Samyutta Nikaya I 109

Days and nights pass,
life runs to an end,
the life-span of mortals peters out
like the water of rivers.

Seeds, Spring and Jade

 

Today I have been lucky enough to get some seeds of giant bottle gourd, got ten seeds for the price of five. All seeds have been planted into individual pots, though small, and fed fertilizer; I have much hope for such a plant to grow well. I have also been preparing soil with mulch for when I plant gourd seedlings.

I have also been trying to raise a jade plant from a cutting and all seems well for my first try at growing such a plant. Amusingly, I have noticed quite a few jade plants in my local area once I kept a keen eye for jade plants.

All other plants I have been growing are well and I am to soon plant some chilli seeds I have been waiting until the latest of the four seasons to plant. It is the start of spring to which many flowers have popped up already and hopefully I will also plant some flower seeds, too, to bring some extra colour around the house.

I have to say, I am glad it is warming up. Even though there was much needed rain that came and I even got to enjoy walking through it a number of times, I cannot wait to see the hot days of summer. The Royal Melbourne Show is coming up very soon to which I cannot deny that I am hyped about. Truly, I am a content person.

Bottle Gourds

The calabash, or bottle gourd, is one plant that is considered quite lucky and has had much appreciation from the Chinese. It has a hard shell which can be used as a bottle and traditionally used to carry medicine, wine, water and elixirs. Not only was the gourds shell used to carry medicine but the plant has been used as medicine itself, and from what I have heard, makes a good eating.


Gourds is popular as use as a charm for warding off evil spirits and disease thanks to its Chinese name, hulu, which the character hu in itself means ‘protect’ or ‘guard’, but not only that but also ‘blessing’. Also, hu sounds like fu to which fu means ‘good fortune’ or ‘happiness’.

The legendary Sun Wukong himself once got word that demon were on their way to capture him with their magic gourd, so he disguises himself as an immortal before meeting them. These demons were unaware that this immortal was really Sun Wukong and these demons showed off their magic gourd to which Sun Wukong himself shows an ordinary gourd to these demons but claims it can hold the entire universe within it. These demons on hearing such a claim wanted to trade their gourd for this apparent universe containing one but on the condition that it is proved that it can be done. Sun Wukong, under permission from spirits, blocks out the light of the sun, moon and stars for a single hour and is able to trick these demons into thinking that the disguised Sun Wukong has bottled up the Heaven’s, thus being able to get a magic gourd for an ordinary one. This little story about Sun Wukong and these demons also is a good story to tell about how easily people can be fooled.

Gourds are also associated with old age and charms. Interestingly enough, old men many, many years back would frequently be seen carrying gourds on their backs. One old god known as Shou, also known as the Star of Longevity, is often seen carrying a Peach of Immortality and a staff of peach wood. Shou also carries a gourd himself to which people have disagreements on what is actually in it. Some say water, others nectar, I also have heard a couple claims of Shou carrying an elixir within his gourd.

The bottle gourd itself has many tales surrounding it within China and it is also a symbol of Heaven and Earth or the universe. It is also amusing as bottle gourds tend to be in the shape of the number eight, which is considered a highly lucky number in China.

Dharammapada, verse 183

"To avoid all evil,
to do good,
to purify one's mind
- that is the teaching of the Buddha's."

Death And Ghosts

Death is an unavoidable part of life and the fact that a life has ended also puts parents of young children to explain death. To many people, death is something to fear, to be frightened of, but it truly isn’t. Death itself has always been around and will always been around.


One thing that has been spotted time and time again throughout history is ghosts. There are many ghost stories to tell from this modern world and many more pop up. Ask a classroom of high school students for ghost stories of their own to which you are likely to get at least one story from a small class. Even I can tell of a ghost or two. Ghosts themselves can be found culture to culture, and many have given much respect to the deceased through from just funeral rites to ancestor worship. Some people claim that a ghost have given them a message or to have seen a ghost or ghosts of animals.

There are also hungry ghosts, those who come back from the afterlife for whatever reason (such as lack of food or water) and are said to feed on peoples fear and energies. Offerings to help these ghost survive in the next life is said to get rid of hungry ghosts. Recently the Hungry Ghost Festival was celebrated on August 24, a Chinese festival honouring the dead and ancestors. There is also the Day of the Dead coming up in a couple months which is another day to honour the dead. Both days are a reminder of how life is not eternal, but both great days to celebrate but also to teach children about death.

Death and ghosts are both subjects that are interesting, both something to study. Many have their opinions of their own. Some do think ghosts do exist, some don’t. Some have ghost stories, others don’t. People claim a certain thing about the afterlife, but many people have many differing ideas of what when one dies.

Being One With Nature

Today I was lucky enough to see a live possum, which is quite rare as they tend to be nocturnal and if you do see one it is usually road kill. You can probably guess that it was sleeping; it was asleep in a tall shrub as if in total tranquillity, as if one with nature. One can ask how to be one with nature, and there are many answers to this.


I see being one with nature as being one with oneself and one’s environment. My understanding of being with one with yourself as knowing who you really are, knowing what you really enjoy, knowing your own abilities and capacities. Being one with oneself sounds really simple, it is if you truly know yourself. Doing something that helps you learn of who you are is countless; you can meditate or do a martial art, going for a walk or doing some gardening.

Being one with one’s environment is a great asset to be one with nature, and nature is in abundance if you know where to look. To be one with the environment is to be one with their surroundings. To know the building they live within, the gardens they have and having a general knowledge of the area they live within. Nature is something not hard to find and observe as it is always around us even if a small amount of it.

When one is in tune with themselves and their environment, they can become one with nature.

Spiders

Spiders themselves are generally feared and tend to be lacking respect from people. Yes, they can kill people. Yes, they can look frightening. But they are worthy of respect. They have colonized every continent but Antarctica and seem to be found anywhere but sky and sea.


It is the spider itself that can kill people so easily with its fangs, but can be so easily killed by people. They are quite the reminder of how one can kill another, but yet be killed.

They create webs that can capture but can be used to help move around from one spot to another. Their eight legged form recognizable to anyone with the added effect of coming in a huge amount of variety.

Many people can tell of some sort of experience with spiders. My father was once bitten by a red-back and I once saw a red-back itself tying up an insect by its legs. There have been many spiders grow large in the house I live within. Over the years I have grown to have respect for such a creature, this bringer of death and receiver of death has earned it.