Earl Grey

I think it’s more the manner of which it is written, because the old guard basically gaslit everyone and promoted conspiracies that worshipped qanon and 8chan, along with something involving pizza in DC. In other words: they’re asking that people don’t post the way joeblast did with his aggressive and belligerent manner and post something more critical, but erring on the safe side, it may be better to avoid the topic since it will create a lot of contention as the opening post did. I know Joe is a buddy of yours and respect that and your group, but the old thread turned into a shouting match and too much disinformation posted that poisoned the well for many here to be receptive to conservative views, and that will take time to heal. It’s made worse because those same people promoting weird values like separating kids from families and leaving them in shitty conditions were also people talking about virtue and cultivating, so it seemed like a bizarre paradox to many. Here’s hoping conservative views can be said and dialogue too, but so far, most conservative views posted so far are reactionary, opinion-based, and combative, which in turn leads to butting heads. It would be cool if you were someone who begins that by posting something in an eloquent and amicable manner though since I’ve seen your own posts are fairly level-headed. One possible way of healing the rift, but who knows?

I think it’s the phrasing that confused ralis because I can see you’re not a Trump supporter, yet also remain critical of other institutions.

Three pages in and people still can’t stay on topic... Sorry Walker.

You created a new thread and created the drama there, beginning with tagging my name and making zero apologies for that or any of the behavior already outlined in that thread in spite of changing the thread title after it was pointed out by me. Damned because you missed the point and began talking about The Topic That Must Not Be Named in the new thread even when I did not even allude to it at all until you kept bringing it up and putting words in my mouth. Do not post here further about that--continue it over there in your original thread if you must, cease and desist here. ..."If I say so."

This thread's original post really should be incorporated as the main rules of the site. The rest of the thread is sadly a demonstration of what was wrong with some people who were administering this forum and the abuse of power.

https://gizmodo.com/the-taboo-treatment-how-fecal-transplants-save-lives-5893234

Because you know that this isn't a dialogue or up for debate from Sean, it's also very easy to pick apart a lot of what you're saying, which is really based off of personal, normative values rather than positive facts and information. To save time and make sure the forum does not get even one chance to allow the right-wing bullshit and Trump apologists to grow and fester here like fungus from the dank, sweaty corners full of rot and foetor found in dirty gym locker rooms, I will respond partially point-by-point here. Rightfully so--he was already a controversial individual prior to his political debut, even without the leaked information about him or the meddlesome manner in which he was brought into power. Logical fallacy: appeal to pity. He has an abysmal understanding of what his job is given that people are constantly reminding him the limits of his powers, which he has either outright ignored or had complete disinterest in honoring either the letter or the spirit of the law. Logical fallacy: appeal to pity. Much like admiring the child who begins to lie more and more even though his hands and teeth show that he's had access to the cookie jar and his lies become all the more entertaining because he honestly believes the appeal to absurdity and audacity will win. Logical fallacy: appeal to pity. Which speaks to his and his supporters absence of understanding 1) how those funds are allocated, 2) the voluntary desire and policy of the US since the Cold War and post-Cold War order to have more power and influence through its dollars, 3) the relationships built on trust and reciprocity, which is measured with more than solely financial contributions. Logical fallacy: sweeping generalization. You should, given that he was not only using aid promised by the country for his individual gain, but both harming the existing relationship with Ukraine and endangering them, and damaging the integrity of diplomacy. Logical fallacy: wishful thinking. Yes, it would have. Logical fallacy: poisoning the well. He very much is a politician based on both the tactics he employs and possesses the characteristics of the people he claimed to be "draining the swamp" of before. Logical fallacies: style over substance, hasty generalization, logical inconsistency, missing the point. The media as a whole is not the enemy, and this is common rhetoric used in highly authoritarian regimes with extreme punitive responses to criticism. Parts of the media are questionable, but to deny facts and research is not helpful for a thriving society or community. Logical fallacy: poisoning the well. His confrontation has been more damaging financially to US consumers than it has been to China. Logical fallacy: hasty generalization. Hitler and Stalin, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes Czechoslovakia, then comes Austria, then comes Poland and an end to their marriage of convenience! Look at Syria now. I wonder how people felt when they saw the US relationship with Saddam Hussein in the 1980s before retrospect and even with all the information about his dubious rule. Or with Pinochet and all the other Latin American strongmen. Logical fallacies: appeal to emotion, appeal to pity, wishful thinking. And yet it does affect the American and global economy. Whiskey alone has been affected by Brexit and both Scots and Americans are affected by it. Logical fallacy: appeal to spite. A businessman who refuses to release his own taxes, has declared bankruptcy multiple times, has had a documented history of abuses against tenants and partnerships, including Trump University and Deutschebank. Logical fallacies: wishful thinking, appeal to emotion, appeal to authority, false equivalence, false conclusion. Logical fallacies: false equivalence, poisoning the well, false conclusion, appeal to emotion. Depends on whom you ask. Logical fallacy: wishful thinking. Logical fallacies: appeal to pity, appeal to ridicule, conspiracy theory... Logical fallacies: appeal to fear, appeal to pity, conspiracy theory, poisoning the well, wishful thinking. There is no question that they have also had their fair share of dubious behavior, but not at the level of Trump. Logical fallacies: false equivalence, begging the question, appeal to fear, appeal to pity, conspiracy theory, hasty generalization, missing the point, repetition, slippery slope, strawman, false analogy... Me too.

