Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The top end overhaul has begun. Hope to be riding by the end of January.

Meditation is never one thing
Meditation is never one thing; you’ll experience moments of peace, moments of sadness, moments of joy, moments of anger, moments of sleepiness. The terrain changes constantly, but we tend to solidify it around the negative: “This painful experience is going to last the rest of my life.” The tendency to fixate on the negative is something we can approach mindfully; we can notice it, name it, observe it, test it, and dispel it, using the skills we learn in practice.
- Sharon Salzberg, "Sticking with It"

Sunday, November 13, 2011

The oil leak around the valve guide finally killed her. She's out of commission until I rebuild the top end.

I'm sure you may have noticed that I pussed out and put the front fender back on. Now that we are going into winter, I'm getting too old (ok I'm just lame) to eat second hand snow and rain off the road.  I'm not making an excuse, I will wear my pussified badge of honor.

Beyond Duality
I say recognize that the absolute is the relative, that nirvana is relativity. There is no way of not making a decision, and within every decision there's always a better or a worse. They are not equal. This attempt to go beyond good and evil posits some dualistic idea about nirvana. But let's not be dualistic. Nirvana is not someplace else. To go beyond good and evil means that good and evil are relative aspects that require choices.
— Robert Thurman, "The Politics of Enlightenment"

Friday, November 11, 2011

The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there. -Pirsig

At some point I'm going to have to re-wire this whole bike. A less attractive prospect now that it is 22 degrees outside and my fingers are frozen.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Sportsters I have known

1993 74 cubic inch Sporty

2005 883 Jockey Shift


Our servant, the mind
When we look for the mind, we can't find any shape, or color, or form. This mind that we identify as the self, which we could call ego-mind, controls everything we do. Yet it can't actually be found—which is somewhat spooky, as if a ghost were managing our home. The house seems to be empty, but all the housework has been done. The bed has been made, our shoes have been polished, the tea has been poured, and the breakfast has been cooked. The funny thing is that we never question this. We just assume that someone or something is there. But all this time, our life has been managed by a ghost, and it's time to put a stop to it. On one hand, ego-mind has served us—but it hasn't served us well.
– Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, "Searching for Self"

Monday, October 24, 2011

Old bikes, and old souls run best in the fall. Everything seems crisp and has an energy to it. Maybe its just the anticipation of it all coming to an end when the snow flies for both. But if you read this blog you know that snow doesn't stop the Shovel.

What We Call “Sacred”
Life is possible. Situations are possible. And anybody can start to gain some kind of insight and appreciation of their lives. That’s what we call “sacred.” It doesn’t mean something dramatic, but something very simple. There’s a sacredness to everyone’s life.
– Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, "A New Place, A New Time"

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Sunday Dharma

Attainment isn't scheduled
We should not have a time schedule to attain the goal, for our attainment depends on how we progress in our practice based on our understanding and development of our spiritual faculties. We must work diligently and mindfully toward the goal without setting any particular time schedule to reach it. When we are ready, we get there. All we have to do is to prepare ourselves for that attainment.
– Henepola Gunaratana, "Sitting Still"

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Grampa in the 1930s.

"The mind not distracted is present with things as they are. Sensations, sights, sounds, thoughts, mental moods, all of these phenomena are happening in the present, continually arising and disappearing. An entry point into stillness is a moment where the mind is not drifting or distracted with the constantly changing nature all around. It doesn't matter if you're riding on the freeway or sitting in a cave."-Michele McDonald