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	<title>Just So&#187; Zen</title>
	<link>http://www.mikaelaldridge.com</link>
	<description>Meditations on Enlightenment</description>
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		<title>Jesus lived in India</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have been reading a lot of Shantideva&#8217;s The Way of the Boddhisattva lately. It strikes me that it has a very Christian flavour, so much so that I have been wondering if Shantideva was a reincarnation of Jesus. My brother came around for dinner last night and he was telling me about this documentary [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mikaelaldridge.com/zen/jesus-lived-in-india/</link>
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		<title>Mahakasyapa&#8217;s flower</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A dead stem standing. Rank water. Petals scattered. Something remembered.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mikaelaldridge.com/zen/mahakasyapas-flower/</link>
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		<title>Chiyono’s awakening</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The story goes that Chiyono was incredibly beautiful. And for this reason, as much as she tried, she was refused entry into zen monasteries. The masters claimed that she would drive the monks mad. One day she burned her face to the point where she was not recognisable as man or woman; and she was [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mikaelaldridge.com/zen/chiyono%e2%80%99s-awakening/</link>
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		<title>Happiness</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I can&#8217;t believe I&#8217;ve wasted so much time and energy trying to be happy.  It reminds me of a Taiji book called &#8220;There are no secrets.&#8221;  It seems that the root problem lies in clinging to a sense of self &#8211; identity and identification.  Enlightenment is our birth right.  It&#8217;s who we are.  Yet, it&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mikaelaldridge.com/zen/happiness/</link>
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		<title>Mat time</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s Sunday morning. The neighbours are asserting. The birds are singing. I took this body to bed 11 hours ago and it is still exausted. Meditation is so very useful and it&#8217;s not necessarily what happens during meditation. Although the stilling of the mind does help. But here&#8217;s what I think for what it&#8217;s worth. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mikaelaldridge.com/zen/mat-time/</link>
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		<title>Practice the way as though saving your head from fire</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Ancestor Nagarjuna said: ‘The mind that fully sees into the uncertain world of birth and death is called the thought of enlightenment: bodhicitta. Thus if we maintain this mind, this mind can become the thought of enlightenment. Indeed, when you understand discontinuity, the notion of self does not come into being. Ideas of name and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mikaelaldridge.com/zen/900/</link>
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		<title>Conclusion of the heart</title>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Therefore, Sariputra, the Bodhisattva without mental impediments, without notions of attainment and non-attainment, abides in reliance upon Prajnaparamita. Without mental impediments, he is undisturbed. He has fearlessly transcended the false tendencies to crave for permanence, comfort, concept of self or delight. Thus Nirvana is attained. The Heart Sutra]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mikaelaldridge.com/zen/conclusion-of-the-heart/</link>
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		<title>Is thought destiny?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Thoughts don&#8217;t have to define reality. Thoughts arise spontaneously. So for me that&#8217;s not the point. We are more than our thoughts. It&#8217;s about what we pay attention to over what we&#8217;re controlling. Meditation as I practice it is about choosing to pay attention to the breath, by bringing the attention back to the breath [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mikaelaldridge.com/zen/is-thought-destiny/</link>
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		<title>The divine abodes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m wondering whether Patanjali came before or after Buddha. It strikes me from time to time that there is a strong connection between Buddhism and The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Section 1.33 of Patanjali&#8217;s Yoga Sutras is an interesting case in point. By generating and cultivating the intent and deep feelings (bhavanatas) of friendliness and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mikaelaldridge.com/zen/the-divine-abodes/</link>
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		<title>Just what is an arhat</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Arhat, or Arahant in Pali, is a term you hear a lot in Buddhism. Someone who has achieved liberation. But what does it actually mean? Well the etymology is ambigous. The traditional school reports arhat as meaning: one who is worthy. But apparently, recent research suggests that it is cognate with sanskrit Arihan: one who [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mikaelaldridge.com/zen/just-what-is-an-arhat/</link>
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