What is a Quafaie?


Quafaie (pronounced: kwa FAY) are fantasy creatures that exist in the fantasy writing of Hugh Kemeny, and are created by him. They are primarily in Hugh Kemeny’s Black Phoenix short stories...

To learn more, read this post: What is a Quafaie?

Monday, June 30, 2008

Zen-a-day - June 30

Sunday 29 June 2008
The mind that does not understand is the Buddha. There is no other.
- Ma-tsu

Monday 30 June 2008
All things that are born must die. Work hard for your own freedom from sorrow.
- The Buddha

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Zen-a-day - June 28

Wednesday 25 June 2008
If one wants to have an understanding of the matter, look at the North Star by turning towards the south.
- Ch'uan-lao

Thursday 26 June 2008
If you keep a don't-know mind, your mind has already disappeared. Don't-know minds cuts off all thinking. Cuts off all thinking means no thinking. No thinking means empty mind. Empty mind means your nature before thinking arises. Before thinking, there is no mind. When thinking appears, mind appears. When mind appears, dharma appears. When dharma appears, form appears. And when any kind of form appears, suffering appears: life and death, happiness and unhappiness, good and bad, like and dislike . . . .
- Seung Sahn

Friday 27 June 2008
The question is the same, the answer is the same. Sand in the rice, thorns in the mud.
- Zen Commentary

Saturday 28 June 2008
A monk asked Wei-kuan: "What is Tao?"
Wei-kuan replied: "What a fine mountain!"
"I am asking you about the Tao - why do you talk of the mountain?"
"As long as you only know about the mountain," said Wei-kuan, "you can never attain the Tao."
- Zen mondo

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Zen-a-day - June 24

Friday 20 June 2008
Besides the noble art of gettingthings done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.
- Lin Yutang

Saturday 21 June 2008
As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sunday 22 June 2008
- From the age of six I had a mania for drawing the form of things. By the time I was fifty, I had published an infinity of designs, but all that I have produced before the age of seventy is not worth taking into account. At seventy-three I have learned a little about the real structure of nature, of animals, plants, birds, fishes, and insects. In consequence, when I am eightly, I shall have made more progress, at ninetly I shall pnenetrate the mystery of things, at a hundred I shall have reached a marvelous stage, and when I am a hundred and ten, everything I do, be it a dot or a line, will be alive.
- Hokusai

Monday 23 June 2008
An American seeker: "If you follow any way, you will never get there; and if you do not follow any way, you will never get there. So one faces a dilemma."
Hisamatsu: "Let the dilemma be your way!"
- Zen mondo

Tuesday 24 June 2008
One day Zen master Kyong Ho went for a walk in the country with a young student, Yng Song Sunim, who was known for his kindness. They came to a stand by the road where a group of boys had dozens and sozens of frogs on a string, and were selling them.
Yong Song implored his teacher to take a rest, and then went back to the boys and bought all the frogs and set them free. After the last of the frogs hopped away, Yong Song smiled to himself and went to his master and said, "How fortunate that we came this way. I just saved all those frogs!"
"That is wonderful," said Kyong Ho, "but you're going straight to hell."
"What?" Yong Song was startled to hear this. "I freed the frogs. Why should I go to hell?"
"You already understand."
"No, I don't. Please teach me," begged Yong Song.
"You say 'I' saved those frogs. But this 'I' doesn't exist. Making thi 'I' is a big mistake. keep that 'I-me' mind, and you're going to hell like an arrow."
- Zen mondo

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Zen a day - catch-up 4 - June 13-19

Friday 13 June 2008
People imagine enlightenment will make them incredibly powerful. And it does. It makes you the most powerful being in all the universe - but usually no one else notices.
- Brad Warner

Saturday 14 June 2008
Holding to the One is not Truth.
- Zen saying

Sunday 15 June 2008
The moon's the same old moon,
The flowers exactly as they were,
Yet I've become the thingness
Of all the things I see!
- Bunan

Monday 16 June 2008
The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing - to let the mind be a thoroughtare for all thoughts.
- John Keats

