Budhdhism

All compounded things are impermanent

All emotions are pain

All things have no inherent existence

Nirvana is beyond concepts

What makes you not a Buddhist is an easy to read book which highlights some of the basic tenets of Buddhism. The above four points are, he says in essence sums up what Buddhism is all about. I somehow disagree with the second point. I would have rather have it to be All emotions are ephemeral or All feelings are ephemeral. Of course each sentence has its own interpretation.

Man is ever greedy. One always seeks for a better state of bliss and happiness, joy and meaning in life. If one realizes that even these states are impermanent, he can continue to be in a state of infinite happiness. For the purpose of practicality, one doesn't need to cease to live the way he has been living. Instead, if one leads his life being aware of the point that all compounded things are impermanent, it's a much easier life to live.

Often, each day begins with so much baggage in one's mind. He often forgets that the mind which is carrying so much of unwanted thoughts is finally what brings him down. The world around is our own creation. Let go of the mindless thoughts to sense the true meaning of being free.

Because of our lack of mindfulness, our creations are transformed into something solid and real, and we become ever more enangled. When you fully realize , not just intellectually that everything is just your own creation, you will be free.

Violin lessons

Its been a few weeks into my Violin lessons. I've got the fingerings right so far. Unlike many other string instruments such as guitar and veena, violin doesn't have frets which in some sense demarcates the boundaries between notes. The distance between ri and ga can vary. Only if you have a good ear for music, will you be able to figure that soon enough.

My teacher's pretty strict about one thing. She will not proceed to the next lesson unless she is satisfied with the performance in previous lessons. This is pretty good...but the problem is that she insists on knowing the lessons by heart. That does take a tremendous amount of practice. Of course, there is no point mugging those notes like the way I mugged tables during school days. These notes get (pretty much) permanently embedded into your brains when you practice and practice. Perhaps this is her way to get her students to practice as much as possible. As she puts it, knowing where to place the fingers right, practice, an ear for music and bhava (feeling) constitute in being a good Carnatic Violinist. She gives a very good example of how important bhava is. I should write it in a separate post.

After a month of classes, I am still stuck in the 1st two lessons. And tomorrow is again a test for me. Aaahh I know I can't clear. The second lesson is still not in my mind.