Tin Yat is someone whose "system" I will go out on a limb to say that it is more dangerous to study with him than it is to make up your own nonsense from the misinformation out there that people get from YouTube videos and books or DVDs by popular teachers whose names I will not mention here. I should also mention that one of his own pathetic attempts to describe demons in Buddhism was laughable. For starters, he believes Buddhism is demonic and especially attacks Tibetan Buddhism, but also fails to understand that there are many sects of Buddhism, not even realizing Pure Land, Vajrayana, and Theravada are all different. Guess whose picture he posted as a demonic entity? Akuma/Gouki, a character from Street Fighter. It's like he's not even trying...

There was no need to edit the original post; honestly, I agree that calling someone out and starting a topic about it is a faux pas, as it was clearly understood to be when you were administering things here. Given that it seemed to not be seen as a big deal by Sean after you all were removed from your positions, I still felt that the spirit of that self-moderation rule of not calling someone out and starting a thread is still something to be honored. The reason I broke that personal rule and unspoken social agreement is that I am at the end of my rope here, and a lot of people don't seem to be able to focus on the topic of their threads when they're constantly reminding and asking Everything to STOP. It isn't just about placing a member on ignore, especially when he quotes us and edits our posts--it's that others who have yet to place him on ignore also get affected as he pushes his agenda of the same nonsense EVERYWHERE. I created this initially with the intent to make this a petition for action. I created this as a Xanatos gambit to get people talking about it anyway to bring the focus of Everything here instead of multiple threads telling him to leave, and a possible solution to be created short of banning him. I created this because it will get Sean's attention, just like it got everyone else's attention. Whatever consequences await me--for better or for worse--I take full responsibility for and have no regrets about opening Pandora's Box here.

This was done to me in a WMP thread a few months ago, and when it was brought up, the user was full of impunity, while Sean’s response was, “Are you offended?” about my name being used. The thread title was changed, but the main lesson there was that we’re on our own in a dynamic anarchic state that to me means we do what we can ourselves--until it’s a dealbreaker scenario for Sean to step in and eliminate things, like an individual who had the audacity to actually praise Hitler in another thread, leading to his instant dismissal. To me, we are in a state of forum anarchy, and this has actually been a part of my plan to stop pretending things like Everything and his constant spamming are “okay” and actually address them. If it gets everyone’s attention and creates dialogue, fantastic, even though my petition here was an attempt to get action more than attention. At the very least, the people I know reporting this will bring this to Sean’s attention, eventually. I’m willing to be the fall guy now if need be, because it had to be said.

You probably never read this mandate from Sean the owner before you came back to post, but you probably should if you want to stay here. Or you can leave.

This is a question that is already answered on the DVD, but as a reminder: closing breaths are only done AT THE END OF THE EXERCISE. If you're doing Monk Serves Wine, you do this only after SEVEN repetitions. If you do this for something like Bending the Bow, you do this after you have completed the desired number of repetitions, NOT after each one. As a reminder for others, PLEASE DO NOT CREATE NEW TOPICS IN THE FORUM. ONLY POST HERE IN THE MAIN THREAD.

Usually, people message privately if necessary to help someone save face, but if it’s for the edification of the other person and reminder for everyone else to follow as well, it’s equally necessary itself. If someone is off topic or deviating from the spirit of the conversation and there’s no public reprimand, others may not understand decorum for the thread and seek to turn it into nonsense about “Fred and individuals should not be placed onto a pedestal” or “Mr. Rogers is part of a CIA conspiracy for colonialism” or other such irrelevant garbage. Also, it reminds us the way good neighbors behave rather than ignoring that what goes in over in a neighbor’s house is not your business—it is for the safety and well-being of a community as a whole. Do you leave your neighbors to play their music loud enough for the whole block to get upset? Do you leave domestic abuse as a matter between adults or parents and their children? Public engagement is necessary when it is, and discernment of when a private reminder or public one requires grace and sensitivity—something too many people in this thread need to dedicate more attention to in the interest of being good neighbors.

