In 2001 in Afghanistan, the Talibans, then in power, destroyed two ancient statues of Buddha.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines.shtml?/headlines01/0301-04.htm
In 2013 in Afghanistan, the Chinese, to mine copper, are about to destroy treasures of Buddha.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/472409280/the-buddhas-of-mes-aynak
And a petition to stop things :
What strikes me is how the International Community that was so vocal about the Talibans is now so discreet that few know of the impending doom of Mes Aynak’s marvels? But, if one remembers that it is first and foremost an international community of money, that religion is not at play but profit is, things stand explained.
And I remember instances this year like in Myanmar of Buddhists attacking the Rohingya muslim minority, which seriously hurt the image of that religion held by simple folks in the West. No, buddhists are no more peaceful than Christians or less than Muslims; they are but people after all!
Still further, I thought of Zen, another Buddhist creed and … BALANCE.
Balance in International affairs as above, balance in ecology, balance for yourself, etc
Balance cannot be achieved! To be precise, balance once obtained is to be maintained. Because one is not psychologically balanced to begin with, anymore than a bike is naturally standing when at rest. Balance is a dynamic state.
If you try to stand level on a see-saw, your muscles maintain balance, same as on a tight rope. There is an effort involved. As one walks, the body is led to fall to the foreground and caught by the foot to a new upright location from which it is pushed to fall to the other foot and so on. And yet, the whole movement of the walker along the axis of walk and following the straight surface of the sidewalk seems balanced? The illusion comes from the failproof recovery.
To balance a checkbook ( or an account ). The expression covers of a series actions, getting money out from the teller at the bank or at the ATM, authorized withdrawals, payment etc and incoming amounts : salary, sales, rents, dividends, etc adding money back. The less balance in these flows, the more you need to … balance your checkbook! 😎
The same is true of our ways. Some have to be forced to exercise. some to think and some to shut up. Even, perfectly collected do-it-all folks at ease from dining hall to wood cabin with no story are scarcer than werewolves. We all tilt somewhat to a side or another and try to stay balanced.
The same is actually true of our mental state and attitudes. Few people are balanced without effort. Of course, if you vary less, you should labor less to find balance. But just think of a personal tragedy as the death of a loved one which all of us face at some point. If your mental balance is not affected whatsoever, your sanity is to doubt more than your balance. As the soul wavers in sadness, there is some play and balance is to be regained.
Thus consider that balance is a dynamic process. That means that you can relax about having to work at it. All but the fully unbalanced have to work at it.
The worst possibility of course would see a person very far along the arm of a balance problem. In which case it will likely be fight to death to stay balanced? What could help those poor souls?
As a young man, I was prone to breaking stuff. Excessive force was my only way to tighten a nut for instance… until they broke, literally. But as my regular readers know, I was already a bike fan and had to learn to take care of my machines for efficiency, safety and longevity. So I had to … learn to relax on the torque. Be more gentle here, more sensitive there and feel the forces at play! In order to achieve minimal mastery, I had to learn to stay relatively calm and steady because small pieces fly and fall away easily?
And yet, for the very simple reason that my love of the bicycle was there to stay, the need for the activity would never disappear and that discretely compelled me to succeed. In unassuming fashion, not a natural but learning my slow way to being a proper bike mechanic, I got there the long road : thirty odd years at the grindstone. 😉
The real discovery is that the Zen I feel as I pedal along the ride was also at play in the fixing part. I learned to enjoy being calm and as a collateral damage can even garden lightly by now! 😀
Thus, I could now recommend and wish to all, finding that activity, that thing you have to learn that will give you calm enjoyment. A path of patience through your bad habit. Crafting yourselves as you craft wheels from rim, hub and spokes or quilt or whatever is your thing.
For all lesser balance problems, I recommend a lunges regimen and the Zen attitude. We all sway to and fro, it’s normal, it’s not you!
Relax, Max!
The prize of seeming balanced goes to those who oscillate graciously enough and never stop smiling!
Tay.
Definitive Lapse of Reason 
Definitely makes you think of what being at rest really entails. If I do nothing, I am uncomfortable. But if I am active, I am a lot happier than if I was ‘resting up’.