Michael Sternbach

Interesting that "South American", as it seems, isn't a commonly used term in North America, though.

In German anyway, absolutely yes.

I am talking about the difference between outer and inner reality. The former includes all the 'objects' we are aware of plus some we are not aware of, as well as all their 'output' in terms of light, acoustic waves etc. that make them perceivable. The latter includes our perception and interpretation of that output, as well as our thoughts, emotions etc. Though I would be the first to agree the internal and the external are connected in wondrous ways, practically speaking, we must distinguish between them or we are in deep doo-doo.

It is a profound question. It warrants many posts.

Neither the light rays nor what they have been emitted or reflected from.

This has already been answered before:

Either way works, though.

If you are from one of the South American countries, you may be called a South American. Simple enough, huh?

Besides Puerto Rico, there are also a bunch of other Carribean and Pacific islands currently under the dominion of the Donald. Been to Guam once. Lovely beachside!

Marbles (along with the rest of us) experiences things in his consciousness, including things that are not contained within it/him, though. Otherwise Marbles would be God (which, arguably, he actually is e.g. from a Hinduist perspective, but I believe that for all intents and purposes, he is already operating to full capacity, having become the Lord of the Internet).

As seen from our subjective (nevertheless valid) view, Heaven is infinite expanse, and Earth is at the centre of the latter. And you are right, the expanse encompasses its centre.

Can I have California, please? But if that's too much to ask, I will content myself with SoCal.

Does this mean you support capital punishment? Even for attempted rape? That depends. I assume that those cowardly assailants were expecting her to be an easy victim - when they met with resistance, they quickly gave up. Note, she didn't knock them out, she just chased them away. Still, she did a good job, of course. So you think prisons should be places of victimization? And you seem to expect that that would make better humans out of those guys. But isn't it more likely that it would actually reinforce their "eat/be eaten" type of belief system? Making them just wait for their chance to turn the tables? Personally, I suspect that to be a mechanism that contributes to the considerable recidivism rates for prisoners in the US and elsewhere. The philosophy of personal responsibility for what happens to you (and I believe that's what TT referred to) is a sensitive and (apparently) rather complex topic. We had an interesting thread on it a little while ago. At any rate, it does not involve 'placing criticism on a victim', nor does it suggest they may have 'deserved' what experienced. Such concepts are based on a dualistic perspective, which that philosophy transcends altogether. By the same token, aforesaid philosophy also doesn't excuse anybody's behaviour - you could even say that whatever consequences that behaviour entails were attracted by them as well. On another note, severity of punishments can vary greatly from one place to another, according to whatever a majority of people in a given society (or in some cases, an elite) regards as 'just'. Jurisdictions are very much man-made and reflect the values of a particular society, for better or worse. But how effective is threatening people with punishment really as far as preventing destructive behaviour is concerned? While on the current level of human development, some form of punishment seems indispensable, I favour the approach taken e.g. by some penal institutions in Holland, which offer encounter groups and behavioural therapies to their inmates. If memory serves, I have heard of similar undertakings in the US as well. And in regards to your previous post: I am glad you noticed that yourself. I certainly agree to that, and I would add awareness as one of the most valuable qualities that martial arts teach. In conclusion: Trust me, I do understand where you come from and I am actually able to empathize with you regarding much of what you expressed in this thread so far (at least at certain moments). However, the matter didn't leave me in peace... This is a forum for spiritual discussion, and you have touched on some questions that I feel every individual on a 'consciousness journey' needs to reflect upon at some stage. Hence my thoughts and conclusions as the result of my own reflections... Peace Michael

Perhaps contemplate hexagram 12, "Standstill". Also, I find this video quite beautiful - and potentially helpful, if you meditate about its message. Hope this helps.

Okay, got it. Interesting terminology though, which obviously goes back to the old Aristotelian natural philosophy. According to it, things below the sphere of the moon (read: earthly things) were tainted, to one degree or another. Only what existed in the celestial world above it was absolutely pure and perfect.

Does Buddhism, or do Asians, talk in terms of 'sublunary desires' too? I thought it's a purely Occidental concept. That's how I was taught to sit in Zazen. And that's the practice of a Buddhist school (although influenced by Daoism).

It's Zen's fault that our forests are getting destroyed.

Living in fullness.

It depends on what you mean by fighting. A fight (read: self-defence situation) using Kenpo Karate usually doesn't last longer than two seconds.

Very interesting! Just awesome how you and Wandelaar carried out this study right off the bat! According to the quoted sentence which I highlighted, you are still going to post the percentage of occurence for each hexagram? I would love to see that!

Even Superman has his kryptonite.

The way I read this: From the harmonious interaction of two opposites, a third thing is born.

Silence

I got that, but could you summarize all the results and conclusions drawn so far please?

That doesn't count.