Bod-hi-satt-va
–noun (from Buddhism)
A person who has attained prajna (Enlightenment), but who postpones Nirvana in order to help others to attain Enlightenment.
Then again, sometimes, you just meet these people unexpectedly in your working day without realizing it. How we react tells us more about ourselves than the Bodhisattva.
That said, with all the waves of negativity in the world today, may you encounter your own Bodhisattva… and enjoy your day.
Oh, and don’t worry…The stress will wait for you until later. But if you should happen to attain your own prajna, be sure to share it with others, won’t you? And somehow, when the stress resumes, you’ll be far better prepared to control it rather than vice versa.
Enjoy the present (and presence) of Bodhisattva!
Gerry Ashley
Note: If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy something related, yet a little different: The Simple Power Of “Now”
Grand Rants 
Gerry,
Life is always as you see it.
Thanks for the post.
David
http://www.ThinkWonderful.com
My pleasure… heh-heh-heh…
Please feel free to put a link to this post on your web site and share the fun with others…
What a wonderful way to start the day!
Thanks!
Judith
…or to end the work week! Thanks, Judith, please feel free to send a link to all your friends and share the moment. We could all use this.
Thanks again.
Gerry
So, I stumbled onto this post .. hahaha .. tee hee ..
Thank you, Dinesh. You know, this is the most fun I’ve had at my keyboard in months. heh-heh-heh-heeee-heeee. Pass it along and share the experience! We can all use some enlightenment and mirth.
Enjoy!
Truly Bodhisattva. How often do we laugh like this and how often do we express ourselves like this. It feels that we have lost ourselves somewhere, and need Bodhisattva more than ever. Thank you. Keep it up!
I’ll do my best… in the meantime, please share this with friends. here’s the link:
Thanks again!
This happens to me a couple times a year. Usually in a very public place. Fortunately, my husband is familiar with it and enjoys every moment. This brought laughter and tears to me. Thank you
My pleasure. I love this kind of stuff. It used to happen to me in school. Only back then, they didn’t call it Bodhisattva. They called it “disruptive” and it usually involved a trip to the principal’s office. But one time, the principal was wearing a really goofy looking tie and it just set me off laughing hysterically again. He gave me detention, but I couldn’t help but notice he was chuckling as he gave me the slip of paper to take back to my teacher.
I didn’t learn much in history class that day. But I did learn something interesting about human nature: Laughter is a great healer… and it’s contagious!
Sorry all…
I rode the subway for years… If someone got on and started laughing like a nut, I’d be watching him to make sure that he didn’t have a weapon. The last thing I’d be doing is laughing.
Enter the buzz-kill… LOL Just kidding.
Yeah, Alan, you’re probably right. In this day and age, one can’t be too careful. But then again, the silent guy over in the corner who hasn’t spoken to anyone since he got on is just as likely to be the one to snap. I would be more suspicious of that behavior than someone convulsed in laughter.
I think it all comes down to my personal philosophy (as mentioned in the “About Us” section): In the long run, the pessimist may be right, but the optimist has more fun on the journey. And, in the end, that’s what life really is.
I do that all the time! Laugh out loud for no apparent reason…other than thinking back on something that was funny that I saw or heard from previous hours.
If any of you have ever seen the movie “Arthur” with Dudley Moore, there’s a scene in it where he’s sitting in the back of his limo with some girls, and he’s totally silent. Suddenly he bursts out laughing with no explanation, then says, “Sometimes, I just THINK funny…”
Or as John Lennon once wrote:
“Whatever gets you through the night…”
Thanks for your comment… now go share! 😉
OMG! That was so interesting. I actually thought this was so stupid but by the end of the video I was laughing along with the rest of these morons. 🙂
http://www.theprettyproject.com
There’s so much texture in life, isn’t there? This is just a sample. It reminds me that so much is possible if we open our minds to it. Harmony… Love… Friendship… Tolerance… Understanding… Peace…
All of it is attainable. But none of it is, if we don’t have the ability to laugh out loud, for any reason.
Part of every goal in life should be to find the laughter source in your endeavor. Just keep it in perspective with the real work at hand that needs to be done to accomplish your goal. You’ll get there.
Oddly enough, we just may not be able to have governments make the journey, though. They seem to make it their goal to suck the humor out of life itself.
