Fri, 18 Aug 2006
Nimitta
Here's an essay on an obscure point of Buddhism, the nimitta, which literally means sign. The nimitta is explained in the Path of Purification as a mental image that arises to someone practicing mindfulness of breath when they reach a level of concentration known as access concentration. The author of the essay argues that Buddhaghosa misunderstood a simile use in the sutras and mistook it as a literal vision. It's well known that Buddhaghosa was a scholar and not a meditator. It's ironic that the best known meditation manual in Theravadin Buddhism should be written by a non-meditator who misunderstood his sources.
The latest issue of Tricycle has an article about Rivers Cuomo, the front man for the group Weezer. It seems that he's quite dedicated to Insight Meditation in the tradition of Goenka. He's a second generation Buddhist. His parents were members of the Rochester Zen Center. He's also got a Myspace weblog with more info about his interest in Insight Meditation. He quotes a friend who wrote about him:
In the 7 years that I have been practicing Vipassana I have met very few people who are as dedicated to the practice as Rivers. For example, most people starting off take 10 day courses which are very demanding. If you practice 2 hours minimum a day for 2 years and refrain from using any intoxicants during that time, as well as meeta few other requirements, you can qualify to take a 20 day course. Very few people take these longer courses. Rivers just completed a 20 day course after a little less than 2 years of practicing! Imagine 20 days of total silence, meditating 10 to 12 hours a day! You can understand the kind of dedication that this would take. Rivers always seems down to meditate. The few times I visited him in LA thats what we did. He has clearly cultivated a lot of inner peace and clarity through his practice. Also sitting still and meditating for hours on end can be very uncomfortable. You tend to want to fidget. When Rivers sits to meditatite he resembles a stone statue of the Buddha. no movement. He is a person that exudes discipline. It's very inspirational.
Changes
Two months ago there was a shake up in the computer support group at the Space Telescope. The CIO left the Institute and several other people left with her. In the aftermath they decided to reorganize the computer support group. It has a new name, the IT Services Division. And some people, inclus=ding myself, were moved between the branches. I've now got a new manager, Steve, though my work won't change that much.
