Halloween

I used to be all excited to try and do everything with the kids on Hallowee. I catually pulled them out of BCNC early with delusions of trick treating in JP and on Beacon Hill.
Then it was Dunster Road and the Library parade.

But this year less was more.

We went to the Connolly branch library, which had a band, fruit, chips, empanadas and other food as well if you were willing to wait in line. You could decorate a real pumpkin and get your face painted.

We did want to wait in line so we just had fruits and some snacks while listening to the band and then ducked out before it became too crowded and waited for the parade to start.

We didn't hit every store on the route because why collect candy you can't finish anyway?

We just walked along with friends dancing to the band. It was a lot like lion dance.

"How did it become Candy? What's the story of Halloween?" Noah asked me. I explained Samhain. The Celtic Holiday where the door to the other world was opened and spirits mixed with our world, some malevolent some good. You dress up so that the malevolent ones don't bother you.  

Bread and water was left out for friends and family visiting.

There was also supposedly some dance with a sheep's head, but whether that was actually Samhain or Beltane is unclear as far as I can tell and I'm no scholar.


The parade ended at Hyde Square Task force where there was music blasting from speakers powered by children turning bicycle gears and all sorts of games... none fo which we played really except to hang out.

Eventually we headed home hitting some stores and houses on the way,
The dentist office handed out toothbrushes, and Food Wall handed out Durian Candy and Fortune Cookies.

I love it.

In fact if everyone passed out something more specific to their business that would be awesome as far as I'm concerned.

The kids had a little candy, And by a little I mean way too much but less then 10% of what they collected.

 I passed out some candy. (Or pretzels rather.)

And we ate dinner.

Now we are chilling at home and the chips pretzels and extra candy is sitting outside for children.

Good enough. Way good enough. Did I get old?

I don't know, I just feel like walking for long periods of time and stressing yourself out is not all its cracked up to be.

But then... maybe when they are older  we will do more.

The Party of the mind at FFTG

Last week I got to sit in during a radio show, FFTG or Flows from the Gutter.
I was impressed, first of all, by Papa Mingo and Miss Marcie's skill at keeping the conversation going.
But from a Buddhist philosphy perspective I learned something. When you hear a party on the radio, or when you see a music video you have an idea of a wild time. There is that "Party" or that "Happening place"
that kind of only exists in the mind and is shown to you in the movies. I had this experience once before when we did a lion dance at the airport and there was professional lighting and red carpets out. I realized that when this was filmed it would look like a Lion Dance in Zeus's halls.
And in the end, the Halls of kings of the past, were not as great even as some of the office buildings that are kind of Blah today.

So that is the illusion, way of looking at it. The cynical feeling that there is no real party.

However, there is another way of looking at it, and that is that the party does indeed exist.
But that it exists in your mind and it is the power of the person that creates that creates that party, that super positive state of mind, through skill and a state of being. THAT is what I learned from the show but also from the guests, Chazz Shabazz promoting a new album(spelling) and the CEO Billionaire Dreams (Again spelling... I apologize for my ignorance.)

I want to point out again that I am writing this as someone who knows NOTHING about HIP HOP. I might as well be some old guy who is walking by the young people listening to rap or whatever. I usually listen to Irish Music and Chinese Music and then random world music. (The Lyrics for some of that folk music though is remarkably similar to many Hip Hop narratives)

It was people being interviewed around a table but the energy of the room made it the hottest party there is. Better than any Hollywood thing I could imagine. Some club packed with people is for the masses, but this was the place where the immortals gather, at least the local ones. Not to put down what you hear in the mainstream, but I prefer the local flavor. Now if anyone of them make it huge then that doesn't make them less per se, but just because they haven't made it huge, also does not make them less than what you hear on the radio.

So they talk and the energy is high and then they put on some tracks. Now this was the "Aha!" or "Ommm" moment for me, because the tracks were not played for everyone in the room, just those with the headphones on. So watching, I saw people bobbing their heads making the typical hand gestures, Chazz Shabazz going through his own lyrics, his art, as he listened. But I was watching all of this in silence.

This is why I felt that Buddhist comparison.

The Buddha never had to be in a Temple  or on a mountain top to be the Buddha. In fact the Bodhi tree was kind of on the side of the road somewhere, and the side of the road is also where one goes to relieve oneself or dumps a body or garbage.

But in that place, Buddha was still Buddha.

This room was much nicer than the side of the road, but what I saw was, these artists were great and this art and the party was the happening place, not because of the physical location of the radio show or what people were wearing or the chairs they were sitting in. Their Spirit made it it the place by pure energy and THOUGHT.