So, next time you hear someone says, “The Government Sucks!” you’ll know to what they refer…
Gerry Ashley
I think that was a train full of liberals laughing at the conservatives–note how the suit didn’t get it.
Uh, Jim? Nice try, but it’s the conservatives laughing at all the folks that believed in Obama’s promises and are now wondering what the heck happened… All they’re left with is “Hope” and damn little “Change” in their pockets.
As for the guy in the suit? That’s the illegitimate son of Nazi Pelosi and Harry Reid, wondering where he should spend Thanksgiving so he doesn’t have to go to either’s home. Trust me: You’d be droll, too.
😉
Gerry
Truly you are the embodiment of prajna!
The bridge between the human and the machine is through consciousness. Expanded awareness in all aspects – body, mind and spirit. Bringing the highest consciousness as I can, moment to moment. With insights from 40 days and 40 nights solitude.
From the Apple Store at Oakridge Centre, Vancouver, BC
Have a nice day. 🙂
womenofintrigue.wordpress.com
Hi Gerry
I’ve just had first contact with your blog. A beautiful message. I think the important point is the resonance of the divine or enlightenment or whatever word we want to give. Human beings are waiting to be awakened only who identifies erroneously with his worldly position wants to resist due to the fear of loss. That’s why the observation of Jim Hagen isn’t wrong. The more you have “reached” in this world the easier you get trapped by the idea you could lose something. Don’t get me wrong it’s beyond political ideologies. It is a simple law of nature. Who is hungry is willing to move and assume risks who is satisfied wants to keep the status quo and is yearning for control.
Thanks again for a good laugh.
Best
Sherif
Hi Sherif,
Thanks for your interpretation. However, that’s NOT the message of Jim’s post. His post reads much more like a holier-than-thou endictment of conservatives as a whole. Worse, he bases it on flawed logic: Note that he writes, “I think that was a train full of liberals laughing at the conservatives…”
Point One: Anytime you attempt to group ALL of one type of person against ALL of another, you are destined to be wrong from the get-go. He’s making the assumption that simply because the man who gets on and stays by himself is wearing a suit, he is a conservative. Sorry, but the guy in the suit strikes ME as a dead ringer for a professor I had in college who turned out to be a hard-core liberal. The point is, we don’t know who he is or why he is so dour.
Pont Two: He then arrives at his conclusion, “Note how the suit doesn’t get it.”
Ah! Another assumption!
Maybe it isn’t that he doesn’t get it because, like every other person on the train, he doesn’t know what to make of it AT FIRST. Neither did everyone else on the train. Eventually they did and perhaps eventually HE does too. We don’t know. Or maybe he’s just conflicted and isn’t close enough to his own prajna that he’s ready. NOT because he is a conservative or liberal. That may have nothing to do with anything other than internal issues that have no bearing on political affiliation.
The same for the suit, by the way. Liberals often wear suits. Anyone look at the majority in Congress lately? Or, for that matter, President Obama? A suit does not a conservative make.
Given Jim’s opening comment, it’s obvious he sees the suit as being a conservative with no actual proof. See my conclusion below and you will see that it may be Jim who needs to resolve something.
Conclusion: For someone to make an assumption of another person or group of people based on his/her clothing, then come to a conclusion based only on that assumption is absolute proof to me that he’s missing the message of the Bodhisattva completely. It’s not about compartmentalization of any group for purposes of ridicule or exclusion. In fact, its all about INCLUSION of people of all types. There are young and old, male and female, whites and blacks all on board, sharing in the laughter. THAT’S the message. It’s about inclusion, NOT exclusion. The man in the suit, whether he’s liberal or a conservative, is just not ready to release his stress with laughter… yet.
[…] Bodhisattva – It Can “Strike” Anytime, Anywhere! « Grand Rants […]
Life is a grand “joke” I think, whatever happen to humanity, death, birth, love hate, the least we can do is to have a thoughtful joy of it. A scene like this would make life worthwhile even if there’s a confirmed fact that all of us shall be banished from existence tomorrow.
Thank You, and nice to meet you, all the people commenting in this train, err, blog.
Cheers!
Let me add my sincere thanks to all who have replied. Whether I agree with you or disagree, I welcome all exchanges as it makes for a meaningful dialog for ALL of us to think about!
