dhammapada - Blog Posts - Yoga Vidya International - Yoga, Meditation and Spirituality2024-03-29T11:39:17Zhttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/dhammapadaCreeper (revisited)https://my.yoga-vidya.org/profiles/blogs/creeper-revisited2010-08-26T21:57:07.000Z2010-08-26T21:57:07.000ZChristopher Stewarthttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/members/ChristopherStewart<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="" alt="" /><br /><span style="font-size:x-small;">("<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ryogen1.JPG">Two portraits of Ryogen</a>" - Author Unknown - copyright holder is Kiemon Tsuruya)</span></p><br /><div align="center"><object height="100" width="400" data="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" ></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque" ></param><param name="flashvars" value="song_label=poligraf.creeper.master.intro.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/obnbq4rn1dnhoxintvng/9696082460cc0a9d5d84ab35abe8b2e4f5a6de29/Asset/43353926/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="song_label=poligraf.creeper.master.intro.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/obnbq4rn1dnhoxintvng/9696082460cc0a9d5d84ab35abe8b2e4f5a6de29/Asset/43353926/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" height="100" width="400" allowscriptaccess="never" allownetworking="internal"></embed> </object></div><br /><p>« Creeper » is an allegory wherein destructive mental processes are compared to creeping plants. The piece depicts four stages of a confrontation between creeper and host : introduction, growth, conquest, and extinction.</p><br /><p>The audio clip presents the introduction and verses. As the lyrics suggest, the creeper really represents insidious suggestion, worry, negativity, or doubt, which are generally rooted in ignorance or craving and can act as magnets to weird experiences when pursued intently.</p><br /><p><em>Insidious suggestion<br /> Difficult to contain<br />Tendency to worry<br />Threatening to bloom in pain<br /><br />Stemming up from a doubt<br />Burgeoning from a no<br />Better sever the sprout<br />Or a vine could follow<br /><br />Creative energy – Unleashed upon itself<br />Subtle adversary – Not yet under control<br />Creative energy – Cynical of itself<br />Unforeseen enemy - Between here and the goal<br /><br />Coming back from the past<br />Sinister memory<br />Craving for attention<br />The voice of gravity<br /><br />Surely as it will rise<br />Before long, paralyse<br />Surely as it will grow<br />In a spiral, down you go<br /><br />Creative energy – Unleashed upon itself<br />Subtle adversary – Not yet under control<br />Creative energy – Cynical of itself<br />Unforeseen enemy – Between here and the goal</em></p></div>Upward (The Idler part 3)https://my.yoga-vidya.org/profiles/blogs/upward-the-idler-part-32010-07-15T22:00:00.000Z2010-07-15T22:00:00.000ZChristopher Stewarthttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/members/ChristopherStewart<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="" alt="" /><br /><span style="font-size:x-small;">(<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martin_Johnson_Heade_-Blue_Morpho_Butterfly_ATC.jpg">Blue Morpho Butterfly</a> by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Martin_Johnson_Heade">Martin Johnson Heade</a>)</span></p><br /><br /><div align="center"><object height="100" width="400" data="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" ></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque" ></param><param name="flashvars" value="song_label=poligraf.the.idler.2007.part3.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/prqlfttskgvethodhyiy/b4bcfac5e450ab7618a2c2342a70a9bcc6c18319/Asset/5013702/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="song_label=poligraf.the.idler.2007.part3.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/prqlfttskgvethodhyiy/b4bcfac5e450ab7618a2c2342a70a9bcc6c18319/Asset/5013702/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" allowscriptaccess="never" height="100" width="400" allownetworking="internal"></embed> </object></div><br /><br /><p>The third part of “The Idler” is entitled “Upward.”</p><br /><p>The idea behind the movement is quite simple : once the necessity of evolution has been recognized and accepted, there’s only one way to go and its up.</p><br /><p>To convey the feeling of somebody who is reinventing themselves, the music reintroduces some of the themes already presented earlier in the suite, but gives them new forms or turns them completely inside out.