Aetherous

America just needs to create regulations...laws that protect the dollar from practices which hurt it. Don't allow American jobs to be outsourced, limit imports so that we create more jobs for those things here, have restrictions on businesses causing inflation by charging more than reasonable prices, make the creation of small businesses an easier process, and especially help the ones that will be most beneficial to the economy. Furthermore, we need to always maintain the minimum wage at a living wage level that reflects the current value of the dollar. Money can have a snowball effect...if people don't have sufficient money to spend, they won't buy from local businesses, and those businesses suffer, causing less people to work and the area has even less money. A downward spiral all caused by citizens not having enough money in the first place. But it can go the reverse way...if people have good paying jobs, they have extra money to spend, which means local businesses prosper and can hire more people (demand is up = supply must go up, so help must also increase), as well as maybe pay them more than the minimum (especially if there are labor unions), which means even more money for people and spending locally. The upward spiral. The only problem with this type of economic theory is that businesses will spike their prices when demand is up, and cause inflation, basically making the dollar worth less. But I already said, we can protect against inflation by simply restricting this greedy practice. American made products are known for their quality compared to other places. This means our exports can be highly valued, in addition to be worth buying for us. American quality of life is known to be better than most of the world (or at least it has been in the past). We can improve both of those things even more with laws that protect the dollar. We should not value the freedom of corporations so much that we allow them to destroy our country, and the freedom of its people. When you're doing well, paying off your debt is a breeze, and you have no reason to incur more.

A practice that calms the mind...for 15 minutes a day, pick something in nature to look at. When the mind wanders, bring it back to the object. Try to extend the times that you're only paying attention to the object with the mind not fluctuating elsewhere. A healthy lifestyle...go to sleep very shortly after it gets dark out every night, eat 3 balanced meals a day, exercise akin to more than an hour of walking daily, stay well hydrated with pure spring water. Calm and healthy...a solid foundation for other stuff.

If it's a day of mental or physical labor, then my body will start eating itself by like 10 am if I don't have a balanced macronutrient breakfast...my abdomen starts making lots of noises, feel the brain drain, don't have energy to do normal tasks, etc. I've tried lighter breakfasts for the sake of spirituality, just having toast or congee or oatmeal on its own...I didn't have health or normalcy until I added back in the protein and fat. So an easy breakfast for me is to scramble 3 eggs (protein) in a large coffee mug then microwave it until they're about to go over the edge...put some cheddar cheese, salt and pepper, maybe some hot sauce on top of the eggs...and also have 100% whole wheat toast (carb) with butter (fat). Could also take an orange and juice it to drink. Another breakfast I've done, if I want to be fancy...also have done this for other meals besides breakfast...I baked a yellow sweet potato (carb) (any kind of sweet potato would work), sliced down the center when done and put butter (fat) on it...with soft-to-medium boiled eggs (protein) on the side, broken so their yolks are running out...salt and pepper over all. Just simple ingredients. Takes like an hour to bake a sweet potato though. Lately I'm experimenting with this homemade cream of wheat: fresh grind some whole wheat berries so they're fairly coarse, the night before. Put them in twice as much water to soak (to reduce phytic acid), and cover overnight for 12 hours. In the morning, put that on the stove and also pour some milk in there. Cook until creamy, not soupy, consistency...then scoop into a bowl. Put a big dab of butter on top, with some salt and brown sugar to taste. I'm not sure how this one would work on a hard physical or mental labor kind of day, because there isn't a separate source of protein (maybe there is enough in the wheat with milk?)...but it's kept me full past lunch time on other days. Lately I've also been wanting to make: whole wheat toast, butter, fish roe...then have a little bit of yogurt with some berries in it on the side. Haven't ordered the right kind of roe yet to see how it would work. I think keta salmon would work, judging by how people describe its flavor.

Personal ethics, morality, right and wrong... On the spiritual path, do these bind us? Do they liberate us? Also, in the material world, do these bind us or help us? ... I've been looking for summer work, and just found the job of my dreams, which pays twice as much as I thought I could get. But a requirement for the job was having a year of experience in the past 3 years...when I personally had experience prior to that but not during that time. So the person hiring just said to ask a friend to say that I worked for them, and get the job. I had to turn down the offer due to personal ethics, of having honor in business deals and not lying. Living in the material world, this seemed to be very binding. Now I don't have a job that I actually like, and am not earning money that I would love. On the other hand...perhaps at times, one's integrity is looked upon and favored by others. Perhaps it gets us a higher position, whereas a liar would be outed and fired from a job for instance. Spiritually, did this problem bind me? I personally think that holding fast to our values is one thing that liberates us. Lets take Buddhist philosophy as an example...we're not to have attachment or aversion, or apathy. Holding values might be considered "attachment" to some...but actually I think doing anything for a quick buck is attachment, and that the common way of being displays an aversion to morality. Most people are apathetic or ignorant about how their breaking of virtues has consequences both for themselves and others. So, we can actually use our personal values as a tool for promoting non-attachment, etc. Holding onto them strongly can be liberating, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Absolutely disagree...what more needs to be said?

So I ended up getting a job somewhere else that fits my schedule perfectly and seems to have a cool boss. "So, wait...you're telling me that to get this job I don't even have to lie?" "Nope, you don't have to lie. Are you still interested?" "I'll take it!" (we didn't actually have that conversation) Not that my situation was the purpose of this thread, which is about ethics on the spiritual path.

What do you think of Huo Shen pai herbalism, or Hunyuan medicine, for this purpose?