It was eye opening to say the least and I knew I had to write about it. It just felt weird trying to write about Hip Hop, something which I know very little about, but trying to convey what I experienced... frankly without having even heard the music yet. It makes me want to start going to all these concerts and buying the albums and supporting the local Boston artists, because I feel that even people who don't listen to hip hop, should take a chance and broaden their perspective, especially if it means supporting people from THEIR community, from THEIR City.

I hope to get more involved with this in the future.

Wu Tao Fortune Rap of the day

Two cups drop out before asking a question
It's already there without even learning a lesson
Sometimes things were just meant to be there
Whether it's right or wrong far or unfair

Rash warriors fighting for ideals
Don't make no sense
Just going how they feel

Wanting to create a situation of a stand off
Three swords piercing the heart
Limbs are cut off

Lo paus like the clothes
Brothers are like limbs
Clothes can be sewed
Sewn Bones is still broken.

One child can help
with the emtional imagination
One Child can hurt
working with occupation

All of it will end up
being mad foolish.
The Fool is next to the king
and has real power to do this.

Looking at Hip Hop through Kung Fu and Stoic Philosophy

I want to start by saying that I am not a rap fan per se. When I say that I mean I ma not your typical white or Chinese kids that bought album after album of rap music. What did I listen to? Soundtracks, Disney and others. Braveheart etc. Who did i try to emulate? Well let's put it like this, I might be Half Chinese but for all intents and purposes I was a white kid that grew up in the projects. Everyone else was Chinese, Black or Hispanic, and let's not pretend like everyone got along. You could say that we used all of our whiteness to survive. IE befriending police. Do you see what I'm saying.

Even for say, our black South African Neighbor, the guys in the video above were the faces of the enemy. For our neighbor this was further complicated because the Police also saw him as a danger. When we moved to another part of the projects drug dealers moved in. Our South African neighbor, who always, because of life experience, tended to stay out of everything. But he ended up helping the Police in a sting.. which is crazy. 

And then, another thing is that this is West Coast stuff. But friends listened to it. It's not like the music was foreign to me. But I didn't buy it. It was just there. The way Power rangers and Pokemon are there for my kids even though we've never watched it. 

So I heard this song exactly ONCE all the way through before I decided to write about it today. 

Who did I try to emulate as a kid? Well I watched this show called "Campion" on PBS as Hercule Poirot. And I guess the closest thing to gangsta-ness was Sharpe's Eagle. I had forgotten major characters to Kung Fu movies that my Dad had watched. I was emulating white characters and tried to move toward that. White people of the past that were in books. 

But when I got into a prep school, all these white kids researched and followed rap and hip hop. I'm not even going to pretend to have all the genres right like I understand.

The reason why I wrote this is to talk about the philosophy in here. And I think this song should be re-written for our generation. Especially with all the stuff happening with Black lives matter. Because there is something positive in what he is saying here, except that it is some what deviant... but that deviance comes more from society and less from the philosophy itself. 

Basically the "Gangsta" and really what you have to realize is that word is interchangeable with Warrior and Kung Fu practitioner. The thing we have forgotten just how depraved Achilles was. We talk about how people need to stop the violence but Politicians are pretty much required to study and to some degree worship Greeks who got into freaking boats and paddled for years just to go be Gangsta as well with Trojans. And don't forget that the Kung Fu past has all kinds of cults and movements in it that are brutal. 

So anyway, the warrior poet is focused on a goal. In this case the goal is sex with certain women. They act itself, or the gate of life that he is changing. Now when it is seen in modern philosophy this is seen as trashy or abusive. But in the ancient world?

Anyway, that is his goal which tends to be what the Shaolin Monk tries to avoid. But going back to hunter gatherer times when there was less people, I mean if we are tigers and lions, this is the goal because it is the continuation of the species or the tribe. 

But the warrior poet does avoid the "cheap tricks" so it isn't too clear why the one is the goal but the other is to avoided. 

But here is where Stoicism and Buddhism would actually come in. 

They are robbed and they get into street battles. But they do not let these circumstances or obstacles get to them. They deal with these issues and then return to the goal. Which again, in the modern world seems kind of low. 

But remember this has to sell. 

But watching this now, who would be riding and who would be pulling them over? What with all the black lives matter stuff. And what would be the goal? But that spirit of stoicism, like you were just belittled and perhaps even your friend or family killed while being pulled over, but then you get right back up and continue with your original goal..(again what is the goal? A degree? A house? A political position? I don't have an answer.)  That is why I think this song should be re-written for the modern era and with these things in mind.)

For Buddhism, I guess the idea is you fight, but then you let these experiences pass and change and don't let them bother you. 

There are other examples obviously. And I am starting to look more into today's local Hip Hop. For various reasons. Again I have a lot to learn, but there is something in these songs that I see as powerful, and not just because of the beat, or the sales of records. 

