The Path

My neighbor Sara came over late Sunday afternoon and brought me pumpkin scones. She was wearing flip-flops, which she took off at the door and came in to my house barefoot. Between the temperature change and the time change, Monday felt like we went from Fall to Winter overnight, and it was hard to believe Sara was wearing flip-flops just yesterday.

Mary Kay's mom said she thought this was the best Fall color show Boise had in a long time and I felt like I enjoyed another treat along with the unseasonably warm weather. The show is still going on, but the leaves are really falling now and the tree in front of my house is literally raining leaves. At the rate it's going my tree will be bare by the end of the day.


The leaf bags they sell are 3 feet tall and they come in packages of 5. I thought there was no way I would use more than one bag this Fall, now I'm not so sure. I still have my little hand rake, but I think I am going to be missing my full sized rake when I tackle leaves this week.

Even with all my moving around, I still held on to some things I am happy to have today. I still have some of my skiing stuff from before Lauren was born, including long underwear. It's the thick kind of long underwear, two layers with wool on the outside and cotton on the inside, and looks like good pajamas. I saved some heavy sweaters from living in Vegas even though they got too small. Now they are no longer too small, although I saved a wool skirt that I tried to try on and I can't imagine ever being that thin again.

Do you ever see those people dressed as if they are in a time warp? The aging woman dressed head to toe in an outfit from the 1970s and everything looks new and you wonder if she bought a lifetime supply 30 years ago? The price I pay for criticizing women like this is that then I have to look at myself. My very favorite outfit is a pair of leggings and an over-sized men's sweater, right out of the '80s. I am finding myself wanting that outfit again, right down to the boots, although with updated boots, like Sorrels, instead of those slouchy kind we wore in the '80s.

A friend of a friend loaned me The Dhammapada translated by Eknath Easwaran and I started it last night before I went to sleep. This reminds me I should get back to enlightenment, especially since I am now more than halfway thorough, but today my topic is The Path, with a passage (273-276) from the The Dhammapada translated by Eknath Easwaran,

"Of paths the Eightfold is the best; of truths the Nobel Four are best; of mental states, detachment is the best; of human beings the illumined one is best.

This is the path; there is no other that leads to the purification of the mind. Follow this path and conquer Mara. This is the path; there is no other that leads to the purification of the mind. This path will lead to the end of suffering. This is the path I made known after the arrows of sorrow fell away.

All the effort must be made by you; Buddhas only show the way. Follow this path and practice meditation; go beyond the power of Mara."

The Four Noble Truths
1. Life means suffering.
2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.
4. The path to the cessation of suffering.

The Noble Eightfold Path
Wisdom
1. Right View
2. Right Intention
Ethical Conduct
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
Mental Development
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

Right livelihood seems to be one of my biggest challenges. I think it is interesting that even Buddha tells us, "All the effort must be made by you."