Kutai Lighthouse

03 Jul 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Suzanne Vega - Tom's DinerWe are off to see Suzanne Vega at The Lighthouse theatre in Poole tonight. She is, and has been, one of my favourite singers for decades, so I am really looking forward to the concert.

As I often do, and I’m sure you do too, I’ve been listening to her back catalogue since I bought the tickets a couple of weeks ago.

Each song is like an old friend and arrives bringing a plethora of memories with it. Those memories, in Buddhist terms are held in a state called Ku, or Kutai, where something exists and doesn’t exist all at the same time.

The human brain is an amazing thing. On the one hand we can remember people and events from forty years and more ago. On the other, I can walk from the lounge into the kitchen and forget why I went in the first place, and I know we’ve all been there.

Amazing stuff that grey matter, a hugely complex system of neurons and synapses awash in a cocktail of serotonin, dopamine and countless other magical neurotransmitters, all busy doing their own thing, but all in sync. And all it needs, to switch on some memory buried deep in time, is a handful of notes in a particular sequence.

Here are a few rather shaky images from the show …

Suzanne Vega - Live In Poole

Suzanne Vega - Live In Poole

Suzanne Vega - Live In Poole

Who The Kutai

23 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

Dr WhoI saw the very first episode of Doctor Who, way back in November 1963, sitting on the sofa in my Nan and Grandad’s lounge at 50 Ryland Road, Erdington, Birmingham. Watching The Day Of The Doctor tonight was awesome, it was brilliantly written, performed and produced and brought many of the intervening years together in a very clever storyline.

The amazing thing is that the program also brought back memories and images from half a century ago. The whole family sitting around a black and white telly, watching William Hartnell, my Doctor, in a brand new series on the only BBC channel, BBC2 didn’t appear till 1967.

Such vivid memories. Only I could see them, but they were as real as were the original experiences. So they exist and they don’t exist all at the same time, and Nichiren Buddhism calls this Ku, short for Kutai. All they need are the right conditions to become manifest, in exactly the same way our own potential does.

The human brain is an amazing thing. On the one hand I can remember people and events from fifty years and more ago. On the other, I can walk from the lounge into the kitchen and forget why I went in the first place, and I know we’ve all been there.

Amazing stuff that grey matter, a hugely complex system of neurons and synapses awash in a cocktail of serotonin, dopamine and countless other magical neurotransmitters, all busy doing their own thing, but all in sync. And all it needs, to switch on some memory buried deep in time, is a handful of images or a series of electronic notes in a particular sequence.

Instant 80’s Kutai

11 Oct 2013 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

SiouxsieIn a vain attempt to block out the distractions of the office, I’ve been listening to an 80’s compilation album this morning. Some of the tracks are fillers with no special meaning for me, but some are kutai-tastic and have all the memories flooding back.

Bands like Culture Club, New Order, Bronski Beat, Thompson Twins, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Blondie, Billy Idol, The Stranglers, the list goes on and on and on, and so do the memories.

All sorts of memories came flooding back as the lyrics and notes unlocked them, some good, some not so good.

Only I could see them, but they were as real as were the original experiences. So they exist and they don’t exist all at the same time, and Nichiren Buddhism calls this Ku, short for Kutai. All they need are the right conditions to become manifest, in exactly the same way as our own innate potential does.

Now the morning itself has been consigned to history, as indeed has typing this sentence, but all those memories will remain forever.

The Middle Way

27 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Middle WayWe are all aware that life is made up of two components, the physical (ke or ketai) and the spiritual (ku or kutai). They are two, but not two (shikishin funi) and cannot exist one without the other. The body or physical aspect becomes useless without the mind, or spiritual aspect, and the mind is helpless without the body.

The mind however, can continue to function without the body, when we sleep for example. We have all experienced dreams where we perform feats that would be totally impossible in the physical world, like being able to fly.

So we have two rather different components, maybe working in a way that is not necessarily harmonious, until chu (or chutai) takes control. Chu is the harmonisation of ke and ku. It controls each aspect, making sure one or the other does not dominate or drag us off course.

This is known as The Middle Way (chudo).

Ke, Ku And Chu – The Middle Way

06 May 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

This Way, That Way, The Middle WayWe are all aware that life is made up of two components, the physical (ke or ketai) and the spiritual (ku or kutai).

They are separate, but joined, two, but not two (shikishin funi) and cannot exist one without the other.

The body or physical aspect becomes useless without the mind, or spiritual aspect, and the mind is helpless without the body.

The mind however, can continue to function without the body, when we sleep for example. We have all experienced dreams where we perform feats that would be totally impossible in the physical world, like being able to fly.

So we have two rather different components, maybe working in a way that is not necessarily harmonious, until chu (or chutai) takes control.

Chu is the harmonisation of ke and ku. It controls each aspect, making sure one or the other doesn’t drag us off course. This is known as The Middle Way (chudo).

Straight Down The Middle

04 Feb 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , ,

Straight Down The MiddleWe are aware that life is made up of two very distinct components, the physical (ke or ketai) and the mental or spiritual (ku or kutai). They are two, but not two (shikishin funi) as one cannot exist without the other.

The body or physical aspect becomes useless without the mind, or spiritual aspect, and the mind might be thought helpless without the body. The mind however, can continue to function without the body, when we sleep for example. We have all experienced dreams where we perform superhuman feats that would be totally impossible in the physical world, like being able to fly.

So we have two rather different components, sometimes working in a way that is not necessarily harmonious, until chu (or chutai) takes control. Chu is the harmonisation of ke and ku. It controls each aspect, making sure one or the other doesn’t drag us off course.

This is known as The Middle Way (chudo).

Oh Yes, it’s Kutai Alright

29 Oct 2010 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

After a day working on the new Yoga Essence website, we spent the evening in the company of Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman. Their concert at the Lighthouse in Poole was a brilliant mix of new songs from The Living Tree and golden oldies.

All sorts of memories came flooding back as the lyrics and notes unlocked them.

Only I could see them, but they were as real as were the original experiences. So they exist and they don’t exist all at the same time, and Nichiren Buddhism calls this Ku, short for Kutai. All they need are the right conditions to become manifest, in exactly the same way our own potential does.

Now the concert itself has been consigned to history, as has typing this sentence, memories that will remain forever.

Ke, Ku & Chu – The Middle Way

10 Oct 2010 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

We are all aware that life is made up of two components, the physical (ke or ketai) and the spiritual (ku or kutai).

They are two, but not two (shikishin funi) and cannot exist one without the other.

The body or physical aspect becomes useless without the mind, or spiritual aspect, and the mind is helpless without the body.

The mind however, can continue to function without the body, when we sleep for example. We have all experienced dreams where we perform feats that would be totally impossible in the physical world, like being able to fly.

So we have two rather different components, maybe working in a way that is not necessarily harmonious, until chu (or chutai) takes control.

Chu is the harmonisation of ke and ku. It controls each aspect, making sure one or the other doesn’t drag us off course. This is known as The Middle Way (chudo).