Lost in Translation

For the same reason that some prefer cinnamon tiramisu while others prefer french vanilla..?

I agree. I know an acupuncturist who is also a very wise man. He once said that large cities are the best places to achieve enlightenment since such places test you on a daily basis.

Could we get a thread with copies of the previous TDB banner images? It would be fun to have a Dao Bums Chinese Zodiac.

I think this goes hand in hand with the thread from several weeks ago about simplicity. The allure to a simple life like this is strong, but no electricity? No hot water? Thank you, no.

But he's dancing! happy, happy pig! Gong hay fat choy!

I love it!

OMG! Never. Never, never, never! I have nightmares about getting pulled into sinkholes and buried alive, and don't get me started about the sudden subterranean flash-floods. No, no, no, thank you!

My life only really began changing when I discovered mindfulness. Living in the moment, here, now - aware of my own thoughts, my own feelings, my own actions. Insanity creeps back in when I forget to be present, but the "insanity events" are getting shorter, and fewer, and more time passes between them.

And feeling! Pay attention to what you are feeling.

I heartily agree. Watching, observing, being mindful, being present, living in the moment, living in the now - whatever you choose to call it - is the key. This is 24/7 - like breathing, except unlike breathing one can forget for a long time.

Al Gore said the same thing in 1990, and again in 2000. It's a religion to them.

There is no darkness. There is only shadow. Light can exist without shadow, but only when there is nothing to shine upon. As soon as there is something to shine upon then shadow is born. A good question to ask is why cling to shadow? Why fear the light?

IIRC it takes 15 posts to fully unlock that area. Hun Dun are the sewers of the Dao Bums. Make sure you have hip-waders before you spend time there.

The moon last night was gorgeous. I could not see the full eclipse from my location, but even the partial eclipse was amazing. The moon turned reddish brown. Fantastic!

I see fear as the opposite of love, which at first is counter intuitive. One would think that hatred is opposite of love, but that's not true, if for no other reason than hatred is a derived emotion - it springs from fear. Love and fear are primary. From love comes courage, faith, endurance, joy. From fear come sadness, depression, envy, jealously, anger and hatred. Knowing this it seems like conquering of fear is most important. I suppose that's true, but what does it mean to conquer fear? Does that mean not fearing? No, I don't think so. Quite the opposite it means loving fear. Loving fear, embracing fear, holding it close as a dear friend. Much better to love fear and to fear love.

My favorite is "Prince of Peace Organic Jasmine Green Tea," sold in packs of 100. https://www.amazon.com/Prince-Peace-Organic-Green-Jasmine/dp/B000K31LT6 I drink coffee by day and tea by night. Mm, so good!

Possibly. We have almost 20,000 posts on this very topic over in Hun Dun...

You are welcome! 😝

Talking, thinking, practicing - are all forms of doing without doing. It's not the real deal, anymore than reading Playboy is sex, but that's not important. It's not supposed to be real. It's supposed to open the mental/emotional/physical channels in preparation for what will be real. It's supposed to clear out that slight hesitation that means the difference between survival and death.

One could say this about everything. It's all just jerking off until it's not. But if that's so then why bother talking at all?

That's pretty much my sentiments, but let me pose a variant on this hypothetical situation. Imagine there is a child on a field. Surrounding the field there is a fence. If the child touches the fence then a bomb will blow up. Just for drama let's make it a very big bomb - a nuclear bomb. Everyone is telling the child to stay where he is, but the child is scared. He does not understand so he runs towards the fence. The choice is clear: the life of one child or the lives of millions. Do you shoot the child now?

I think not, mainly because the world is not what it once was so neither are those who live in it. That said, how does one translate a life from two thousand years ago to today? Would Buddha write books? Would Jesus found a megachurch? Who knows?!?

I am so confused...