up friends to help.

Julia had to have a mermaid tail for her birthday. I ordered it today from eBay. Expensive. She's wanted it since the summer when she discovered youtubes of girls lounging around in mermaid suits flipping their fins. My sister told me to take lots of pictures of her in it to show her friends when she is older.

Have you been walking your dog? I took Ginseng out today as most days. I wear a huge winter coat and gloves and a hood. I let Ginseng sniff so the walking is slowed down. She is 13 and doing so well for her age. Just got her checked out at the vet yesterday. She gets groomed on Wednesday. She is overdue.

Hi Constance.

Lovely to read you post.

You wouldn't want to be here at the moment. Most of Australia's in the grip of a heatwave with the bushfires and other problems that engenders...especially the almost crippling inertia...expecially where I live, where it's been well over 40 degrees for a while now (it reached 47 at it's peak...that's 116.6degrees Fahrenheit). I was apprehensive thinking about the possibility of blood boiling.

I bought some old coins from a market in China, and used an irrational belief that they would protect me to ease my terror of crossing the South China sea to safely come home (they obviously worked ).

Your girls are achieving incredibly high results at school. A reflection of your influence and their dedication. Well done to all of you. I can well understand the desire for a mermaid's tail.

I've always been fascinated by the story of the mermaid who could only walk ashore with great difficulty and in pain.

I'm sorry to say I haven't walked with the poor dog for months now. I was away down south for a month and now it's just too hot, even in the late afternoons. Blue's grooming lately has been a quick hose-down when his panting steps up a notch with the heat!

This time next week I'll be at sea, delivering a boat to New Guinea. I've always dreamed of being at sea on a trawler and only having to cook and do a turn at the wheel...without the screaming winches at winch-up time or braving the elements on deck all night processing. I feel very very lucky. The pay's great as well (the rates and car registration are due), and Christmas is approaching.

Have a wonderful festive season x