What's the Time Mr Wolfie?

What time is it now?

My analogue clock stopped at 6 o'clock. People say, "Oh well, at least it's right twice a day."

That's not actually true. You see, trouble is, I don't know if it was six am or six pm when it stopped.

You wouldn't want me to be twelve hours late would you?

Joy to all beings

True Warrior

The Lone Wolf and Cub

"For one who knows the way of the true warrior there is no rank."

I doubt that it's any secret that I occasionally, oh alright, about every week, watch a martial arts film. Whilst I am a fan of Jet Li (especially Hero) and Andy Lau (especially the IP Man collection) my greatest joy in watching martial arts movies is in watching the Japanese films that were made for Japanese people.

Of these, I really like the Zatoichi series of movies. Ichi is such a lovable "rogue". A kind hearted blind swordsman who is addicted to gambling (and he is a good cheat too).

However, the best of the best are the seven movie set of Lone Wolf and Cub, the continuing stories of a very respectable samaurai turned ronin due to circumstances beyond his own control.

Itto Ogami roams the country pushing his very young son Daigoro in a baby cart.

For those who are unaware of the samaurai code of behavior let me inform you that to be a samaurai is not simply to be a bold and ruthless warrior. Although sometimes portrayed as a swashbuckling hero, undoubtedly to attract sales at the box office, samaurais are actually more like policemen. Bravehearted, skilful individuals who are ready and willing to lay down their lives at any moment, in a time and place where law and order were often non-existant.

A samaurai who loses his life protecting the innocents, often people whom he has never met previously, is a samaurai who lives and dies for others. In a land where poverty is so common that a bowl of rice can be considered a little luxury, dacoits, thieves and the exploitation of stand-over tactics were an omni-present threat to smallholder farmers and merchants, alike.

To forgo the small comforts of life in such an harsh environment, risking one's life on a daily basis, for the safety and comfort of complete strangers, was considered to be a great honour, yet many a samaurai slept in the rain whilst those whom he protected had a roof over their head.

Many samaurai opted to work for the local lord of the feif, they were looked after by their Lord, but due to rivalry amongst clans there was often violent conflict. A samaurai might occasionally find himself without a master, without a home. Such wandering samaurai were called ronin, and they still did their best to protect the innocent although it was not too uncommon to accept temporary, short-term, freelance, mercinary employment if the offer became available.

Thus, samaurai, especially ronin, and even more especially "demons" who, masterless and often in defiance of corrupt Lords, lived each moment on the brink of death, never more than a few footsteps away from hell or heaven. Thus, these true warriors lived a precarious existence, maintained only by their swordsmanship and wits, and all for the benefit of others.

Thus the statement quoted below from the lips of Itto Ogami has much more meaning than first meets the eye. Axiomatically, all these warriors are equal by way of their bravery and heroism, in accepting life and, especially death, in fearless dignity.

"For one who knows the way of the true warrior there is no rank."

Itto Ogami
Lone Wolf and Cub

Joy to all beings

RandomSchmandom

Well, Here We Are

The Randomisation of Infinite Complexity is Absurdity to the Nth Degree
You find yourself in this life. How did you get here? Random event or according to a plan? Whatever speculations you may have regarding your own origin, the fact remains: you don't know.

Consider for a moment the ramifications of this unenviable situation. What is the probability that this magnificent universe is a random event? Despite what SOME scientists imagine, the probability that this bewilderingly complex existence is of random origin is so infintessimally tiny that for all intents and purposes, it simply couldn't be a random event.

Things You May Not Know
Consider also, if this universe exists, and you and I exist, then other things of which we have no knowledge may also exist.

If a supreme creator can create this universe and all the diversity within it, then this creator must personally contain all the beauty that exists within His creation. He wouldn't be able to create things that he had never imagined.

What the Devil?
So, why are you suffering? Why is there evil in this creation? The fact that this evil exists means that the creator must also have the ability to do evil things. A noble creator capable of creating us and this amazing environment of trees and flowers with exquisite fragrances, of star clusters in technicolour galaxies, and sunsets over wide windswept oceans, must Himself eshew His ability for evil, in lieu of being friendly and favourable to the beings He creates.

If He didn't want us to be happy, we would not only suffer sometimes but all the time and intensely so.

I Rabid
Thus it makes sense that wars, famines, murder, exploitation, domination and cruelty are our inventions, and the suffering that ensues from these evil activities is our just reward. At some stage, somewhere, somehow, we have earned both our happiness and our suffering.

It would appear then, to the thinking being that life is a training ground, a school, a theatre of experiences wherein we can arrive at similar conclusions to those of our creator and accordingly live our lives in such a way that they are filled with beauty; with kindness, with friendship, generosity and empathy for others.

Thus, according to the appreciation of our creator, surely we would find ourselves surrounded by a society who's mentality is of a similar mood to ours.

A Purposeful Direction
Armed with this understanding we can begin to persue the purpose of our lives. We can understand that since our benign God has created us, then we must share at least some of His attributes.

Wanting to be kind to others and have others be kind to us is a commonplace yearning. We all care for our friends and we feel distressed when others create conflict for us. We don't seek conflict unless we are maddened by anger, distorted by envy, tortured by hatred, controlled by fear, or our intelligence usurped by lusty greed.

These evil vices are to be abandoned by the intelligent person who wishes happiness for himself and for others. Let kindness become our new paradigm, accepting violence and harshness only as methods of last resort, and if our creator Himself is moved to acts of kindness, then surely a humble prayer requesting forgiveness for our mistakes and assistance in finding our way forward toward our true nature would not go in vain.

Pure Purpose Proposed
And would He not reveal to those who seek Him, various scriptures detailing the path to happiness according to the different beings' ability to understand and to follow? Scriptures that would only be attractive to and understood by one whose purity of intent matched the express outcome of following said scriptures.

And, being of His creation, would we not find that His way of life is inately relevant and wholesomely attractive to our hearts and souls?

Would we not experience His amazing grace first hand? His kind hearted, generous reciprocation to our fumbling efforts to re-invent ourselves according to His instructions. Would we not accellerate way past faith, into the realm of actual knowledge of the existence of, and of the very nature of God? Our souls, nurtured and nourished by His love, would we not be brimming over with gratitude and joy? Of course we would!

Let 'er Rip, 'tater Chip
Let fear vanish as we take shelter of the kindness our our well-wishing friend and creator, and boldly stride forward towards our goal, our hearts filled with compassion for others less fortunate than ourselves, overflowing with respect for all beings, especially those who, by their own acts of compassion and kindness, have attracted the mercy of our loving friend, dear Lord and creator.

Joy to all beings