Yes....

"My greatest skill has been to want little."
-Henry David Thoreau










What a hard task....simplification in a world of desire and materialism. With the oncoming recession, economic downturn, or however you wish to phrase it, I think people will have an involuntary simplification. I wonder if they will take the time to cherish having less. To understand that once our basic human needs are met (think, Maslow's Heirarchy), its all "fluff;" it means nothing in relation to our happiness. In fact, it can have the adverse effect. I see much of what people do seems to involve the service of these things; paying for these things; admiring these things; hoping others admire these things. Myself, satisfaction comes from having less; relying on nothing more than can fit in one pack, that goes on my back. Ultimate mobility.

Sharon Salzberg at Tibet House

Had the pleasure of making it down to the Tibet House last night to see Sharon Salzberg, a truly inspirational figure in the world of Eastern Philosophy. She led guided meditations on Metta, the pali word for loving kindness, and also guided the beginners through basic vipassana meditation. Sitting with a wonderful teacher after a long drought was just what I needed.
Mindfulness meditation involves resting the mind, loosening the grip of emotions, fear, misconceptions, and preconceptions on an experience; discovering the quality of awareness in the present moment, not thinking about the past and what could have been, or the future and what might or might not happen. I have studied under different lineages of Buddhism, both Tibetan and Zen; this is a universal truth of both; the most basic essence of this practice; training the mind.

Here is a copy of the Metta Sutra, or teaching, courtesy of the big man himself, The Buddha.

Metta Sutra

The Buddha’s Words on Lovingkindness

This is what should be done
By those who are skilled in goodness,
And who know the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech,
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied,
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways,
Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.
Wishing: in gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born—
May all beings be at ease!
Let none deceive another,
Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings;
Radiating kindness over the entire world,
Spreading upward to the skies,
And downward to the depths;
Outward and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down,
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed views,
The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.

Another interesting fact, the Swahili word for journey is Safari. I assumed it was a word made up by American travel agents to capture the mood of spending lots of money.

H.H. the Dalai Lama on Development Agendas

From the preface to Oliver Follmi's Homage to the Himalayas:

"Profound changes have reached many regions of the world over the last century. Undoubtedly, there is a pressing need to improve people's living conditions, facilitate access to education, and develop transport links. However, in passing from one way of life to another, there is a risk of rejecting everything that has stood the test of time, of favoring the new at the expense of the old, and thus of losing all sense of our values...
My aim is not to preach a return to ancient ways of life, for modern civilization offers many benefits for humankind. However, whether they are living in a developed or developing country, people today face a stark challenge: to achieve inner harmony, a source of peace, as traditional communities do, while at the same time enjoying the material benefits of the modern world."

The Dalai Lama very accurately details something that I have witnessed in the last few years around the world; being able to enter into cultures and societies that are on the cusp of that change, that are entering into a new age of connectivity, technology, entertainment, globalization; and wanting to scream, STOP!! SLOW DOWN!! THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE LEAVING!! AND WHAT YOU ARE GETTING IN RETURN!! I cannot fault anyone for desiring goods that make their lives better or easier; these goods have created ease in my own life, ease that I value. But seeing youth who would rather sit and watch a pirated DVD crammed full of Bollywood dancing rather than participate in a community chiefly ritual, a ceremony that has bound a culture together for eons, is heartbreaking. There must be a balance. Access to information is key; as well as giving people the means to strengthen their cultures and traditions, means that bring pride as well as income.




Recently had the fortune to watch a beautiful film with my stepmom at the Quad Theater here in NYC,
A Walk To Beautiful, which details the struggle of five Ethiopian women struggling with Fistula, brought about from primitive childbirth facilities and prolonged, agonizing laboring processes. The film was depressing and uplifting, a story of struggle and wonder, of the glory of the human spirit, and of some wonderful people dedicating their lives to a noble cause. The best part. 100% percent of proceeds from the movie go to benefit the Fistula Foundation. Trailer link on You Tube below.
http://www.fistulafoundation.org/
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cqccULujzJo

Millenium Development Goals

This is a personal reminder...in fact, this entire blog is a personal notepad, and I tend to talk to myself and need to be reminded of things constantly.

