Friday, June 26, 2015

At the end of the road, looking for the new road.

At the end of the road, looking for the new road.   

beauty in chaos with regularity
     In a lot of buddhism, the number 10,000 is special (perhaps because this was a special unit in Sanskrit, with its own word, like 'one hundred, one thousand', etc.  At any rate, allegedly, if one does 10,000 Grand Prostrations, apparently one is entitled to instant enlightenment, which I just see as another version of the Christian 'salvation'.  Alternatively, the number 108 is also magical in eastern religions, more a side effect of using the numbers 12 and 9, it seems to be used either for things which must be completed quickly (a chant, for example, or things which might take a lifetime , or even be unattainable (108 circumambulations of Mount Kailash, for example).
     Coming to Busan by trike, though it was my second time by Human Powered Vehicle, was a lot like doing 10,000 leg presses in a nine day period, since the setup of the gears and leg positions is a lot like that gym machine, especially where the flat is more like 30 kilo weights, and the steep hills are more like 150 kilo weights, and the whole machine is straining and groaning under your effort.
     After nine days, certain critical parts like the knees need rest, and throb under the covers of the cozy guesthouse you're booked into as a reward to yourself. The next morning all muscles are taut and screaming out into the universe, spitting in the face of entropy, the life force within you is pure and unobstructed.  City life has yet to take its toll on you, to make your pulse dull and irregular, to turn your eyes leaden, to dizzify you with 10,000 distractions.

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