Never too old

A place to discuss casual topics amongst spiritual friends.
User avatar
Kim OHara
Posts: 5584
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:47 am
Location: North Queensland, Australia

Never too old

Post by Kim OHara »

This one's mostly for members concerned about getting - or being - 'old'. Relax, everyone ...
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/a-buddh ... 9946736765
A renowned choreographer, dancer, costume designer, artist and writer, Eileen Kramer is a former member of the Bodenwieser Ballet. Founded by Austrian dancer Gertrud Bodenwieser in the 1940s, the Bodenwieser Ballet became the first modern dance company in Australia. At 103 years of age, Eileen is quite possibly the longest working dancer and choreographer in Australia, if not the world.
Inspired by stories she heard during her travels in India, the indomitable Eileen has created A Buddha’s Wife, a dance drama that explores themes of abandonment and finding your own peace. The deeply personal work is part of The Now Project, a continuation of Eileen’s book of the same name. ...
There's an interview with her here - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-01/m ... er/9216804

Me? I'm still young. :smile:

:namaste:
Kim
Disciple
Posts: 513
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:13 pm

Re: Never too old

Post by Disciple »

:jawdrop:
User avatar
cappuccino
Posts: 12879
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2016 1:45 am
Contact:

Re: Never too old

Post by cappuccino »

We're older than the moon

Are you done dancing?
mal4mac
Posts: 370
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 1:47 pm

Re: Never too old

Post by mal4mac »

Couldn't some forms of dance be looked at as walking meditation? Or meditation on posture/activity in general? Some Tibetan monks dance, are they bad monks?

http://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=93
- Mal
Spiny Norman
Posts: 10172
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:32 am
Location: Andromeda looks nice

Re: Never too old

Post by Spiny Norman »

Buddha save me from new-agers!
Lombardi4
Posts: 1551
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:53 pm

Re: Never too old

Post by Lombardi4 »

It's at 29 (my age) that you first realize you're growing old and for the first time in your life you're not looking forward to your birthday, or adding another year on top...
SarathW
Posts: 21234
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: Never too old

Post by SarathW »

I am at an age that I am counting how many years left before the death.
Every time I see a death notice I try to work out how many years an average person can live.
At this moment I think I can live up to the age of 80 or 85 unless I struck with a sudden illness or and accident.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
User avatar
manas
Posts: 2678
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:04 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Never too old

Post by manas »

Had a gentle and affectionate pet rabbit, then a few days ago, had to lift her stiffened, .lifeless body out from the hutch. It still hits me right in the heart, but I'm getting used to it. Death usually happens at a time we do not expect, and when we don't want it. Most probably, it will be the same for us.
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
Spiny Norman
Posts: 10172
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:32 am
Location: Andromeda looks nice

Re: Never too old

Post by Spiny Norman »

Stiphan wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:12 pm It's at 29 (my age) that you first realize you're growing old and for the first time in your life you're not looking forward to your birthday, or adding another year on top...
I gave up celebrating birthdays some time ago. Also Christmas. Bah humbug. :tongue:
Buddha save me from new-agers!
mal4mac
Posts: 370
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 1:47 pm

Re: Never too old

Post by mal4mac »

Why be afraid of death? It's like being afraid of walking round the corner because a mugger might be there.

Expect death to happen at any time (maybe now!); become totally reconciled to this possibility, then you will be ready for it and feel no fear.

Shakespeare's Hamlet (again):

"There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come—the readiness is all. "

Be ready! Always.
- Mal
binocular
Posts: 8292
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 11:13 pm

Re: Never too old

Post by binocular »

mal4mac wrote: Mon Dec 04, 2017 12:27 pmWhy be afraid of death?
People aren't afraid of death per se. There's the fear of the physical pain of dying. And then there's the fear of running out of options for life. That's what makes death so scary.
Be ready! Always.
One can't be ready for something one has never experienced before.
Hic Rhodus, hic salta!
User avatar
Kim OHara
Posts: 5584
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:47 am
Location: North Queensland, Australia

Re: Never too old

Post by Kim OHara »

Here's another dancer, younger :tongue: and still working professionally.
RICHMOND — “You gotta sliiide into it,” says Carmen de Lavallade, who, at 86, has no trouble showing three young ballerinas how to swish a hip with ease.
“Look: It’s a jazz hip. Don’t make a move out of it.” The woman who seduced Paris in the 1960s with Josephine Baker rolls her pelvis. “Just put it out there.”
De Lavallade, as usual, is the most arresting woman in the room...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertai ... story.html

Just do it!

:twothumbsup:
Kim
mal4mac
Posts: 370
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 1:47 pm

Re: Never too old

Post by mal4mac »

binocular wrote: Mon Dec 04, 2017 2:37 pm
mal4mac wrote: Mon Dec 04, 2017 12:27 pmWhy be afraid of death?
People aren't afraid of death per se. There's the fear of the physical pain of dying. And then there's the fear of running out of options for life. That's what makes death so scary.
Be ready! Always.
One can't be ready for something one has never experienced before.
Are you afraid of toothache? You would be a real wimp if you were. Pain is just part of life. If it was never ending pain that I could see that being a bit wearisome but the pain of dying will soon be over! (Life itself will soon be over...) Options for life? Who needs options for life? If you are worried about dying just because you don't have enough ticks on your bucket list then you are an idiot.

I have never experienced walking around a specific corner a hundred yards from me, but I am quite ready to walk around it. Anyway, death doesn't even you require you to walk, or do anything to make yourself "ready for it". What are you thinking of, dressing up, or learning a death dance? One famous philosopher (Montaigne?) said something like, "Don't worry about being ready for death, death is quite ready for you, and will take you just as you are."

Can't find the quote, but here's Montaigne anyway, he's very good on death:

https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/12/1 ... of-living/
- Mal
User avatar
manas
Posts: 2678
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:04 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Never too old

Post by manas »

How can any one of us claim we are not afraid of death, since the majority of us cannot recall what it was like all the previous times? How do we know it's not traumatic and difficult?

I'd say that for most human beings, it's very difficult and traumatic (based on readings in Buddhism and elsewhere), but I can't say for sure, as I cannot recall what it is like. However, I do believe that the more dhamma practice we do before that day arrives, and it is to be hoped, the more we have actually realized, the easier the process will be. But to claim 'why be afraid of death?' when we cannot currently remember what the actual experience is like - with respect, that seems just a little presumptuous to me.

with metta. :anjali:
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
User avatar
PuerAzaelis
Posts: 62
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 12:44 pm

Re: Never too old

Post by PuerAzaelis »

Stiphan wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:12 pm It's at 29 (my age) that you first realize you're growing old and for the first time in your life you're not looking forward to your birthday, or adding another year on top...
Lol. You’re just a baby!
Generally, enjoyment of speech is the gateway to poor [results]. So it becomes the foundation for generating all negative emotional states. Jampel Pawo, The Certainty of the Diamond Mind
Post Reply