Blog | davidsmith208

Sonomama

Great question. You’re circling a deep structural parallel between Zen and the Rumi/Shams material we’ve been talking about—especially the “shore vs. sea” distinction. I’ll take this in three clear steps: What Lin-chi’s (Linji’s) aim actually is What sonomama means and where it comes from Why Suzuki uses sonomama to express “equality in discrimination” (and why that’s not a contradiction) 1. What is the aim of Lin-chi (Rinzai)? Lin-chi Yixuan (臨済義玄, d. 866) is the founder of

davidsmith208

Feb 13 min read

Legs strong to walk to the shore

Yes — you’re touching a very precise Sufi distinction, and you’re right to hear Burhān al-Dīn’s voice behind it, even though the line comes to us through Eflākī. The saying: “Up to the sea, footprints lead; but within the sea, there are no footprints.” is almost a summary of the sober Sufi map that Burhān al-Dīn trained Rumi in — before Shams shattered the map. Let’s unfold it carefully. 1. What the saying actually distinguishes This image draws a sharp line between two modes

davidsmith208

Feb 13 min read

The Reed before it sings

This is a beautiful question—and a very Masnavi one. Rumi almost never names Burhān al-Dīn directly, but his fingerprints are everywhere once you know what to look for. The influence shows up less as biography and more as method, especially around silence, ripening, containment, and delayed speech. I’ll do this in three layers: Where the Masnavi reflects Burhān al-Dīn’s training Key passages where silence is explicitly “stored power” How Rumi contrasts prepared silence with p

davidsmith208

Feb 13 min read

Half of life was wasted

Short answer: yes—but not only, and not in the modern “dating/relationship” sense. Rumi is being surgical here. What does “sweethearts here” mean? When Rumi says (paraphrasing): Half of life is lost in love of sweethearts here… he’s using “sweethearts” (mahbūbān / yārān) in a deliberately ambiguous way. It includes: romantic partners sexual infatuation emotional dependency idealized people anything you cling to because it feels sweet So yes—human relationships are included, b

davidsmith208

Jan 312 min read

How the bird was trapped

Great passage. You’ve zeroed in on one of Rumi’s classic wake-up warnings—gentle on the surface, ruthless underneath. Let’s unpack it layer by layer. 1. “Guard your steed constantly” — what is the steed ? In Masnavi V.470, the steed is repentance (tawba) and, more broadly, the capacity that carries you toward God. In Sufi symbolism: A steed = what conveys you on the Path A mount = the means of travel toward awakening Repentance = not just remorse, but turning back to God with

davidsmith208

Jan 313 min read

Die before you die

This is a great question, and you’re picking up on something very deep in Sufi reading. Let’s unpack it carefully, because Baldock is making a strong claim, and it only really makes sense once you see how Islam is layered in classical understanding. 1. What does “die before you die” actually mean? The hadith qudsī often quoted as: “Die before you die.” (mūtū qabla an tamūtū) is not about physical death. It points to: the death of the ego-self (nafs) the death of identificatio

davidsmith208

Jan 313 min read

Abhyasa and vairagya

Great question. You’re zeroing in on what is arguably the spine of almost every serious spiritual path, even when the vocabulary changes. First, the core idea (in plain terms) Abhyāsa = steady, repeated practice Vairāgya = letting go of grasping, craving, fixation Patañjali’s genius is not inventing these, but naming the two forces that must balance each other: Practice without non-attachment → obsession, ego, burnout, spiritual materialism Non-attachment without practice → p

davidsmith208

Jan 303 min read

Yunus Emre’s reed song

Great passage—you’re right, the author is gesturing at a deep convergence, not just a vague “they’re both mystical” claim. We can actually get fairly concrete about this, even across languages (Persian vs. Old Anatolian Turkish). Below I’ll do two things: A quantitative-linguistic comparison (themes, grammatical stance, metaphors, pronoun use, semantic fields) Side-by-side quotes from Yunus Emre and Rumi that are strikingly parallel in structure, not just sentiment 1. Quantit

davidsmith208

Jan 293 min read

Baraka at sufi shrines

You’re touching something that sits right at the crossroads of phenomenology, devotional culture, and neuroscience—and you’re absolutely not alone in reporting it. First, a small word note: what you visited is commonly called a türbe (Turkish) — a shrine or tomb of a saint. Sometimes people say turbah or tubasi loosely, but türbe is the standard term in Konya. Are there many reports of “radiation / tingling / full-body vibration” at shrines? Yes — across cultures, centuries,

davidsmith208

Jan 283 min read

Rukneddin Sejasi

Great question — you’ve zeroed in on a very obscure but important node in the Shams–Rumi network. Who was Rukn al-Dīn Sejāsī (Rukneddin Sejari / Sejāsī)? Rukn al-Dīn Sejāsī was a 12th–early 13th century Sufi master in Anatolia, active slightly before Shams-i Tabrizi, and part of the non-institutional, wandering Sufi milieu rather than a well-organized ṭarīqa. He is not famous today because: he left no major surviving writings, and his importance is mostly genealogical (teache