Something I read last night... "When the flavors [consumed] are excessively bitter, the qi of the spleen is not soggy, and the qi of the stomach is strong." - Su Wen chapter 3, page 81, Unschuld's translation So, you saying that bitter is the opposite of sweetness is interesting, because excess sweetness as we know makes the Spleen "soggy" or damp, basically weakening the middle jiao...whereas bitter does the opposite according to this chapter. (not that it's a good idea to practice herbalism or food therapy from this idea alone!)

My view: the cultivation of ethics coincides with the expression of the Buddha nature - whether ethics are blossoming naturally in the consciousness due to cultivation methods, or even grace...or through structured ideas of how to act, or basically sets of rules. It has nothing to do with ethics if it's entirely contrived and purposeless, which is what most people here mistake for "structured ethics". There's a vast difference between ideas coming from reason/feeling/experience/wisdom, and ideas coming from meaningless abstraction. Nothing wrong with external rules on the spiritual path...but people don't like discipline.

Absolutely...life is rarely black and white with ethics, but requires weighing out what's better. If I had kids needing dinner and was down to my bottom dollar, I'd have knowingly lied in a heartbeat. Luckily in this situation it was black and white.

Off the wall idea that I'm not taking too seriously...and not that I care if it's changed or not: have the third gender option simply be "dao" (because it cannot be named). Then it also takes any stigma away from choosing the third option, because lots of people want to be the gender of dao. And it's truthful, since if reincarnation is real, we have been women and men throughout our times, but no matter what we are always part of the dao.

Here is what I'd serve your royalty... I make homemade organic 100% whole wheat bread, which has a long rising time to make it more digestible...toast a slice till crunchy. Whole wheat benefits the Heart in Chinese medicine, and in general is considered a healthy food when prepared correctly (long fermentation, baked, toasting it further helps) and taken in moderation. I also make fresh whipped butter by shaking organic whipping cream in a half filled mason jar for a long time...spread liberally at room temperature on the slice of toast after it has cooled (so the butter doesn't melt into the bread but stays creamy). Spoon salmon keta roe on top. A few slices of fresh radish on the side. Make a decoction of peach twigs in spring water (which has a beneficial effect in promoting goodness due to the peach tree's use for exorcism in Daoism or folk culture)...when cooled, add just enough fresh peach juice so that it's sweet tasting but not too sweet. Serve over ice because it's the summer time.

What are your symptoms from eating gluten?

I agree.

I disagree that it benefits no one...morality benefits everyone, despite immediate appearances.

I agree that's a great code for everyone to follow.

Oh, that sounds good and productive...my bad for assuming otherwise.

I went though something like what you describe, too. The best advice I have is similar to your own advice...all of this stuff is of the mind. You can just let it go and live in mundane reality. For instance, you're sitting in a room. You can look at the walls. You can feel the furniture holding you, and the floor on your feet. You can see them. All of that is mundane reality...and it's what is best to focus on. There are enjoyable aspects of mundane reality...like having a cup of oolong tea. The more you pay attention to the little details, the more full of life the world is...and more normal it is, too. Also, besides purposefully ditching all of the mind and all of your stories...it helps to get good sleep. Go to sleep when it gets dark out...sleep for a good 8 hours. tumoessence's advice is also good. Working for people, with people...doing something real, something that someone else imposes on you rather than just whatever whim you have...that can also help ground you.

Like...where someone actually hires you? Or just on your own volition?

Very true! I'm always working on the ability to think on my feet like that...one of my weaknesses is that I have a very hard time with it. Actually, in the moment I said something like, "well, okay, I will find a friend to do it"...I had one in mind who most likely would (always nice to have friends in low places)...and only later after the initial excitement wore off, did I realize that this was a sort of test in my spiritual path and I could either choose the path, or not...so immediately contacted her again to say that I can't ask someone to lie for me. It's good to have your wits about you, and mine usually aren't, unfortunately.

Absolutely. It may not seem so immediately (getting drunk is awesome fun!), but with reflection we can see this truth (hangoversssss).

These terms are good things to be when it comes to these types of situations, for people like me. Not everyone chooses the same type of life. Without being prideful and pompous, I don't regret my choice...actually I'm very happy that the choice was clearly presented to me, because it's often hard to know right from wrong and I often make so many wrong choices...but I do feel the sting of missing out on that money, of course. The sting is irrelevant to me, though.

Of course...but that's not good reason to join in and do it to others, myself. Actually it's reason not to do it...one less liar in the world makes the world a better place. Of course no one is perfect...but being imperfect is not good reason to choose the wrong path when you're presented with a clear choice. More importantly, when you've already chosen spiritual cultivation as your path. I personally disagree with your ideas of the Dao and god...I don't think Daoism is nihilist by any means. The Hua hu jing is good to read.

It is certainly the way the world works, and most people would laugh at my foolishness in this situation. The spiritual path is different from all of that, though. Well, lets say that happened. But in order to make that good thing happen, I myself had to lie, and also had to convince a friend to tell a lie for me...it just wasn't acceptable for me to do, to knowingly do the wrong thing (and additionally have someone else knowingly do the wrong thing) when my primary goal in life is spiritual development. Would my heart be conflicted the whole time after lying and working for them? No...I'd be rolling in dough and enjoying my work...but the thing about values is you either hold yourself to them, or you really don't have them at all. Do I want to be lied to, ever? No...I highly value the truth and knowing exactly where I stand, no matter what. So therefore, I shouldn't lie to others about anything, if possible. Not that I should always be brutally honest in all things (because not everyone is into that of course), but when it comes to blatantly lying to others, that is unacceptable. To do what I hate others doing would be very short sighted of me.

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