Tuesday 17 June 2008
I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.
- Joseph Campbell

Wednesday 18 June 2008
The wise boldly pick up a truth as soon as they hear it. Don't wait for a moment, or you'll lose your head.
- Hsueh-dou

Thursday 19 June 2008
Red morning sky -
snail,
are you glad of it?
- Issa

Zen a day - catch-up 3 - June 6-12

Friday 6 June 2008
I have met the builder and broken the ridgepole. I shall not build that house again.
- The Buddha, upon his awakening

Saturday 7 June 2008
The first question I ask when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful? And very shortly you discover that there is no reason.
- John Cage

Sunday 8 June 2008
The venerable Nan-ch'uan asked Chao-chou:
"When not a single thing is brought, then what?"
Chao-chou said: "Put it down."
"If I don't bring a single thing, what should I put down?" continued Nan-ch'uan.
"Then carry it out," said Chao-chou.
- Zen koan

Monday 9 June 2008
Under a pine tree I questioned your monk. "My master went in search of herbs," he answered, "but toward which corner of the mountain no one can tell, in these misty clouds."
- Chia Tao

Tuesday 10 June 2008
Time itself is being.
All being is time.
- Dōgen

Wednesday 11 June 2008
Where people of today dwell, I do not dwell. What people of today do, I do not do.
If you clearly understand what this really means, you must be able to enter a pit of fire with your whole body.
- Huang-long

Thursday 12 June 2008
A heavy cart rumbles by
    and the peonies
       quiver.
- Buson

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Zen a day - catch-up 2 - May 30-June 5

Friday 30 May 2008
There was never mystery,
    But 'tis figured in the flowers;
Was never discreet history,
    But birds tell it in the bowers.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Saturday 31 May 2008
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
- Hans Hofmann

Sunday 1 June 2008
You, before me standing,
Oh, my eternal self!
Since my first glimpse
You have been my secret love.
- A Zen Monk's Song of Samadhi

Monday 2 June 2008
A permanent state of transition is a man's most noble condition.
- Juan Ramón Jiménez

Tuesday 3 June 2008
Morning, sickle in hand.
Noon, roaming the forest, gathering wood.
Now the evening moon, quietly shedding light on the path I walk.
- Commentary on the Nansen “Sickle” koan

Wednesday 4 June 2008
One must ask children and birds how strawberries and cherries taste.
- Goethe

Thursday 5 June 2008
One day, Yang-uan called to his assistant: "Bring me the rhinoceros fan."
"It is broken," said the assistant.
"In that case," Said Yang-uan, "bring me the rhinoceros."
- Zen koan

Monday, June 16, 2008

Zen a day - catch-up 1 - May 23-29

As I realized I have about 25 Zen-a-days I am behind, I thought I should post them in sets of reasonable numbers. So, for the next few days I will be posting 7 a day. Here is the first set:

Friday 23 May 2008
God hated reality but realized it was still the only place to get a good steak.
- Woody Allen

Saturday 24 May 2008
Lower your standards.
- William Stafford's advice to poets

Sunday 25 May 2008
A monk traveled a long way to visit the master, Nansen. The monk found him by the side of the road, cutting grass.
"What is the way to Nansen?" asked the monk.
Nansen answered: "I bought this sickle for thirty cents."
The monk said: "I did not ask about the sickle. I asked the way to Nansen."
Nansen answered: "I use it in full enjoyment."
- Zen koan

Monday 26 May 2008
I would like to beg you, deer sir, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, some day in the far future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.
- Rainer Maria Rilke

Tuesday 27 May 2008
From the temple deep in a bamboo grove
come the sound of the evening bell,
while the pilgrim's straw hat carries sunset
farther and farther down the green mountain.
- Liu Chiang-ch'ing

Wednesday 28 May 2008
Do your work, then step back - the only path to serenity
- Tao Te Ching

Thursday 29 May 2008
We accept the graceful falling
of mountain cherry blossoms,
but it is much harder for us
to fall away from our own
attachment to the world.
- Rengetsu

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Nude Canadian Boy goes to Hanlan's Point

