bradley

I don't think its quite "switch off your mind" Though, idk. I think its more not clinging onto to thoughts as they arise, like the dzogchen technique. Like if you are driving down the freeway, your mind is very active, but that activity arises naturally. But if you are consciously thinking, oh yeah there is a turn up there, and I need to turn the steering wheel to the right 5 degrees, and then back two degrees, while letting off of the accelerator, and consciously trying to think through every movement, your car is going to be all over the place. just drive the f-ing car, and dont worry about it. I don't really know anything about this, or if that is what she was saying, but I agree on the cat thing. Now the real hero in the story is the monk who stole the tofu, and got away with it. This required some planning on his part.

I think you are on to something here. I was up all night thinking about this. There are so many inconsistencies in the story. First, cats generally don't eat tofu. Second, tofu is denser than water and typically does not float. It would be quite a miraculous thing if the density of a single piece were to instantaneously change causing it to float to the surface. Finally cats hate water, and it seems unlikely that one would be digging through milky tofu water in the middle of the night. Maybe I've been watching too much Columbo, but all of these little things add up to this: It was not a cat that stole the tofu, it was the sentry, and he just blamed it on a cat.

Cat bowl is broken hungry fur skims owners leg feigning affection

For breakfast - you’ll live forever! Agreed - you will live forever.

What do you think about chen style? ive been learning the chen competition frame an i am hooked...

tobaco is nightshade, so that makes sense. there are lots of other chemicals in nightshade too. like solanine, which is poisonous and also keeps insects away. thats why you shouldnt eat green tomatoes, at least in abundace, nor smoke them for that matter...

i think the smoke is bad for you, but there are losenges an patches, for example, where you dont smoke. granted being addicted to anything is not good but just thinking aloud (via my fingers...) i would actually say beans are the key to longevity. maybe avacados. : )

are there health benefits of nicotine? i.e. not the smoke itself? I heard (maybe on this site, actually) that is preventative against alzheimers? They have nicotine lozenges that one can take, for example.

I don't know. I do appreciate your perspectives and views, though. There are so many ways to approach living, and at least from my perspective, it does not really matter which approach one takes, so long as it is done with a kind and open heart. There are so many incredible people from all sorts of different traditions out there. I met the most wonderful fellow from kurdistan at a coffee shop today. He was a christian and would not stop talking about his love of god, and the kindness he sees in everyone he meets wherever he goes. It made my day. I dont think any one tradition can claim a monopoly on the answers to existential questions nor "enlightenment" in general. To me enlightenment is more like a sparkle that you can just see in peoples eyes when you speak with them. Ive come to realize that I don't really need to know the answers to existential or metaphysical questions to live a meaningful and fulfilling life. I just have to be. That's why I liked the video. I do find esoteric approaches and ideas interesting though, and sometimes try them out, hopefully with the same spirit of "just being". That is why I also like reading yours and others perspectives.

What functions and authority are there to unfold other than being? Did you watch the video? I liked it.

Thank you for sharing. Was it or "Dont Know Mind" or "DoNo Mind" ? Seems like "dono mind" is similar to the Wu Wei concept? interested if anyone who watched the video agrees/disagrees. Does it matter what your essence is? If one were to discover and scientifically understand one's true essence, as some sort of magical spiritual object or otherwise, what would be gained? A tofu-stealing cat does not need to know it is a cat to be a cat. I think the point of the video was that by ceasing to seek answers to esoteric questions, one is free to be what one is. PS, I also very much appreciate your posts on this site, Tommy : )

this can be said for many ancient texts. the problem is that the copy machine was not invented until the mid-1900's, so real people were assigned the task of manually copying down what was written, as well as translating from other languages. so there is this monk named bert, and he loves cats, so he casually slips into a document a cat allegory, about how cats are the highest form of being. next thing you know, 2000 years later, people are worshiping cats, and walking on all fours, wearing cat masks and cat suits, etc.

Also the microwave oven! Wikipedia: In 1945, the heating effect of a high-power microwave beam was independently and accidentally discovered by Percy Spencer, an American self-taught engineer from Howland, Maine. While employed at Raytheon, he noticed that microwaves from an active radar set he was working on started to melt a candy bar he had in his pocket. The first food deliberately cooked by Spencer was popcorn, and the second was an egg, which exploded in the face of one of the experimenters. Apparently there is still an ongoing controversy about what kind of chocolate bar invented the microwave.

There is an alien in your pot. it is waiting for the right moment to emerge, at which point it will abruptly launch out and attach to your face. I would call Sigourney Weaver ASAP.

anyone remember that star trek episode where the two sides would simulate fighting on a computer, and then, who ever lost would have to send over a certain number of citizens to be killed, in real life. We need Kirk to save us.