davidsmith208

Jan 282 min read

Game Day 3 sets tennis

That actually sounds like a near-perfect re-entry setup 👍 — you gave the system a reset without going cold. Here’s how I’d read what you’ve done and how I’d play tomorrow smartly. 📈 What the 4-day break + today accomplished 3 days full rest Tendons finally got a real recovery window (this matters more than muscle) Nervous system de-loaded (reaction timing will come back fast) Today: legs + swim + sauna Legs: woke up glutes and hips (good for tomorrow’s movement) Swim: low-i

davidsmith208

Jan 272 min read

Hotel or home tennis armor routine 15 minutes

Perfect — with light dumbbells, elastic bands, and a yoga mat, you can run a clean, hotel-proof 15-minute Tennis Armor routine that hits exactly what tennis beats up, without needing machines or space. I’ll give you a single flowing routine, then a travel swap list in case something isn’t available. 🛡️ 15-Minute Tennis Armor (Home / Hotel Version) ⏱️ Structure Continuous flow No setup drama Emphasis: shoulder protection, elbow longevity, hip/knee stability, core control 1️⃣

davidsmith208

Jan 272 min read

15 minute tennis armor routine

Here’s a simple, repeatable 15-minute “tennis armor” routine—armor meaning joint protection + balance rather than max strength. This is ideal before tennis, after tennis, or on off-days. It targets the usual tennis wear points: shoulder, elbow, hips, knees, and trunk rotation. I’ll give it as a clean flow you can memorize. 🛡️ 15-Minute Tennis Armor Routine 1. Shoulder & Scapular Armor (5 minutes) Protects rotator cuff, biceps tendon, and elbow A. Serratus Punches – 1 minute

davidsmith208

Jan 272 min read

Present-centered stillness

Short answer: yes — with an important qualification. Longer answer: present-centered stillness is a shared core move across many contemplative traditions, but each tradition means something slightly different by “present,” “stillness,” and “liberation.” Let’s unpack this cleanly and comparatively. 1. What Dādū means by present-centered stillness When I said Dādū emphasizes present-centered stillness, I did not mean simple mindfulness or relaxation. For Dādū: Past = karmic mem

davidsmith208

Jan 273 min read

Dadu Dariya Tulsi

This is a deep and legitimate line of inquiry—and it’s important to keep one foot firmly in textual history and the other in careful analogy, especially when bringing in physics. I’ll do both, but I’ll clearly mark where we move from doctrine → interpretive metaphor. PART I — How Kabir’s cosmology evolves (Kabir → Dādū → Dariyā Sāhib → Tulsi Sāhib) All four share the same vertical universe, but each sharpens a different edge. 1. Kabir (15th c.) — the foundational rupture Kabi

davidsmith208

Jan 273 min read

Who is Kal Niranjan?

You’re reading this passage exactly the way the Sant–Kabir tradition intends it to be read — as a radical re-ordering of the Hindu cosmos, not a polite theological tweak. Let’s lay it out carefully, because Kabir is very precise here. 1. Who is Kāl Niranjan (also called Niranjan, Kāl, or Brahm)? In Kabir’s cosmology, Kāl Niranjan is: the lord of time (kāl = time, death) the creator–ruler of the material universe not the Supreme God He is often equated with: Brahm (not Brahman

davidsmith208

Jan 273 min read

Complimentary exercises for tennis

You’re playing 12 sets a week, split nicely between evenings and late mornings — that’s a lot of unilateral, rotational, stop-start load. The goal of complementary work is not more conditioning, but counter-loading, tissue resilience, and symmetry so your tendons and joints don’t revolt. I’ll break this into what tennis overdevelops, then what to add, then how to place it in your week so it actually helps. 1. What tennis overloads (the imbalance map) Tennis repeatedly stresse

davidsmith208

Jan 252 min read

The benefits of tennis

Yes — you’re thinking of a specific analysis within a long-running health project out of Denmark called the Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS), and it did find that tennis was associated with the largest increase in life expectancy compared with several other common sports — but with important caveats. 🧠 What is the Copenhagen City Heart Study ? The Copenhagen City Heart Study is a large, long-term prospective population cohort study started in 1976 in Copenhagen, Denmark. I

davidsmith208

Jan 253 min read

Satsang or majlis-e haq-juyan

Lovely question — you’re comparing two living spiritual technologies, not just concepts. Sikh satsang and the Sufi majlis-e ḥaqq-jūyān (assembly of seekers of Truth) sit very close to one another in function, even while their theological grammar differs. I’ll compare them as practiced, not just as ideals. 1. What each gathering is at heart Sikh Satsang (ਸਾਧ ਸੰਗਤ / Sādh Saṅgat) Literally: company of the true / holy Core meaning Sitting in the presence of Truth (Sat) through: t

davidsmith208

Jan 253 min read

Aristotle

Yes — you’ve put your finger on the spine of Aristotle’s ethics. Those four words aren’t just vocabulary; they mark different ways of being human and different kinds of excellence. Aristotle is very precise here, and modern summaries often blur distinctions he worked hard to keep clear. Let’s go slowly and cleanly. 1. Technē (τέχνη) — making / craft / know-how What it is Rational skill aimed at producing something The knowledge of how to make rather than how to live Key featu

davidsmith208

Jan 253 min read