My mission

To jog-bicycle around the world, climb the mountains, swim the seas and soar the skies. Since they are not remotely possible, I settled for a daily dose of spiritual triathlon -- jogging, cycling and meditation -- necessarily in that order. My idea of a spiritual triathlon is 10 miles of jogging and 10 miles of cycling followed by an hour of meditation. I sincerely feel that not less than a spiritual marathon can tame the mind and mould it the way you want it to. So go ahead and have fun taking a dekko at my spiritual athleticism. But don't forget to drop in a word or two on how you feel about my blog and my way of life. Your advice is always valuable to go that extra length to the Garden of Eden

Food for cycling thought

A Zen Teacher saw five of his students return from the market, riding their bicycles. When they had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, "Why are you riding your bicycles?" The first student replied, "The bicycle is carrying this sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!" The teacher praised the student, saying, "You are a smart boy. When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over, as I do." The second student replied, "I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path." The teacher commended the student, "Your eyes are open and you see the world." The third student replied, "When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant, nam myoho renge kyo." The teacher gave praise to the third student, "Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel." The fourth student answered, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all beings." The teacher was pleased and said, "You are riding on the golden path of non-harming." The fifth student replied, "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle." The teacher went and sat at the feet of the fifth student, and said, "I am your disciple."

Monday, April 9, 2007

Wheeling into heaven

A devout cyclist dies and goes to heaven. Saint Peter meets him at the gate. The cyclist asks if there are bicycles in heaven.
Peter says, "Sure, let me show you," and leads the guy into the finest Velodrome you can imagine.
"This is great," the cyclist says.
"You will love it here," says Peter. "You will be fitted a custom track bike, the mechanics will glue on fresh silks each night, and your personal masseuse is always available."
As they speak a blur flys by them on the boards riding a gold plated Cinelli and the cyclist says: "Wow he was fast, that must be Eddy Merck!"
"No," says Peter, "that was God, he only thinks he's Eddy".

Cycling is heaven whatever the critics might say. As we race past on the bike with the wind blowing against our face, and we are drenched in sweat, it produces an exhilaration that cannot be described in words. To make the most of cycling and to bike some more miles I went for a 10 km jog today. The jog instilled in me a serene calm and when I stepped on to the bike after that I felt like a meditator on the move. My body and mind were still and the silence pierced deep into the interior core of my being. To entrench that feeling I biked for a couple of hours before I finally reached home and lied down on the bed to let the ecstatic energy seep into the inner vitals. In effect I had some four hours of biking meditation today and relished the godly feeling. Looking forward for more of that godliness in the coming days.

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