Green_Tea
05-28-2004, 10:57 AM
I don't know that much about zen, but it seems like what I do know can be easily embodied in my cats. Maybe not all cats have achieved "enlightenment". But somehow along the way my boys did. I study them a lot. I have lived with cats all my life (except for those four lonely years of college) and even as a baby my parents said I was intrigued by them. I have two nuetered males, from a Siamese line. I have heard many times that the majority of nuetered male cats are laid back, adaptable, and always retain their playful nature (which I can attest to). So maybe those are important steps in reaching Zen? I stay home a lot: reading, working in my darkroom, surfing the net... and I observe my cats. When their bowls have been filled, and they have eaten the three pieces they wanted, their goal is to find the perfect perch with the perfect sunbeam to go about their daily routine of philosophizing. The occasional bird comes to the tree by the window, they get up on the sill and stare, we come home from work, pick them up, they gives us kisses, repeat cycle. What's important to a cat? Especially a "pretty boy" house cat whose lucky enough to have "parents" that place them on "family member" status? What are their needs? Their desires? They want a comfortable place to sit. They want good food (and actually they are pretty darn picky about that), they want lots of human attention, and the occasional entertainment from outside. Stress for them arives when Kurosawa steals Sebastian's blanket, the food is not Organica, Sebastian's toy mouse gets launched beyond paw length under the fridge, or "the carrier" comes out signifying someone's due for a vet appointment. And yet, through all the calmness of being a cat, they always have this "child like" curiosity about things. I hope that I can always find the world fascinating and novel.
Anyway (I feel a tangent coming on). Cats. How do the Chinese in general feel about cats anyway? I know they've been in China for a long time and in an animals and society class in college, I attempted in watch a video on cats in China. It involved a pot. That's all I will say. But I know better than to say, "All Chinese eat cats!" And I guess I can't polish my halo when I think about the lunch I just had (moo). But spare you all my thoughts on eating meat. Anyway, what I mean is, in America, cats are a very popular pet. In general, America LIKES cats. You can find cat- related stuff anywhere: mugs, tshirts, plushies, cartoons, alarm clocks (I myself have a Hello Kitty alarm clock). And from what I gather, the Japanese have an equal liking for cats (I mean where did Hello Kitty come from in the first place?). Granted I have a somewhat skewed view of Japanese culture, but it seems like there are so many animes involving cats or catgirls or some sort, I am finding websites dedicated to cats constantly, clothing from Japan with cats all over it... But I'm not sure about China. It doesn't really matter, I was just curious. I think Master Chan must think it's odd how so many of his students fawn over Kwan, the resident temple cat at Wah Lum. Sometimes he looks at us like we might if someone was cooing to a chicken or something :).
And now some photographs because I can explain stuff visually a lot better. Sorry for the quality, I didn't have an official slide scanner so had to use a flatbed:
My "ode" to my cats' ability to "achieve Zen" (or at least pretend): http://www.animesushi.com/albums/album30/kittyphilosophy.jpg
My "ode" to knowing the petty Interent social things you should just not give a **** about: http://www.animesushi.com/albums/album30/ithpughtitsbeinteresting.jpg
And to always remember what's important: http://www.animesushi.com/albums/album30/catnap.jpg
Anyway (I feel a tangent coming on). Cats. How do the Chinese in general feel about cats anyway? I know they've been in China for a long time and in an animals and society class in college, I attempted in watch a video on cats in China. It involved a pot. That's all I will say. But I know better than to say, "All Chinese eat cats!" And I guess I can't polish my halo when I think about the lunch I just had (moo). But spare you all my thoughts on eating meat. Anyway, what I mean is, in America, cats are a very popular pet. In general, America LIKES cats. You can find cat- related stuff anywhere: mugs, tshirts, plushies, cartoons, alarm clocks (I myself have a Hello Kitty alarm clock). And from what I gather, the Japanese have an equal liking for cats (I mean where did Hello Kitty come from in the first place?). Granted I have a somewhat skewed view of Japanese culture, but it seems like there are so many animes involving cats or catgirls or some sort, I am finding websites dedicated to cats constantly, clothing from Japan with cats all over it... But I'm not sure about China. It doesn't really matter, I was just curious. I think Master Chan must think it's odd how so many of his students fawn over Kwan, the resident temple cat at Wah Lum. Sometimes he looks at us like we might if someone was cooing to a chicken or something :).
And now some photographs because I can explain stuff visually a lot better. Sorry for the quality, I didn't have an official slide scanner so had to use a flatbed:
My "ode" to my cats' ability to "achieve Zen" (or at least pretend): http://www.animesushi.com/albums/album30/kittyphilosophy.jpg
My "ode" to knowing the petty Interent social things you should just not give a **** about: http://www.animesushi.com/albums/album30/ithpughtitsbeinteresting.jpg
And to always remember what's important: http://www.animesushi.com/albums/album30/catnap.jpg