THE TV SUTRAS


As soon as I sit down to meditate a car alarm goes off, loud, insistent EEHHH
EEHHH EEHHH EEHHH EEHHH. I get up from the living room floor and walk to
the back of the apartment to see if it's quieter. The EEHHH EEHHH EEHHH
EEHHH EEHHH is even louder. There's no escaping it. I either have to meditate
through it or give up. So, I sit down again in the hellish noise and focus on my
breathing. The TV Sutras is an inspired text born from a crisis of urban
bombardment. EEHHH EEHHH EEHHH.
I use "inspired" in the spiritual sense, as a text that is dictated or revealed. For
example, each day between noon and 1 p.m., Aiwass, The Lord of Silence,
dictated the Book of Law to Aleister Crowley in the spring of 1904. And then
there's Moses who climbed Mount Sinai so God could dictate the Ten
Commandments to him. For The Urantian Book space aliens spoke through a
sleeping man named Wilfred Kellogg in Chicago, Illinois, USA. For The Book of
Mormon, Joseph Smith dropped a magical seer stone into his hat, then buried
his face in the hat, and in the darkness a spiritual light shined, revealing a
parchment. On that parchment strange writing appeared, one character at a
time, and under it, conveniently, was the English translation. At Delphi, the priest
would seat an illiterate woman on a great bronze tripod over a vaporous crack in
the ground. The woman would chew laurel leaves and enter a trance. From her
incoherent babbling the priest would interpret sacred messages. Stories abound
of people who crouched in caves, climbed craggy cliffs, dragged their asses
through the desert, roughed it in the wilderness, starved, sweated, flagellated
themselves, drank brews that made them retch, smoked weed, dug through
animal entrails to receive inspiration from the beyond.
In receiving the TV Sutras, I wanted to see if I could attune myself to messages
that are broadcast to the living room of my San Francisco apartment. My
method: I do a half hour yoga set while watching the DVD Peaceful Weight Loss
through Yoga. Then I turn off the DVD player and TV, and sit cross legged on
the floor, facing the television, and meditate for twenty minutes. I breathe in,
wait, breathe out, wait, breathe in, wait . . . try to accept whatever arises,
internally or externally. I do not close my eyes because closed eyes are duality,
I've been told, while open eyes are oneness. When my mind wanders I say to
myself "thinking," and refocus on my breath. When I finish meditating I crawl off
my cushion and turn the TV back on. Words and images emerge. There's a
flash of recognition and my hand scribbles furiously: I transcribe the first words
that strike me, then I briefly describe the scene from which the TV sutra arose. I
take a breath, scoot against the wall (actually a bookcase) and quickly write my
commentary. Sometimes my interpretation surprises me. Sometimes I disagree
with it. But I write down whatever comes. I do not attempt irony, cleverness or
perfection—or art even. The TV Sutras are totally in-the-moment sincere, even if
that sincerity makes me cringe afterwards. The project began July 14, 2009, and
there currently are 72 sutras.
 
 


TV Sutras



Sutra 1
 
It's good to see you.
 
Petite woman talking to dark-haired man.
 
Commentary:  Now the teachings begin.  Showing up is the first step.
 
 
Sutra 2
 
FDA approved.
 
Voice over image of woman with big dark eyes.
 
Commentary:  This is the right path to be taking.
 
 
Sutra 3
 
Do you believe I'm in more deep shit than you are.
 
Dark haired man talking to blonde woman in car.
 
Commentary:  Do not be discouraged by past difficulties.  It's all a continuum.
Start where you are.
 
 
Sutra 4
 
Hey, hey, you scored.
 
Man and woman frantically looking for child in crowd.  Two orange balloons high 
in sky.  Street vendor exclaims, "Hey, hey, you scored!" but woman ignores him.
 
Commentary:  Do not be so caught up in frantic life seekings that you can’t 
acknowledge the blessings in front of you.  Grace appears in the most unlikely of 
circumstances.
 
 
Sutra 5
 
Do you want to come back to your place?
 
Man and woman in bar.
 
Commentary:  Focus on getting back to the basics/beginning anew.  Establish a 
home base you can return to.
 
 
Sutra 6
 
Silent sutra.
 
Woman at desk writing.  She finishes a manuscript, a novel, smiling proudly.  
She ties it with a piece of twine and inserts a red rose in the twine.
 