Millennium Development Goals

Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 is a Millennium Development Goal. In addition to broader approaches, the Sachs Report (for the UN Millennium Project) ^[7] proposes a series of "quick wins", approaches identified by development experts which would cost relatively little but could have a major constructive effect on world poverty. The quick wins are:

• Access to information on sexual and reproductive health.
• Action against domestic violence.
• Appointing government scientific advisors in every country.
• Deworming school children in affected areas.
• Drugs for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
• Eliminating school fees.
• Ending user fees for basic health care in developing countries.
• Free school meals for schoolchildren.
• Legislation for women’s rights, including rights to property.
• Planting trees.
• Providing soil nutrients to farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Providing mosquito nets.
• Access to electricity, water and sanitation.
• Supporting breast-feeding.
• Training programs for community health in rural areas.
• Upgrading slums, and providing land for public housing.

Stumbled upon this guy Malcolm and his website last night...super cool, interesting approach to life and work, and is an inspirational story. I'd like to buy HIM a beer...
http://www.crazymalc.co.nz
with a link to an interesting grassroots organization in Uganda that I might check out in the future.... www.TheRealUganda.com

random. 2.24.08, NYC

Me: sifting through the proliferation of information, dissecting divergent views in rooms packed with experts, everyone trying to gain an edge, to scream out, to be followed, not to be led. Watching for a glimpse of inspiration, ready to follow, idealism not dead in this land of plenty. My internal clock rings, more impulsive living to come soon...



Clips from William Easterly's Review of Jeffrey Sachs, The End of Poverty...

As he (Sachs) puts it, newspapers should (but don't) report every morning, "More than 20,000 people perished yesterday of extreme poverty."

Spending $2.3 trillion (measured in today's dollars) in aid over the past five decades has left the most aid-intensive regions, like Africa, wallowing in continued stagnation; it's fair to say this approach has not been a great success.

In those five decades, poverty researchers have learned a great deal about the complexity of toxic politics, bad history (including exploitative or inept colonialism), ethnic and regional conflicts, elites' manipulation of politics and institutions, official corruption, dysfunctional public services, malevolent police forces and armies, the difficulty of honoring contracts and property rights, unaccountable and excessively bureaucratic donors and many other issues.

The danger is that when the utopian dreams fail (as they will again), the rich-country public will get even more disillusioned about foreign aid. Sachs rightly notes that we need not worry whether the pathetic amount of current U.S. foreign aid -- little more than a 10th of a penny for every dollar of U.S. income -- is wasted. Foreign aid's prospects will brighten only if aid agencies become more accountable for results, and demonstrate to the public that some piecemeal interventions improve the lives of desperate people.



"I envy his strength and wonder if I could find it within myself, faced with the same circumstances."
Journalist Kevin Sites, In The Hot Zone, after gazing at a roadside artist in Haiti, pounding iron art from a 55 gallon drum.
(I wonder if I have the same strength for survival that props up so many struggling souls in this world. I need to see if this strength exists, experience its grasp, understand its embrace. Me)


The secret of life according to Professor Daniel Dennett: "Find something more important than yourself and dedicate your life to it."


"To practice Zen means to realize one's existence moment after moment, rather than letting life unravel in regret of the past and daydreaming of the future...as the clutter of ideas and emotion fall away and body and mind return to normal harmony with all creation. Out of this emptiness can come a true insight into the nature of existence, which is no different than one's Buddha Nature."
Peter Mattheisson, Nine Headed Dragon River

"I'd like to live like a poor man, but with a lot of money."
Pablo Picasso

"Do something you believe in and want to do, rather than something that makes you money."
Me

Picasa Web Albums - Jeff - South India

Picasa Web Albums - Jeff - South India

America

It was a cold and wet December day, touched the ground at JFK, snow was melting on the ground, on BLS i heard the sound, of an angel.....(well, not quite, it was a cold and dry January night, with no snow to be seen)....but I have landed back in the states. How clean everything is here! How orderly! How few people seem to be milling around! (and this is in Manhattan, mind you)....life will be taking on more of a mundane role for awhile, so Ill be using this blog basically to jot down notes for myself....one day, i will be on the road again, many more adventures to be had, of that I am sure. But I must say, it is great to be back in America, its home, and I did miss it much.

