Hedging Our Best

26 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Mr GrumpyThe privet hedge down the left hand side of the cottage garden is becoming a bit of a monster. The garden side was getting far too high to be trimmed without the aid of a safety net and the lane side is more in the domain of steeple jacks.

It had been decided that we would use the hedge trimmer to give it a good haircut and Bumble had already started the job earlier in the week. It had, however, also been decided that we would give ourselves a rest this weekend and do fun things rather than just chores.

So I set to with the trimmer and had finished the job B had started in about an hour. Feeling pretty satisfied with my efforts I was rather dismayed (huge understatement) when I found Bumble talking to Roy, one of the neighbours, about how the hedge had been managed in the past, and how it would be much easier if we were to lop a couple of feet off the top.

I was pretty miffed and made no secret about it. B went into one of her ‘leave it and I’ll do it myself’ moods, which just made me more annoyed. So having delivered a wise instruction to ‘not speak to me’ I got well and truly stuck in with the tree loppers.

I wouldn’t recommend using anger as a way to boost your life-energy, it’s pretty volatile stuff. But by the time we had decimated twenty or so feet of the top of the hedge my mood was much improved and we hadn’t killed each other.

What started off as a one man hedge-mashing exercise turned into a two man (well one woman and one man) project. I burned off all my angst and Bumble forgave me for being less than sociable for the initial half an hour.

Speaking about it later, we decided that the whole incident could have been avoided with a little better communication and we have promised to try to achieve that in the future. Neither the course of true love, nor the path to enlightenment are without their challenges, but having overcome the problem, we are better for the experience, and we have a much more manageable hedge.

Recuperation

19 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

RecuperationOverindulgence, in whatever form, often leads to a period of recuperation, and so it was today. The evenings jollifications with Phil and Nick yesterday led to Bumble being laid low for most of the day. Not that she went bonkers, or anything like, but it appears that her constitution was compromised and she spent the day recovering.

In fact, the whole day could be described as lethargic. Having breakfast with our guests, followed by a visit from Steve and Sue, meant that any ideas of a slow and lazy start had to be canned.

Burning the candle at both ends leads to burned fingers and a very short candle, which leaves one feeling a bit battered and bruised and not a little tired. We did get a fair few of the to-do list items sorted, but we both had power-naps in the afternoon, when we really should have been out in the fresh air and sunshine.

We also left it too late to get together with Charlotte and Hannah yesterday, the legacy of trying to fit too much into the time available. So once again plans were scrapped, and although it was a very enjoyable day, we were both left a bit too tired to make the most of it.

Still, nobody died or was eaten by bears, so we can take the lessons learned and make sure that we space our activities out a little better in future. Much more chanting and a little more resting required me thinks. These old bones are in fine fettle considering, but they just can’t take the strain at times.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

Challenges, Just A Fact Of Life

16 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

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

Just A Fact Of LifeSometimes, problems, or as we like to call them, challenges, seem to just keep on coming, one after another after another. With two deaths, as well as other problems associated with dementia in the family happening in the past few weeks, it’s been all too easy for us to start to wonder ‘What on earth have we done to deserve all this?’

However, challenges are just a fact of life. It’s true that some people seem to have more challenges than others. It is also obvious that there are times when they appear to come along like buses, nothing for ages and then a bunch of them turn up at once.

What helps, or at least helps me, is to look upon them as a way to become stronger. Buddhism sees challenges as a way to strengthen your faith and your practice by turning their poison into medicine. Of course this is easier said than done, but over time it is amazing what a person can learn to deal with.

When a challenge rears its ugly head I try to think about it from a number of viewpoints. Chanting definitely helps me in this regard. While I’m chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, my mind is emptied of the minutia of daily life, so I can concentrate on the issue at hand. Finding the positives in a situation is never easy, but they are there if you care to look.

So even though things may look dark, that there is nothing but sorrow to be gained from some event, that really is not the case. Losing someone close may seem to be such a situation, but if that person was suffering, that suffering has now ended, which is positive. If someone has to go into care, that is very sad, but it means that they, and others, are safer in the process.

Whatever the situation, there are positives, all that is needed is to find them in amongst the morass of bad feelings we may be having. As I say, chanting allows me to do this, and although it may not work for you, giving it a chance certainly won’t make things worse. Having a really good chant raises my life-energy and life-state and that in turn makes me more able to confront things head on.

