Baan Suan Ampond Residence

A HOUSE WHERE ALL'S ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS
AMPOND'S GARDEN ~ PARK ~ HOME

~ At the Baan Suan Ampond Residence ~
a few miles from the busy city center of Bangkok, Thailand,
we found a delightful balance between urban and rural,
privacy and company, land and water, relaxation and stimulation.

Perhaps for you too Baan Suan Ampond will be the perfect spot
for gathering with family, enjoying a Thai massage, and
contemplating the wisdom of the Modern Thai philosophers,
all of whom discourage grasping:

Proverbs from Ajahn Chah (1918 - 1992)

"One day some people came to the master and asked:
How can you be happy in a world of such impermanence,
where you cannot protect your loved ones
from harm, illness or death?

The master held up a glass and said:
Someone gave me this glass;
it holds my water admirably,
and it glistens in the sunlight.
I touch it and it rings!

One day the wind may blow it off the shelf,
or my elbow may knock it from the table.
I know this glass is already broken,
so I enjoy it -- incredibly.

When I accept that the glass is already broken,
every minute with it is precious."

"Do not try to become anything.
Do not make yourself into anything.
Do not be a meditator.
Do not become enlightened.
When you sit, let it be.
When you walk, let it be.
Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing.

When sitting in meditation, say,
'That's not my business!'
with every thought that comes by."

"Try to be mindful, and let things take their natural course.
Then your mind will become still in any surroundings,
like a clear forest pool. All kinds of wonderful,
rare animals will come to drink at the pool,
and you will clearly see the nature of all things.
You will see many strange and wonderful things come and go,
but you will be still. This is the happiness of the Buddha."

********************

Proverbs from Buddhadasa (1906 -1993)

"The entire cosmos is a cooperative.
The sun, the moon, and the stars live together as a cooperative.
The same is true for humans and animals, trees, and the Earth.
When we realize that the world
is a mutual, interdependent, cooperative enterprise --
then we can build a noble environment.
If our lives are not based on this truth,
then we shall perish."

"What is the world full of?
It is full of things that arise, persist, and cease.
Grasp and cling to them, and they produce suffering.
Don't grasp and cling to them, and they do not produce suffering.

The practice is to make the non-arising of grasping
and clinging absolute, final, and eternally void,
so that no grasping and clinging can ever return.
Just that is enough. There is nothing else to do."

********************

Proverbs from Ajahn Sumedho (b 1934)

"The problem is grasping the clock.
So what do I do? Let it go, lay it aside --
put it down gently without any kind of aversion.
Then I can pick it up again, see what time it is,
and lay it aside when necessary."

"Of course we can always imagine more perfect conditions,
how it should be ideally, how everyone should behave.
But it is not our task to create an ideal.
It's our task to see how it is,
and to learn from the world as it is.
For the awakening of the heart,
conditions are always good enough."


"Whatever you think you are, that's not what you are."

********************

Many thanks to our wonderful hosts for creating
an environment filled with so much restful beauty!

Mickie & Nick Carriker

Open for Business ~ Give them a call!

SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS ON MY
Next Fortnightly Post
Thursday, March 14th

Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST ~ You Can Read Anywhere You Go
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogspot.com

Our Favorite Snowman

STUFFED TOYS, ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS

Snow Family
In case you are not familiar with the good - natured Snowman pictured above (in sextuplicate!) now is the perfect time to beat the midwinter blues and blahs by acquainting yourself with the delightful animated film, including lovely music by Howard Blake, from which these plush toys are derived. Some viewers prefer the original introduction, featuring the artist / author Raymond Briggs; others like the expanded version by David Bowie. I have never understood why The Snowman is not as popular and widely marketed in the USA as it is in England. I would choose it over Frosty the Snowman any day.

How did I come to possess so many? Well, back when I first mentioned the Snowman on my blog, it never occurred to me that this endearing, puffy stuffed toy, one of our all- time favorite book / movie tie - ins, was soon to become an endangered species, even on good old reliable amazon. My friend Barbara recently recalled purchasing a Snowman exactly like these "at CVS a long time ago!" I remember getting some at Kohl's a few years back, and for a good twenty years (1995 - 2015) I ordered numerous Snowmen from amazon to give as baby presents, such as this well - worn, well - loved one for my brother Aaron's grand-daughter Mia.

Over the holidays, Aaron and I were reminiscing
about a charming old poem from favorite childhood:

His Bunny

Poor, grey bunny --
Once you were white,
But Jimmy drags you all around,
And sleeps with you at night.

He drags you to his sandbox,
And hold you in his crib,
And sits you i his highchair
To use you for a bib.

Poor, grey bunny --
With one eye gone -- how sad --
and one ear slightly turned askew,
But, bunny, aren't you glad

That out of all the things he has,
Of every single toy,
You'd get to be the favorite one
Of such a precious boy!

~ by Marilyn Jean Fais

Aaron wrote: "I showed Lindsey [Mia's mom] the copy of 'Poor Grey Bunny' and told her all she had to do was change 'Bunny' to 'Snowman' and 'boy' to 'girl' and that is 100% Mia. She still carries that Snowman with her everywhere she goes!! Lindsey loved the poem (she actually took a picture of it) and doesn't know what they are going to do if Snowman falls apart before Mia finally outgrows him. They've tried switching him out with a newer one, but Mia wants nothing to do with a 'replacement' Snowman."

Lindsey said: "That [collection of Snowmen] is awesome! We bought a replacement when Mia was about one year old just in case she lost the original. She wasn’t interested -- I think it’s the different fabric for the scarf and hat. Can you tell he’s loved?!"

Awwwww! Yes, we sure can!

I love the story of Mia and her "poor, grey Snowman." A number of other friends also share with us from time to time that the Snowman we gave them at some point in the past has become a family favorite. I even sent one to my mom so that she could see what it was that dear little Mia was so attached to, and now she keeps him all year round, propped up right beside her television. Then there was the fun year when three of my sweet hair-dressers all had babies around the same time and all received a Snowman for Christmas for their little ones.

Sadly, around that time, the lovely plush Snowman just started disappearing from the market, so I ordered as many as I could find from ebay; most were imported from England, "new with tags," though a couple of them were slightly worn -- still, better than none. Hopefully, new ones will reappear in the stores in the future, but it did not happen this Christmas. No matter what your age, if you ask me, there is no nicer present than a Snowman book, movie, and toy all wrapped up together!

Shopping Spree ~ 2014

Do You Want to Buy a Snowman?
Yes, I do!
But I just don't know where to get one!

P.S.
You can also buy china figurines
and children's breakfast dishes
from Royal Doulton.
SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS ON MY
Next Fortnightly Post
Thursday, February 28th

Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogspot.com