Chapter 1: Coffee Shop
I was in Toronto only a couple days; overcast and cool days. Doing the tourist thing was not what I was wanting to do, not this trip at least. It was a Thursday morning, last Thursday to be precise, I was sitting in a Starbucks, as they had power outlets for my computer, drinking tea, and contemplating what all to do between meeting up with friends.
As a naturalist, I thought I should check out what nude scene Toronto had to offer. Beyond the gay saunas and bathhouses. A quick search on Google for nude Toronto, I found their clothing optional beach; Hanlan's Point, on Toronto Island Park.
I immediately checked the weather forecast for the next few days I was going to be in town. Friday was going to be a beautiful sunny day, a nice break from the overcast.
With that in mind I read the directions to the beach, and set my mind to go should the forecast on Friday hold.

Chapter 2: Twists and Turns
Friday morning I was pleased to see the forecast hadn't changed for the worse, though a friend told me it was awful out; she meant the sun and humidity.
With my towel in my bag I set off towards the ferry, with a couple of errands to do on the way.
I'd foolishly left my mobile phone at the "Churchmouse and Firkin" Thursday night, and luckily it was on the way; though not open until 11am. So, I stopped off at "Out on the Street" and bought a new tank-top, before going to retrieve my mobile.
As I walked past the pub, around 10:30, I noticed they were loading more kegs, so I asked about my phone, and got it back.
Happily I moved on, and took the subway to Union Station, where I found out the street car to the docks was not running. This meant I could have either taken the bus, or walked. I opted for walking; more practice for my 5km walk on June 14.
The ferry arrived soon after I got through the line, paying $6.50 for the ferry. I thought this was good timing, that was until the ferry docked on the island.
There are three docks on the island; one is close to Hanlan's point, the second it in the middle of the island, and the third is on the opposite end of the island.
I ended up on the ferry to the middle of the island, not as bad as it could have been, but it did mean a walk. That took me about half an hour in the warm humid air.
As my friend had told me it was an awful day, I was wearing trousers, when I should have worn shorts, and I had my jacket with me (in a second bag to my backpack). Not the ideal attire to cross the island in.

Chapter 3: The beach
I made it to the beach, and was glad to see there was more people on it then when I was on Crystal Cove Beach on September 4, 2007. I found a place to set my towel, and my stuff, and was naked in moment.
After that walk I was hungry, and had bought a sandwich before the ferry, so I sat and ate, enjoying the view of the beach and lake Ontario.
I spent some time walking up and down the beach, seeing what it was like. As I reached the east end, I saw some guys heading beyond what looked like the fenced area, and so I followed. There were a few others out there that were naked, but not many, and soon the beach essentially ended, with the path going into the bushes and dunes.
I still proceeded, and soon nearly caught up with another guy. I enquired how far one could go, and he confirmed my guess; that this was already beyond the legal area, and more a place where guys could go for sex.
By me asking, and me staying, I opened myself to having a little tryst there in the bushes; which was ok, but not what I'd intended.

Chapter 4: Sun and water
I was on the beach, in the buff, for near on 5 hours. I'd taken a couple breaks to get a drink at the nearby food kiosk - in the clothing required part of the park. I'd seen a few good looking guys, both walk past me, and me pass when I went for a walk. Though I did manage to keep any obvious erections at bay - though I had one while lying on my stomach, after I lay down like that, not to hide it.
On a couple of my walks I took some pictures across the water, and asked a couple people to take photos of me, with the CN tower in the background. Which are in my next HNT (next post - HNT 19 - Toronto).
The thing I found the most erotic though was seeing a hot guy in the water. Very few people were in the water, and up to that point I had not seen anyone go in more than their ankles or knees, mostly because the water wasn't that warm.
Seeing this guy walk into the water, up to just below his balls, was hot. I watched him from my towel, a bit of a distance away, as he waded back and forth a little then dove and swam a little too. I was tempted to go and meet him in the water, but I was uncertain of the etiquette in all that; this being only my second time to a nude beach.
Part of me wanted to go in the water to cool off anyway, as I could feel I was out in the sun a little too long - I was starting to turn pink. Feeling that way, I got up and approached the water, after this hottie was back at his towel. I tested the water, and splashed my arms, to cool myself off.
Then I took a plunge.... not into the water, but went up and talked to him. There were a few other people around also in small idle conversation.
In the conversation, about the water, going into the water and the feel of it, he essentially dared me to run into the lake.
And so I did.
I ran into the lake and dove under, all in almost one motion. It was refreshing, and I came out and we talked more. Others around were also a little surprised I did that, but hey, no harm was done; well, at first when I came out of the water I thought I'd lost my contact lenses, but I could see clearly again (thank goodness) by the time I'd reached them.