Variety, The Spice Of Life-State

10 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Bristol International Balloon FiestaWe’ve talked about the Ten Worlds on many occasions, from Hell to Enlightenment, they are all part of the average day. So when I woke up this morning, having finally drifted off around 2 o’clock, I was in a bit of a state, though I’m not quite sure whether it was Hell or Tranquillity, but either way it was certainly not going to help me get through the day.

Speaking to Bumble on the way to work, I was a bit quiet, a bit negative, for me, and I’m sure she picked up on it. Tiredness, a general lack of life-energy, can really set you back. Not that I’m prone to it on the whole, but it gets the better of us all now and then.

Fortunately, my degree of self-awareness is certainly improving. So having worked out that I was the living embodiment of The Grinch, I had to make  change, so I took myself off to the peace and quiet of the stream at the back of the office and had a good chant.

Not wishing to blow the trumpet for Nichiren Buddhism too loudly, it is amazing that the simple repetition of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for ten minutes can completely transform your mood and, consequently your whole day.

We’ve got Josie and Matt, Bumble’s daughter and her partner, coming to stay for the weekend. I’m really looking forward to seeing her again, it’s been a while as she’s currently living and working on the Scilly Isles, and to meeting Matt for the first time.

I know that Bumble has planned, and prepared, a veggie curry for this evening and we are going to watch the Bristol balloon fiesta tomorrow, weather permitting. I think a picnic at the top of Tog Hill, one of the highest points in the area, should give us a great view and mean we won’t be involved in the traffic jam that accompanies the event.

So getting myself into a great mood, buzzing with life-force and energy, has to be the best way to set us all up for a busy weekend. With more chanting between now and tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be right on song and full of beans. Bring on the chanting, bring on the weekend !!!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Just Deserts

07 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

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

Mr Worry - Don't Do ItLeaving the works PC in a dishevelled state last night was not good for my peace of mind. But my fears of being left with an unusable machine for a week while Dan ‘the man’ went off to Barcelona on holiday proved to be unfounded.

With a laudable effort on all parts, particularly Dan’s, the machine is now honed to perfection and all ready to take on the challenges of the Fraser’s website restyling. Much of the work has already been done, all that is needed, and I say ‘all’ reservedly, is to incorporate said changes into the working copy, iron out any bugs and publish it to the server.

Worrying about things is such a pointless exercise. It takes energy, it lowers your life-state and achieves absolutely nothing. So don’t do it, I tell myself, but that’s easier said than done sometimes. What does work, and it works every time, is making the causes to create the effects we wish to see.

So as the old war-time song went, ‘what’s the use of worrying, it never was worthwhile; so, pack up your troubles in your old kit back and smile, smile, smile’. In my case that happens to be a rather battered old shoulder bag, but the principle still holds true.

Day And Night, Night And Day

26 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Recharge The BatteriesBeing responsible for the smooth running of our websites is a barrel load of laughs at times. In the last few days, we have been getting service outage alerts about every fifteen minutes from the company that monitors the sites for us. Whilst it is good to know that something is amiss, once you know about it, and know that there is rather little that can be done internally, it all gets a little ‘old news’.

Challenges are put before us to test us. To allow us to take up that challenge and work with it to make ourselves stronger. When, however, that challenge goes on day and night for days on end, your spirits start to flag as you begin to feel the lack of decent sleep taking hold.

This is where the Nichiren secret weapon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo comes in handy. Chanting really does boost the energy levels and puts a spring back in your step. By my reckoning, half an hours chanting, at lunchtime, on the way to or from work, or in the short periods of stillness in the evening, is as good as a couple of hours decent sleep.

So, as you might imagine, I have been finding a quiet corner in my lunch hour and ignoring the strange looks I get in the car, so I can recharge my batteries with copious amounts of chanting. Though I can’t actually say that the accompanying prayers have an instant effect in an IT environment, boosting my practice at such times certainly does invigorate and rejuvenate my spirits. That has to be a good thing for all concerned.

Bikes, Bikes and More Bikes

29 May 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Bikes, Bikes and more BikesThe first day back in the office for five days brought with it the expected quantity of emails and urgent tasks. Having put my back to the wheel, with no lunch, for the whole day, by 5:00pm I was ready to get out into what was left of the sunshine and take in some fresh air.

Whilst busy negotiating the never-ending road works at Canford Bottom, I was conscious of the stream of motorbikes heading towards Poole. Then the penny dropped, it was Tuesday, not Monday and they were all heading to the weekly bike rally on Poole Quay.

So how to combine sunshine, fresh air and motorbikes? Easy, get on my bicycle and ride down to the Quay. And so it was that I had a nice relaxing pootle over the Twin Sails Bridge and into Poole Old Town, where literally hundreds and hundreds of beautiful motorbikes were lining the road along the quay.