Thanks again!
Gerry
I experienced a major shift from grey, misty, overcast Saturday vibe to bright, sunny and blissful. What a find!! Thanks soooooo much!
Thank you for joining us! Our topics here are often a lot heavier (political) but I like to blow away the cobwebs and stress with some humor periodically (as you will see when you look at our other posts), and this one just seemed like the perfect way to end the work week.
Again, thanks for joining us.
Gerry
[…] Leave a Comment On WordPress’ homepage one of the featured Blogs caught my eye – Grand Rants – with a post from Gerry Ashley that has a YouTube video called “Bodhisattva in […]
This is so synchronistic on so many levels for me! Bodhisattva use to be my favorite Rock Band tune which I recently downloaded to my Ipod and still enjoy during workouts.
I didn’t bother to look at the meaning of Bodhisattva until I came to Word Press.
This was a very meaningful experience and it exemplifies my state of being since I have embraced my life purpose at Matrix Wellness! Thanks!
Ah, Derrick! You must be referring to the tune by Steeley Dan! Yes, I have listened to it for years and never understood it either until I happened to come upon this video. Talk about being the definition of the word Serendipity!!
Thanks for discovering this and I hope it will put a smile on your face as help others at Matrix Wellness.
Gerry
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That was great – had me crying and laughing at the same time, thank you.
Laughter is the best healer…There is no point in suffering alone, when we can share and be a part of.
I’ll pass this on.
Thank you… that’s the goal: To pass on the joy and laughter. What a gift that costs us nothing but can provide so much enjoyment!
Gerry
[…] I tried to explain to Emily the other day what a Bodhisattva was, but I know I didn’t succeed. Here’s a link to a site that does a better job, quite succinctly. https://grandrants.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/10987/ […]
Thank you so much for this great pick-me-up. This will last me the whole day! But I have to know: was this real? Or are they all actors?
If you look at the beginning, there are opening credits (in French, I believe). Also, the use of multiple camera angles suggests this was made by professionals. But then again, the filmmaker could have been real, but the Bodhisattva could have been an actor plying his skills on an unsuspecting crowd. Then again, they might all be actors. Who knows? In the end, does it really matter? If we are laughing and enjoying the moment, that is quite enough for me. Heh-heh-heh… hee-heeee… HAAAAAAAA!
Warning: Do not watch video while drinking carbonated drinks. Bwahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
OK, I’m better now.
A few years back my wife, some friends, and I were in a department store in Gelnhausen Germany. We saw a lady giggling and laughing out loud riding up and down the escalators. Maybe she knew something, we didn’t. 😉
Perhaps she had just gotten off that subway car…
Of course, I’ve gotten kicked out of places for laughing like that.
I remember a couple of times in Junior High School when I had the uncontrollable giggles hit me in class on several occasions. Each time it resulted in a trip to the principal’s office. But one time, the giggles kept coming in the Principal’s office. The more serious he got, the harder I laughed. I wound up with detention, but unless my memory is failing me, I distinctly remember him chuckling as I left his office. If I’d only known back then I was a Bodhisattva, I could have avoided detention!
Laughter is an antidote to stress, till laughing becomes stress by itself. If one laughs too long one begins to cry. Its the circle of life. I laughed too when I saw the clip. Bodhisattva because of laughter – maybe. Those who know how to laugh are surely more secure than those who are grim and its their surliness that is a facade to keep people at bay. Those who can laugh are generally with more substance than those who cannot. Interesting video!!!
I don’t see tears of laughter being a stressful or bad thing.
I try not to diagnose or dissect it too much. I just enjoy it for the joy it brings me. To do more than that takes away from it’s simple message: Simply Enjoy!
[…] link https://grandrants.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/10987/ […]
I learned about bodhisattvas in college and never forgot the concept. One truly never knows when they will or when they have encountered one! That video has a fantastic message and thank you for sharing it!
My pleasure… literally.
Тема эта старая конечно , но прочитал с удовольствием 🙂
I couldn’t have said it better myself! Thank you.
I was searching for ur website on fb. maybe you have a fan group there?
Actually, we don’t, but maybe we should! Thanks for the idea. I’ll bring it up with the other two writers.
Is this Kristin from the dog park?