The problem is that he invades every thread and brings it off topic, even quoting others and leaving huge walls of nothing. But hey, if you like him and want him, you can have him! Just promise to keep him out of here and feed his need to blabber without asking us to give some time too.

Absolutely. I've had people offer one of my masters not just 3x what they normally charge, but to fly them to China each week to train them because the level of skill he has for Xin Yi no longer exists in China for the public to find (arguably may not even exist anymore...).

Tin Yat is a false comparison to people who actually have skill, wisdom, tradition, and something worth teaching. I believe a master can charge whatever they want because it's not just the prestige of that knowledge and skill that will transform your lives, it's the fact they need to babysit people who just want power. And people who want power or skill for free are kidding themselves.

Amazing, Everything manages to sound like a troll derailing HIS OWN THREAD. He asks how to stay on topic and then when people answer, he just dances like a fairy and goes back to his conversation with himself, completely disregarding what is said in honor of what was perceived to be the spirit of self-edification, which has now proved to be more of his usual senseless mental masturbation.

Comprehension is not your strong point it seems. You're an absolute waste of time--do not associate me with your bullshit. I made one attempt, and you have demonstrated it is better to have you banned from this forum for everyone's sanity from your stubbornness.

It is clear as day what it means to be on topic, which begins with NOT doing the things that go off topic. Others can chime in, but at this point, I won't waste any further breath one someone who refuses to learn.

Simple: do not push your own unrelated agenda and derail from the intent stated on the OP, and talk with people instead of over them and at them, especially since you are drowning them with a sermon in every thread. Staying concise really helps too. If people are talking about fried chicken, they don’t want some vegan fundamentalists telling them that meat is evil or some yogi saying that not eating meat makes you more spiritual—they’re talking about recipes and good places to eat it. You come in and tell people that chicken is part of the infinite and we find the fried and the meat within us and don’t need it—that is NOT ON TOPIC.

In most suicide interventions, I've found that this works half the time--not because someone offed themselves when it failed, but it made them feel more upset that "nobody cared" and "people were deliberately trying to piss them off instead of help" as they saw it. What's amusing is that there is an old One Piece anime episode where the gang was trying to prevent a whale character from feeling suicidal and killing himself, and the main character, Captain Luffy, starts pissing him off, calling him names, and hitting him. The whale gets pissed off as Luffy runs away and reasons that by pissing off the whale and fighting him, he inspires the whale to have a new raison d'etre, which is beating the shit out of someone who annoyed and offended him, from training to have the capacity to challenge Luffy to needing to search the ends of the earth to find him and destroy him. Now obviously that isn't necessarily what's going to happen in this situation, but there are many limitations to what we can do as concerned individuals online dealing with someone whose willingness to help himself is limited by his stubbornness and baffling priorities of thinking it isn't worth paying for professional help from a therapist or an Ayurveda or TCM doctor like Eric Isen. So how do you reason with that? It sounds more like he wants to vent and wants people to listen and play the game, but he's had other threads about suicide before in the past and it seems to me more like he's venting.

Three diversions from topic and Walker and the rest of us can’t seem to pull in a crowd who read the articles and stay on topic. Remember the song “My Sharona”? Replace “Sharona” with “agenda” and sing, “Ma—ma-ma-ma-my agenda!” Oh, Mr. Rogers. The neighborhood isn’t the same these days. On topic: the above video is a great example of how he touched lives and how the parody above plays with the idea.

“Sir, this is an Arby’s drive-thru.”

https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2019/11/prison-libraries-book-bans-california-sacramento-reading-rehabilitation/ Way to lock up people, treat them as problems, then take the "out of sight, out of mind" approach. Convicts? Yes. Humans? Yes. Give them their rights and dignity, you monsters.

The above workout to me looks like it moves the energy around for Wind Above Clouds and Wind Through Tree Tops to the trunk of the body and stretches the spine, relaxes the back, and abdomen. Bending the Bows brings energy into the tummy and LDT in a flowing movement. Monk Holding Pearl relaxes the body completely as the qi is circulating and Holding the Cosmic Egg (Basic Seated Meditation #3, 50-10-50) holds all energy in place, at least from what I see and experienced.