September 28, 2006
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A Table
From the diary
of John Baez:September 22, 2006
… Meanwhile, the mystics beckon:Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field.
I’ll meet you there. – RumiSeptember 23, 2006
I’m going up to San Rafael (near the Bay in Northern California) to
visit my college pal Bruce Smith and his family. I’ll be back on
Wednesday the 27th, just in time to start teaching the next day.A check on the Rumi quote yields
this, on a culinary organization:
“Out
beyond rightdoing and wrongdoing there is a
field. I’ll meet you there.”This is the starting place of good spirit for
relationship healing and building prescribed centuries ago in the
Middle East by Muslim Sufi teacher and mystic, Jelaluddin Rumi
(1207-1273).Even earlier, the Psalmists knew such a meeting place
of adversaries was needed, sacred and blessed:“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine
enemies….” (23rd
Psalm)A Field and a Table:
From “Communications Toolbox”
at MathWorks.comFor more on this field
in a different context, see
Generating the Octad Generator
and“Putting Descartes Before Dehors”
in my own diary for December 2003.
Descartes
Après l’Office à l’Église
de la
Sainte-Trinité, Noël 1890
(After the Service at Holy Trinity Church,
Christmas 1890), Jean
Béraud
Let us pray to the Holy Trinity that
San Rafael guides the teaching of John Baez
this year. For related material on theology
and the presence of enemies, see Log24 on
the (former) Feast of San Rafael, 2003.