I ended my travels with an amazing (and amazingly quick) tour of South India with my lovely sister, who came out to join me in Chennai for 9 days of luxury, cheuffured cars, 5 star hotel rooms, the works. Our whirlwind tour took us to Mammalapuram, Madurai, Periyar Animal Reserve, Cochin, and Mumbai. Personal highlight was the backwaters of Kerala, seen from the top of a lazily motoring boat, was an amazing peek into rural Indian life, and one of the most beautiful sights that I have witnessed in that part of the world. The tranquility was such an antithesis to the chaos of normal Indian life, it was even more appreciated. We had a wonderful time together, and im in the process of getting pictures online...she might beat me to it:
http://www.very-simple.com/
Thank you Sam!

the wonders of broadband internet and youtube.....this is wonderful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIgYBx2HxP0

In other news:

NYTimes today:
Sierra Leone has the highest infant mortality rate in the world, with 270 deaths per 1000 births. The rate worldwide, in contrast, was 72 deaths per 1000 births.

This absolutely shocked and horrified me in reading. Due to the wonders of broadband internet access (courtesy of my wonderful parents) I delved deeper into these numbers.
According to the US Census Bureau, the infant mortality rate in Japan is 3.2 per 1000 births.
This discrepency is shocking to me on a human level. I have traveled in many countries and witnessed the positive effects of Japan's wealth in terms of international development projects (of which im sure many are the fabled white elephants), but their goodwill aside, on a globalized view, how can this be tolerated in the 21st century, the gap between the rich and poor, the healthy and hungry, is disquieting.

mammalapuram

"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars."
-Persian Proverb


"With all respect, Sahib, you have little to teach us in strength and toughness.
And we don't envy you, your restless spirits. Perhaps we are happier than you?
But we would like our children to go to school. Of all the things you have, learning is
the one we most desire for our children."
-Urkein Sherpa to Sir Edmund Hillary, Schoolhouse in the Clouds

Chennai, Tamil Nadu , India

I feel an energy, a buzz, that had been eluding me for awhile on the road, a revitalization, renewal, smiling endlessly at the wonders of this amazing land. I left my wonderful beach shack amidst anxiety of trading tranquility for hostility; on the way, i've connected with some wonderful Indian folks, and remembered how warm and embracing and Indian smile and head nod can be.
The people of Chennai, the 4th largest city in India; the other support crew, actors, staff, stars, were so open and welcoming today as I somehow found myself on the AVN Studios film lot, fufilling that jewel in the Indian experience, being a Bollywood extra. The picture, plotline, story, will all fade with time; but what will remain in mind is the parade of smiles and warmth of the people on the lot, for the long hours that were spent sitting idly, conversation flowing like the hot, milky chai tea we drank in gulps.
Even the star actors were totally unpresumptuous, open, even shy; its hard to imagine Tom Cruise bashfully talking to an India film extra on a Hollywood lot. The entirety of life on the set; a microcosm of Indian life, endless food and tea, sweeper ladies hunched over cleaning the endless mess left behind; lights and noise; talking and laughter; and somehow, in the end, progress amongst chaos.
Thinking back on the long train rides of the last days, the soreness in my rear has healed, the dull hours have faded in a fog; however, the wonderful young married couple from Delhi on their first holiday to Goa; the young IT worker from Bangalore, traveling with his parents and sister to their ancestral homeland in the north; the middle manager of Ford India who stopped me on the street in Bangalore and ended up treating me to chai and conversation in the dim upstairs of a local restaurant; chance encounters that make travels in this place, and the people who call it home, so unique and special. Pics online at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/JeffreyHDow/GoaToChenai

"The roadway narrowed; roadside huts and lean-tos, without pronounced color, just a mish-mash of brown and black and grey, appearing to encroach on space meant for vehicles, hid the solider concrete buildings behind them, and gave the impression of a very long village road set in dirt. What seemed to threaten in many places...appeared to have happened here: it was like witnessing the creation of ruin: a large, inhabited city was reverting to earth."
VS Naipaul
India: A Million Mutinees Now

Moving On

"Human desires are endless. Its like the thirst of a man who drinks salt water:
he gets no satisfaction, and his thirst is only increased."
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokal


I set off tomorrow on a journey, from coast to coast, from west to east, from Arabian
Sea to Indian Ocean. It will be a long journey, expansive, a time for reflection, as this
experience begins to near closure, my mind will settle with the rhythmic rockings of
the rail cars, the verdent greens and earth browns of the heart of this great country,
stillness pervading within.

I've fallen for this place, the smiles as genuine and reassuring as the rolling of the majestic
sea onto the golden sands, its a special space. But nothing has permanence, this I have
reflected on, meditated on countless hours, this place, the brief love that my heart has fallen
into for an angel of a girl, what I leave with is a smile, a warmness in my heart, my mind, my soul.