Chapter 5: Drinks and more
I saw that Karl, as I later found out his name to be, was drinking wine, and I presumptually asked if I could possible have some. Which he kindly offered what little he had left.
We talked for a while, me kneeling in the sand, him on his towel. Then he asked if I'd like a beer. Which at that point I was all for, especially since I knew I should get moving off the beach - away from the sun.
We got dressed and went to the food kiosk near by, and had a couple beers, which he bought even though I did offer to pay. With the beer was great conversation.
Soon however, the kiosk started to close. So we headed towards the ferry to get another beer in town. I also needed to get back to meet up with other friends for dinner.
As we walked towards the ferry, our conversation continued, as did our interest in each other to the point that in the middle of the path we started kissing.
Knowing we had time before the ferry would arrive, I hinted perhaps we should move off the path, so as to not block other people, especially since Karl had his bicycle, which ended up on its side in the middle of the path.

Chapter 6: 'Mommy what are those two men doing?'
Off the side of the path we really got into snogging. Some joking talk in between, only made it more fun. Soon he was undoing my trousers, and going for my cock. That only lasted until he realized how exposed we were.
Moving ever so slightly more behind a tree and a couple of bushes, we continued to get more sexual. Cocks were out, as was asses. I sucked him, he sucked me. All the while aware that others could be, and some possibly were, noticing us.
It was hot. It was fun. It was daring. He was hot. He was fun. It was great. Despite the growing discomfort of my sunburn.
Eventually a little common sense sunk in, and we realized we should really not be all that exposed.
As we stopped, I jokingly said: 'Mommy, what are those two men doing?'
To which his reply was: 'Where?. . . oh!'
We continued to the ferry, kissing a few more times, even on the ride back, and the walk to where we'd part ways.
On the ferry we exchanged numbers and emails, and planned to meet sometime over the next couple days, before I left Toronto.

Chapter 7: Pain, Possibilities and Problems
Over dinner I realized that I had had too much sun, both in my mental capacity and in the growing pain from the sunburn.
When I got to where I was staying, I took a bath in black tea - I heard it helps*. And lathered myself in vitamin E lotion.
The next day, Saturday, I could feel how bad my exposure to the sun was. My mental capacity was not all there, and my shoulders were in pain. So, when I heard from Karl that he could not meet up that day I was slightly relived, though also disappointed. Relieved to not have to cope with that much pain, while pursuing the pleasure and fun ;)
However, Sunday I was hoping to meet up with Karl before my flight back west, yet, we failed to get in contact with each other until I was at the airport.
I guess this means I have to return to Toronto. . .

*Based on further research, I did it all wrong, but I still think it helped. I just threw some tea bags into the bath water, the proper thing to do is to:
- Brew a proper pot of tea, the stronger the better.
- Let the tea cool. It should not be cold, nor (obviously) hot.
- Soak a towel in the tea and wrap the burned area with the towel, or bath in it (which could require lots of tea bags).

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Oh My!

This trip has gone by quick, and the daring things mentioned in my last post (HNT 18 - Mt Royal), almost don't compare to what happened the next day (after the post - Friday 6 June).

Unfortunately my plane's about to board, so I don't have time to post the entire story of "Nude Canadian Boy goes to Hanlan's Point (nude beach in Toronto)" But stay tuned, I'll be posting it within the week (perhaps as my next HNT).