Having taken a leisurely ride along the length of the impromptu exhibition, and back, I chatted to a few of the bikers, took a few photos and drooled over a number of very pretty bits of machinery. Going home via the beach at Hamworthy park, the stress of the day floated gently away on the ebb tide. What a nice way to relax at the end of a hard day.

That Friday Feeling

25 May 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Hello Darkness My Old FriendWell here we are again folks, another week older and deeper in debt, or so a poor paraphrase of the song would go. Another day spent in Newbury has taken us a lot closer to completing the repair of Fraser’s and me a day nearer to getting my Bumble back.

I’m still struggling with the feelings of inadequacy in terms of looking after B, and we actually had a few sharp words with each other when I tried to explain how I felt. It seemed that there was a conflict, with me wanting to help and wanting her to allow me to do so, and she not wanting to put me to any inconvenience. Of course I should have recognised the mutterings of The Dark Passenger, but sadly I didn’t until it was almost too late.

We came to a sensible compromise, and when we spoke on Skype tonight, it seems that peace has broken out once more. I would like to think that listening to chapter 7, my favourite chapter of The Buddha, Geoff and Me got me thinking straight again. That and another serious chanting session on the way from Newbury to Bristol.

The day ended very pleasantly with a family meal round at Charlotte’s. Earlier in the day I just wasn’t feeling like talking to anyone, being in a low life-state and lacking life-energy. The chanting seems to work every time for me. I guess I should be getting used to that by now, but it still makes me smile when it does.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Big Mistake

18 May 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Lotus_DSHaving felt that we were almost there with the new Fraser’s website last night, I was in for a horrible shock this morning. On the drive up to Newbury, I was blissfully unaware that the live site had been all but destroyed by a re-sync I ran yesterday evening.

During Tuesday afternoon, I had inadvertently uploaded a script that had reset most of the content on the staging server. Of course, nobody was any the wiser because until the sites were synchronised, the live site remained intact. As soon as I ran the sync, all the damage was transferred over to live, and frighteningly there is no concept of an ‘undo’ command.

As soon as I looked in my inbox and saw the mails reporting the state of the site I was plunged into hell-state. Although the software partners are working on a set of backup scripts, I knew they were unfinished and that all the copy, images, menus and navigation was lost.

Fortunately, and to my huge relief, Bully had a data snapshot, albeit from February. That was the starting point for an entire day’s work, trying to cherry pick the latest elements from a whole morass of ancient code. Without the expert help of our partners, and Bully in particular, we, and by that I mean I, would have been in a very real mess. By about 5:00pm we were pretty much back where we should be. Thanks a million Bully.

So the drive from Newbury to Bristol was taken at a very leisurely pace, with a lot of chanting, while I tried to restore my life-state back to one of the higher worlds. It took a while, way past Swindon in fact, but finally my life-energies were on the rise. It’s strange how certain incidents can lower your energy, almost in an instant, but it can take a lot of chanting to get them back up again.

At least with my practice, I have a method to control them. Prior to practicing Nichiren Buddhism, I would have been in hell-state for a long time. By chanting, I raised them quite quickly, and I guess that had a good effect on both Bumble and myself as we sat and discussed the debacle over dinner. I know that I haven’t heard the last of this mistake, but at least I am in a good state to rationalise the incident, document the error and make plans to ensure that it never happens again. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

Still Swimming

17 May 2012 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Jack Russell with a stickThis little software issue is taxing the best brains in our partner company, it looks like a really simple problem, but it’s more tenacious than a Jack Russell with a stick.

So another full on day in Newbury and determination is the key to solving it. I am driving up there again in the morning, determined and full of life-energy from all the on-road chanting I’m doing en-route.

It is a well known Buddhist saying that our problems are not the real problem, it is the way we perceive them that is the problem.

Don’t have problems, have a series of challenges. Challenges are just problems that we are confident that we can overcome. Our problems come and go, nothing lasts forever, so view them with an open mind, look on them as challenges and remember, you are turning poison into medicine.

Even places that have been shrouded in darkness for billions of years can be illuminated by a simple lit candle. Even a stone from the bottom of the deepest river can be used to produce fire.

Our present sufferings, no matter how dark, have certainly not existed for billions of years, nor will they linger forever.

The sun will definitely rise, in fact its ascent has already begun. With determination, we can all overcome our problems, so look on them as challenges and enjoy the victory when it arrives.

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