adept

Interesting, though the person writing the article makes a few mis-assumptions, including the idea that you have to leave your family to become a Buddha. That's only one of the many paths available in Buddhism and the Buddhas teaching as he also teaches lay-practitioners as well who can just as easily realize Buddhahood through renunciation of ignorance even while partaking in a regular family life with a job. Mahayana and Vajrayana especially go into detail that even a renunciate has to renounce renunciation.

I agree with this 100%.

Another interesting piece on the influence of Taoist philosophy on Buddhism. Taoist ancestry of Ch'an.

Yeah, I paaak my caaa on the pavement and sometimes I walk on the pavement and sometimes on the sidewalk.

 

That was funny about the crabs. First time I heard that.

 

Something I noticed many years ago is that when the Brit songsters are singing their diction is perfect. But then, listen to that same person in an interview and I can hardly understand what they are saying. They are almost bi-lingual.

If only you could hear me speak, you definitely wouldn't understand me.

I have a strong Geordie accent. It sounds more Scandanavian than English at times.

avoid the filth of regular humans like us.

Speak for yourself.

Terrible, terrible events happening in Australia.

My heart goes out to anyone affected by the floods.

I've been watching the news about it, it looks exactly like the asian tsunami a few years back.

Devastating.

May all beings be free from suffering.

Inspired by this post I thought I'd dig a little deeper.

I've always had an interest in the influence of Taoism on Buddhism. I actually thought it started and ended with Ch'an and that was the only form of Taoist influenced Buddhism.

But much earlier than Ch'an there were other forms of Chinese Buddhism, most notably, Huayen. It's absolutely mind-boggling and worth further investigation.

I found an article that sheds some light on this.

Enjoy.

This thread has been so awesomely hijacked =).

Yet again.

I am not only talking about "the Dynamic Duo"

I wonder who they are.

So, I suggest that we all enjoy our 'self' while it is definable and not worry too much about what it will become two or eighty years from now.

I like this very much and have said it before, many times.

There's far too much emphasis on what will or won't happen after physical death.

Just live in the now, moment to moment, as best as we can.

India is the most diverse country on the planet, with more languages than any other. As well as more religions than any other.

 

India is a deeply amazing country,who in fact invented the martial arts in a form that went to China, and actually taught the Chinese many years B.C. But, of course China took the martial arts way further than India. Still, India is so spiritually rich and diverse in history, it's an amazing source of information and anthropological study.

Sorry but this is not correct.

This thread is hilarious.

Nearly spat my oolong all over my lovely Mac. :lol:

...

...

Surgery is the only way I know of to repair an inguinal hernia, if that is what you have.

I have had 2 repairs done. One was the 'old fashioned' opened up way 15 years ago. It took 8 weeks to fully heal and before I could return to work.

The second one was performed back in July by keyhole. Back to work and able to lift after only 2 weeks of rest.

Both ways of recovering are still painful though.

Good luck.

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Personally I'm at the point where most dicussion on this forum is meaningless; most of it is just blah blah blah except for a few things every now and then.

 

The buddha equals trash to me. I take a crap on all the religous icons and figures of the world whether it be jesus, buddha, gandhi etc.

 

It does not MATTER what Buddha said or what they did. Almost all argument here on this forum is irrelevant. It is masturbation.

 

I respect jesus, buddha etc only as so much as launching points for a way to true self discovery. After that they really are like my urinal, my toilet. Couldn't care less.

 

Why would I care what the Buddha said? Why would I care what anyone said?

 

When you are a true bird when you are kicked out of your nest you will certainly fly. A true bird does not need flight school.

 

When we make somtething sacred; we cling to it. We create our own pain and suffering. Most of us are not strong enough to be true eagles. We refuse to burn our own bridges. we refuse to burn our books. we refuse and cling to that which we think is true. we're so afraid of discovering more, we cling to that which we really shouldn't.

 

 

 

 

YOU ARE NOT A SPECIAL SNOWFLAKE!

 

 

YOU ARE NOT your "lineage"!

 

 

YOU ARE NOT the words you speak!

 

 

 

 

A beginner or a person who has not explored the depthness and intricacies of the mystical path will always adhere to a certain dogma and argue for one thing over the other incessantly. Vajrayana, no! Taoist! no! Jesus! Any true master will at some point upheave and turn and walk his own path and disgrace and forsake everything up to that point. Beginners are stuck on dogma and what is and what isn't.