</p><br /><p>There are no vocals in his section. Here's the associated poetry :</p><br /><p><em>I only have myself to blame<br /> As the mirror reflects my shame<br />I've seen the past and it was lame<br />Yet it defined a better aim<br /><br />Walked on and on along this route<br />I know the place inside and out<br />So long a time spent in circles<br />I know by heart all the cycles<br /><br />Exhausted of repetition<br />I'm ready for evolution<br />I recognize elevation<br />Essential to perennation<br /><br />Pick me the flower yet ungrown<br />Map me the location unknown<br /><br />Tell me the joke that's not absurd<br />Build me the floor undiscovered<br /><br />Lead me up steps I never took<br />Fry me the fish I'll never hook<br /><br />Reveal the cards as yet undealt<br />Evoke the sentiment unfelt<br /><br />Write me the story yet untold<br />Warp me in time yet to unfold<br /><br />Push me further than my intent<br />Touch me farther than my extent<br /><br />Sanctify sinner yet absolved<br />Ask me the riddle left unsolved<br /><br />Draw me the shadow of a doubt<br />Situate me outside of out<br /><br />Tailor the skin that's yet unshed<br />Summon the spirit yet undead<br /><br />Revive the man who never died<br />Mix me the color never eyed<br /><br />Paint me the canvas yet unframed<br />Attain the goal yet to be aimed<br /><br />Grant me the reward yet unearned<br />Teach me the lesson yet unlearned<br /><br />Upward bent and forward headed<br />Purposeful until upgraded<br />Unending magic carpet ride<br />On winds of change unfazed I glide<br /></em> <br /></p><br /><p>And here’s what it sounds like when we perform it. Again, the live version is very different from the working version :</p><br /><div align="center"><object height="344" width="425" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/ucEof-wTgDw&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ucEof-wTgDw&hl=en_US&fs=1" ></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ucEof-wTgDw&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="never" height="344" width="425" allownetworking="internal"></embed></object></div></div>Creeperhttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/profiles/blogs/creeper-12010-05-11T14:41:46.000Z2010-05-11T14:41:46.000ZChristopher Stewarthttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/members/ChristopherStewart<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="" alt="" /><br /><span style="font-size:x-small;">("<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_and_white_branch.jpg">Climbing Plant</a>" by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Popperipopp">Popperipopp</a>)</span></p><br /><div align="center"><object height="100" width="400" data="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" ></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque" ></param><param name="flashvars" value="song_label=poligraf.creeper.master.2008.ending.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/6sajf5thd2ps58fehakf/b4a5ff726b159faa2c0db1921bb01b18167e26c0/Asset/5097161/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/stlth/static/production/swf/audio_controller.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="song_label=poligraf.creeper.master.2008.ending.mp3&music_track=http://drop.io/download/public/6sajf5thd2ps58fehakf/b4a5ff726b159faa2c0db1921bb01b18167e26c0/Asset/5097161/v3/web_preview&autoplay=false" height="100" width="400" allowscriptaccess="never" allownetworking="internal"></embed></object></div><br /><p>“Creeper” is directly inspired by the following aphorism from The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhammapada">Dhammapada</a> :</p><blockquote style="font-style:italic;">The streams flow everywhere; the creeper, having sprung up, becomes established. When you see that creeper sprout, sever its root by intense insight. – (XXIV. Craving, #7)</blockquote><p>and accompanying translator’s note :</p><blockquote style="font-style:italic;">The “creeper” is insidious suggestion, rooted in ignorance and craving, developing into bondage, aggression, and folly. To sever it the moment it sprouts is what the Tao Te Ching refers to as doing what is difficult when it is still easy. This is the purpose of vigilance, so highly recommended by Buddha.</blockquote><p>The piece forms an allegory wherein destructive mental processes are compared to creeping plants, and depicts a confrontation between creeper and host in four stages : introduction, growth, conquest, and extinction.