Commentary:  The grace of a project well done.  No words are necessary when 
you're in a state of perfect harmony.  At a some point the breath you breathe will 
be your final breath.  Take in the glory of each breath, its preciousness.
 
 
Sutra 7
 
I haven't done those kind of movies in years.
 
Woman bartender talking to man.  She's smiling.  Man is discombobulated 
because she's misunderstanding his offer.  As the woman looks back fondly,
she's sexy, with a twinkle in her eye.
 
Commentary:  Time to own the past, to allow that energy to infuse the present.  
Allow desire back into your life, the freshness of encounter.
 
 
Sutra 8
 
Stops more leaks than the next leading brand.
 
End of tampon commercial.
 
Commentary:  Think of all the friends you've had fallings out with.  This is a sort 
of leaking, the leaking away of love.  Distraction and lack of focus are also forms 
of leaking: losing track of what is valuable and meaningful.  Practice is a form of 
containment, a means to hold what is most dear.
 
 
Sutra 9
 
I don't understand why we should part at prom when it's our last prom.  We 
should have a good time.
 
Young woman with long straight hair talking to unseen interviewer.
 
Commentary:  Take pleasure in existence.  Savor the connections between self 
and others, between self and body.  Savor each moment in this festival of 
evanescence.
 
 
Sutra 10
 
Think what you like, but I want to get in that room and interrogate him myself.
 
Woman in suit talking with man in suit.
 
Commentary:  We must experience things for ourselves rather than relying on 
the word of others.  We must be forceful and vigorous in pursuing our path, in 
seeking entry into new worlds.
 
 
Sutra 11
 
Right in this dressing room, look at it.
 
Voice over by man remembering being a baby in a soccer locker room.  Pix of 
locker room with baby superimposed.
 
Commentary:  Look at what is before you.  When you really look it, the present 
always resonates back to your origins.  Look at the world with the freshness of an 
infant.  Focus not on the game itself, but on the sanctuary of preparation, one's 
practice/personal sanctuary.  Be present in it.
 
 
Sutra 12
 
in be–be in–be g in–begin
 
Flat blue background, bold white san serif "in" appears, then beside it, "be."  They 
switch places, then a "g" joins them and they fuse together to form "begin."  
Simultaneously, the words are sung by a chorus of unseen muppets.  A book 
floats across the screen and opens.
 
Commentary:  Now is the time to begin, to be in.  Rest inward, be grounded 
within oneself, and the book will get written.  Think of a new project as a 
pleasurable, light experience rather than a burden or task.  Take joy in writing.
 

Sutra 13
 
A is for Arthur, B is for bear, C is for computer.  At the library, at the library, get 
yourself a card and you've got yourself a key.
 
ABCs sung by unseen woman.  Images flash to represent the words.  Library 
refrain sung by unseen chorus.
 
Commentary:  Proceed with openness and the answers are waiting for you.  
Arthur = the realm of myth/the primordial.  Bear = animal nature.  Connect to 
these forces and sit down to the computer, write—find the key.
 
 
Sutra 14
 
Wait for me driver.  I'll be right back.
 
Man getting out of cab.
 
Commentary:  Keep returning to the practice.  It will always be there waiting for 
you.  Life will also be waiting for you—no need to cling to it during practice.  This 
is the key to focus.  Leave competing demands behind.
 
 
Sutra 15
 
"Betsy!"  "Okay Dad."  "Joan!"  "Okay Dad."
 
Man asleep.  Woman asleep.  Alarm ringing.  Both try to shut it off.  Man 
succeeds.  Puts feet in slipper.  Closes window.  Goes to closet, gets robes for 
himself and wife.  The couple give each other meaningful eye contact.  Man goes 
down hall, knocks on door, and shouts "Betsy!" Girl shouts back, "Okay Dad."  
Then man shouts, "Joan," and girl shouts back, "Okay Dad."  Man takes cover off 
bird cage.  Bird tweets.
 
Commentary:  When it's time to awaken, get up, heed the call.  Proceed in a 
calm, inward manner, purposely taking one step after the other.  Make an 
intention and follow through.  Help others with their intents as well.  Focus on 
action rather than analysis.  Create purposeful rituals and follow them.
 
 
Sutra 16
 
Who says you have to have 12 periods a year on the pill.
 
Montage of young women repeating, "Who says."