rocala

@Zorro Dantes Two of the best music videos that I have ever seen. Thanks for posting.

I love to listen to this now and again. Just to remember when I started to live.

This always sends a shiver down my spine.

You might ask what is to not be afraid? As a young man my grandfather worked with a number of First World War veterans and therefore heard some pretty horrible stories. He was in conversation with one of these men and made some remark about the difficulty of coping with extreme fear. The man told him that he had gone through the whole war as a front line soldier but had never really felt true fear. He "just got on with it". He told how he returned home, without a scratch, and resumed work. One day he was walking through a long unlit rail tunnel, when he tripped over what turned out to be a sack of vegetables. He said that he was there in the dark and was suddenly back between the trenches and the sack was a body. He said that he was too scared to move for some time literally paralyzed with fear. When he could move he ran, just kept running until he could go no more. So whatever fear is, it is not necessarily a passing moment.

I had been going through a period when my meditation was not going well. I usually do breath counting and sometimes metta bhavana. I was going to stay at a community in the countryside, which had a building set aside for meditation. Each morning there is a one hour silent meditation. I thought this was just what I need. First two days, just an hour of monkey mind each morning. In the house that I stayed in there was a large collection of books which I enjoyed browsing through. I saw a quote in one book that struck me as really beautiful and I had the idea of meditating on it. So on the third morning I gave it a try. I don't recall anything except a sort of day dream in which I was standing in a wheat field. The sun was very hot and was hurting my eyes a little. I was clothed differently, my arms and legs were bare. Then the gong sounded end of session. A whole hour had gone in what felt like seconds. I was a little puzzled but had a very strong feeling of peace which was with me for most of the day. That was about 5-6 years ago but when I think about it I can still feel the sun on my face and the wheat against my legs and left hand. It was all so incredibly real. Strangely I could not recall a word of the quote nor could I remember which book it was from. I have no idea what I experienced that morning.

Very true I believe. I am far from a beginner, but at what point do we stop being beginners, if we ever do?

Thank you @dwai I feel that this is good advice. When it happened I was away for two weeks. This involved both study and social/community activities. Pretty busy and things can get pushed aside. Lately though it keeps coming to mind.

You are so right. The thing is so odd because I have a very good memory for words. This was also something that I had found to be striking and had made a point of memorizing it. I am sure this was no ordinary memory lapse.

I have tried this quite a few times over the years and the result was usually good. As time goes by the effect seems weaker. When writing the post I did find myself smiling, the recollection then was quite strong.

May I offer my condolences regarding your tragic loss. You have given a lot of information, may I ask for a little more, so as to make the situation a little more clear. How do you know it was your hair? How do you think the hair was obtained? What did you do with the hair? May I confirm that you do mean "transplants" if so what organs were transplanted, or are you referring to transfusions? What is the official cause of death? How do you know that the rat was boiled alive? How do you know it was from his wife? Were either of you targets for previous attempts at cursing?

And the same to you Limahong.

If I recall correctly Matthew does not mention three Magi, only the number of presents that they bring. I believe the visit took place at a house so I am not sure if we can say where or when this happened, if it actually did.

Well Kornfield is certainly well qualified, but I guess not to every ones taste.

Nicely put @silent thunder that is what I was trying to say about "becoming one with the three realms" in the second post above. You are far more eloquent than me.

Thanks @steve I think I am on the right track. I was not considering something accumulative such as knowledge but rather something developmental, experiential.

Hello @steve I noticed that both books mentioned contained the word "certainty" in their titles. For the first time, somehow it stopped being a general term and I think maybe has quite amazing depth. Real certainty, in the context of dmattwads question has become much more profound and is somehow key to the whole thing. I am not expressing this very well, the idea has only just hit me. I would be interested if you have any comments.

I was once told of a system now probably extinct. My informant, who hoped to develop a system for the western world said that it owed its origins to yoga. There are three realms, environment, which takes priority, social and self. People must look after the natural world. In doing so they try to live with like minded people thus creating the "social" and they must look after them selves physically and spiritually. All activities become dedicated to the three realms. For example house building would ideally be a communal activity and use natural and sustainable material. The arts are encouraged and again communal and sustainable. The aim is to become one with the three realms and it involves the mindfulness, study, loving kindness, devotion and faith that you mention. I find the idea quite attractive, a sort of cross between an eco-village and a monastery. Without the celibacy of course. I think it is non denominational, he was a Quaker.

This article from Tricycle may be of interest. https://tricycle.org/magazine/no-self-or-true-self/ Here is an extract: When Christian texts speak of losing the self in God, when Taoists and Hindus speak of merging with a True Self beyond all identity, when Buddhists speak of emptiness and of no self, what do they mean? Emptiness does not mean that things don’t exist, nor does “no self” mean that we don’t exist. Emptiness refers to the underlying nonseparation of life and the fertile ground of energy that gives rise to all forms of life. Our world and sense of self is a play of patterns. Any identity we can grasp is transient, tentative. This is difficult to understand from words such as selflessness or emptiness of self. In fact, my own teacher Achaan Chah said, “If you try to understand it intellectually, your head will probably explode.”

Considering that human nature, whatever that is, has embraced everything from cannibalism to veganism and pacifism to war crimes, I certainly go for the conditioning option.

If you go to a doctor presumably you want him to tell you what is wrong. I don't really see why your spiritual well being should be treated or expressed any differently. You can always go for a second or third opinion. To be fair to Buddhism, at least as far my reading goes. When talking of right or wrong it is done in terms of skillfulness not moral outrage. Buddha did say go and try it for yourself, so I cannot consider this harsh.

That is good to know and something I hope to remember. Thank you.

I have only very recently discovered Rupert Spira. So far I am very impressed.

Recently, on another forum, a poster was attacked for expressing environmentalist views in conjunction with her Buddhist Practice. Are such worldly matters irreconcilable with the spiritual life?

I have just finished 'Never Let Me Go' by Kazuo Ishiguro. When as a teenager I read 1984, I was left with this cold fearful feeling. Fifty years later Never Let me Go has done it again. An incredible book by a superb author.

thanks @steve a highly informative post. That word "integration" seems to be popping up quite frequently in my reading. I am beginning to see just how important it is.