 

You have to take a look at the people whose paths you are following. Christianity. Jesus would piss on everything and get crucified all over again if he only saw what we did with his supposed "teachings". He was against all the stuff we continue. It is so ironic that we are following those who were the rebels; but we ourselves are not strong enough to do what they did.

 

ALL true masters were nonconformists. They all broke all the rules and they didn't give a damn. The Buddha mastered several different traditions and felt in his gut it all wasn't enough. You see, to him it wasn't about what one master said over another. It was that which was within himself which told him that there was something more. Did he listen to his previous paths, masters and lineages babble on about what they thought? No. He cut ties and did his own thing.

 

I have to laugh at people who espouse certain teaching over other teachings; they miss the point entirely. All true masters make their own paths; and those who are not strong or resilient enough, end up repeating everything that they say like sheep. Its funny when you see this from a certain perspective, because mostly everyone starts to look like little children arguing about whose toy is better.

 

A true master will throw out the book and just wing it upon reaching a certain point. Hell, the buddha did it, why don't you? I have to laugh at people saying it's this or it's that.

 

It's only the noobs that are the bookies; the beginners are the ones who are always stuck on that which can be summed up in words. You have your cultists, your priests, anyone who labels himself anything, or attaches himself to a dogma or creed. Only sheep follow masters.

 

To be a true surfer of the realms of the formless, YOU HAVE TO LET GO OF WORDS. You burn your books and burn and piss on every single thing you know. You have to let it all slide away. You naturally stop caring who is right; you stop arguing one point over another. You simply don't care anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

Your truth becomes that which is unspoken, because to the one who truly sees, that which is spoken is worthless compared to that which is not.

What an excellent post.

This is one of the best pieces I've read on here. I'm gonna print it out and read it frequently.

Unfortunately, most folks on these forums will probably have a go at you for writing this.

I most certainly won't. Thank you

You are whatever you want to be. Your reality is whatever you want it to be. The moment that you are in, the reality that you have created, is perfect. All that exists is liberation. And because liberation is all that exists, there is no such thing as liberation, because there is nothing to be liberated from.

Nice. I like this very much.

Thanks.

Is anybody still with this ? I still haven't missed a day.

Enlightenment is liberation. Liberation means freedom.

What needs to be liberated ?

Liberated from what ?

I think you should consider this anapanasati.I belive it will give you the fastest and best results.

http://www.dhammasukha.org/

there are instruction audio and forum on the site.forum can help you if you have problems.The method is absolutley the simplest and the best and after practicing it I am confident this is what Buddha thaught.and not the feeling of the breath etc thyat other teach.

http://www.dhammasukha.org/Study/Books/Pdf/The%20Anapanasati%20Sutta%202.pdf

you might want to see this video first: http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/23058505

this video is love and kindness meditation,but it describes the importent thing about relaxing the mind,let the mind expand after you let go of a thought.this is the key also in his anapanasati meditation which i belive is the way to become enlightened

Thanks for the links sykkelpump. Very, very impressive and easily explained by Vimalaramsi.

Myself, I've been on a plateau with my vipassana practice for quite a while now.

After watching the videos and reading from the website, I'm changing my meditation practice to this.

Can't believe that this method has been overlooked. Especially as it's found in the suttas.

Best wishes

I had an excellent view of the whole event. From about 6.30am till 8.30am here in the far northern wastelands of England.

I didn't do anything special, just observed with awe and a feeling of absolute quietness and stillness.

This was followed by a sadness that overcame me, as I realized the sheer magnitude of the celestial forces that caused this event are forever changing, and will one day in the distant future, cease to be.

It was truly magnificent to witness this.

I went to a display of Buddha relics that is here this weekend, and couldn't handle to scene there, either. Lots of people with hands pressed in front of them with beatific smiles on their faces around some very golden small Buddhist things. To my surprise, I stayed about 3 minutes and couldn't wait to get out of there, which I did. I did not like it. I have spent time in numerous Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Nepal and loved that vibe, this one felt wrong to me. Oh, well.

Hi Songs, was it the Buddha Relic Tour ?

I attended one earlier in the year here in the UK.

Like you, I couldn't wait to get out after a few minutes. Fake sincerity and over religious weekend pseudo-buddhists.

I like my Dhamma pure and simple, Pali Canon style. The atmosphere at the relic tour thingy was overwhelming and suffocating.

I feel your pain.