I'm not advocating the above lifestyle. Though I do like to point out that we tend to hold up similarly brutal and merciless heroes. Our Founding fathers owned slaves and fought some brutal wars. I doubt they would be shocked by the events in this pretend story.

Also, the popularity of these songs and re-engage a younger generation in a more positive way that isn't just BS.

Of course there are NEW songs that are incredible. Which I need to listen to and why don't I write about THEM and those artists. I will okay! I just need to educate myself. This first post is just to introduce myself as someone who is now going to listen to a ton of Hip Hop, but to explain that although I have heard the older songs, it was not so much by choice. 

In other words I'm not your typical fan.

Kung Fu Stoic Week

 A friend of mine wrote this post on his blog about Stoic Week. I vaguely know what it is, but only from reading his blog. I always tell myself I will look into it, but actually.. Joe Callahan why don't you break it down for us Lay people who aren't going to bother to Wikipedia it.

I know you probably wrote an old article about it, but how about one more time just for kicks.

Anyway, with regards to my practice, this sounds like a god idea. A week where I do exercises and maybe my students do exercises that we are supposed to do all the time anyway.

I guess that's my real question. What are the specific exercises.


I realize that for a martial artist, I am extremely chaotic and undisciplined. Not lazy. I practice every day. But the way I get it in is nuts.

I was talking to another Sifu, Mai Du, whose Warrior Spirit event is coming up soon in Malden. She mentioned that she meditates every day at a specific time.

This is something I do not do. I mean I go in and out of meditating every day etc. But the fact that she has a specific time that is a meditation time. I'm not saying this is better for her Kung Fu then what I do (though it may very well be better) But it is definitely apparent in other aspects of life.

For instance she has a successful school. I don't. But she started her own school in a similar situation as me, while taking care of kids at home. She still has a full time job, and is able to achieve all of these things.

I know because more than a decade ago a co worker was studying with her and mentioned the Malden School. I was teaching at Kwong Kow at that time.

Discipline may or may not be a factor in my Kung Fu. I think I'm all right in terms of Kung Fu itself. Of course I could be better.

But where I really see a problem is in having a school.

If I was more Stoic and disciplined about doing something every day in a rational manner I may have achieved something greater by now, instead of continuing to run around chasing a few students. Or maybe my books would have sold better. Or maybe my Blogs would be making money. I'm not sure. But I do see value in putting aside time to do exrecises. In Kung Fu, stoicism, writing, or working on your career.

Tai Chi Monsters

I was at the playground with the kid and I really wanted to do internal mein lei jum forms. (simiilar to Tai Chi. But the kids wanted to play "monsters."  And so I became the "Tai Chi Monster" that is to say, I did Tai chi at them and chased them... really slowly. Which of cousre means they always got away and loved it, and also I had to adapt my technique to the surroundings of the playground.

Sometimes I did lion dance moves but mostly they wanted Tai Chi monster.

These weekend I also made some creatures and I thought about how the Spear Dragon I made, a dragon head where the head is in the position that a spear would be, as well as the Dragon head that is on top of the stick like an ax, the way most dragons are, would be great for this game.

I mean basically you could do all these moves as a play dance. The problem is when you let kids do this by themselves they tend to just start hitting each other with the heads, which not only can hurt the other child, but will leave your paper mache in pieces.

I knew you could do this in a hard external way and also of course you could do it in an internal way. But really that is a whole art right there. Not saying you don't need Tai Chi forms or Kung Fu forms, but you could totally have a practice where the focus is just on these dance aspects and running around a playground.

Can't wait to make my eagle Creature, because that one will definitely focus on the White Crane like movements, chuen pow cup, in dance form.


Wu Tao Fortune Cookie freestyle of the day:

You have you own Kingdom
So close you can see it
You started building foundation
So close you can be it

But look at you wanting to wander
like a Ronin
Fiefdom to fiefdom
Causing mad trouble like Odin

You need to go down to the
pool of Mimir
Or Lao Tzu by himself
Taoist hermit with refer

Fighting's all bad for you
So is separation
Do some meditation
or you be paying reparation

You heading to illusion
The ocean at night
With under towing currents
Too strong for you to fight.

Wu Tao Advice

I'm going to start doing a daily Tarot reading. Wu Tao is how you say Taro (like the Potato in Chinese)

For fun I was thinking I would try to make it into a rap. Although I am not good at this, I figure if I do it everyday I will get better.

If you w ant me to do a Tarot reading for you, write in with your question:

Guidance:

You an entrepreneur
Frontin like a cop
Judgment on your side
Abandonment is not.

Blast from the past
your child hood
Memories

That be the
Ultimate outcome
Inevitably