</p><br /><p>The audio clip presents the last sections of the composition which correspond to the extinction of the sabotaging parasitical vine. The host has won the final confrontation and confirms his triumph by revealing the modus operandi and nature of his opponent :</p><blockquote style="font-style:italic;">Paradise awaiting / Because your constant voice<br /> (All your doom scenarios never come to pass)<br />Always analyzing / Undermines every choice<br />(Expected catastrophes never come to life)<br /><br />Creeper now I can see / You sabotage my dream<br />(All your doom scenarios never come to pass)<br />Yet share its quality / Thus ends your little scheme<br />(Expected catastrophes never come to life)</blockquote><p>While the lead singer plays the part of the host, the backing vocalists repeat a victorious mantra.</p><br /><p>The plant then makes a few attempts to rise from its ashes, but all are short-lived as they are rapidly recognized and subdued by the conqueror.</p></div>In The Taste Of The Day (The Idler part 1)https://my.yoga-vidya.org/profiles/blogs/in-the-taste-of-the-day-the2010-06-17T23:40:50.000Z2010-06-17T23:40:50.000ZChristopher Stewarthttps://my.yoga-vidya.org/members/ChristopherStewart<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://poligraf.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/the_idler_upward_butterfly_painting320.png" alt="the_idler_upward_butterfly_painting320.png" /><br /><span style="font-size:x-small;">("Upward" - detail from an old kindergarten painting)</span></p><br /><div align="center"><object height="81" data="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fpoligraf%2Fin-the-taste-of-the-day-demo&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=be1b1b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fpoligraf%2Fin-the-taste-of-the-day-demo&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=be1b1b" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" allowscriptaccess="never" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fpoligraf%2Fin-the-taste-of-the-day-demo&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=be1b1b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="81" allownetworking="internal"></embed></object></div><br /><p>The Idler was born of a combination of concepts discovered while exploring various domains of knowledge during the second half of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s.</p><blockquote>« <i>The idler who does not arise when it is time to arise, who is full of sloth though young and strong, who is lazy and weak in thought and mind, does not find the path to insight.</i> » – The Dhammapada</blockquote><p>I was developing an interest in Buddhism, and from the works of Jung, in the concepts of synchronicity, and the collective and individual unconscious, in particular in their various manifestations as guide to personal evolution :</p><blockquote>« <i>L’exigence de l’inconscient serait donc l’exigence de cette évolution, l’inconscient se rappelle à nous pour réaliser ce processus d’individuation, ce processus d’éveil.</i> – C.G. Jung »</blockquote><p>I wondered what would happen to an individual utterly oblivious to signs, or intentionally inertial. So I imagined a confrontation between a fictional character, The Idler, and their unconscious. Frustrated by the indifference of its protégé when facing dreams, somatic troubles, preoccupations, and other such signs, the unconscious takes human form in order to convince The Idler of the necessity of evolution, not only on the material plane, but also with respect with his emotive, affective, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions.</p><br /><p>Here are the lyrics :</p><br />« I don’t have the time » is the lie<br />I will not believe<br />Coming from you the alibi<br />Will not deceive<br /><br />« I have no control over it »<br />I will not allow<br />As objection to disbelief<br /><br />« I just can’t change » is this hell<br />You just don’t leave<br />While heaven is ignored you’ll keep<br />Facing the heat<br /><br />Until this point you will admit<br />I will uphold my aim<br />You let your own inertia<br />Ignite the flame<br /><br />Distract yourself in the tasks of the day<br />Don’t lie I know you’re only idling<br />Divert yourself in the taste of the day<br />You know I know you are only hiding<br /><br />Angels timely sent<br />Keep getting lost in the noise that is maze<br />Blind to dreams even deaf to body<br />Fate is left to the hands of the clock</div>