Seth Ananda

lol, jesus, I wish you had asked me questions like this back when I retained Vedic Knoledge, as now I can only say the 'gist' of what I remember and that does not even Include from which Veda? lol. But in short to your question, no[at least in part]. The Vedas were written in a time when People believed quite literally in the Gods and cycles of Time were quite literally the play of the Gods giving us epic cycles of bliss then epic cycles of Ignorance... But one Vedic teaching described the many levels that the Vedas should be Interpreted by. One is Literal history, but one level is also as a Inner metaphore, but it warned against only seeing it as a metaphore, as being a path to Ignorance and a warning of the presence of the Kali Yuga. In the Kali Yuga, people on mass cease to believe in the gods, even if they are religious, they have uncertainty... that because they don't see vishnu watering his front lawn...

Hehe, I would rather argue with Shri Yukteshwar that with the Rishi's who wrotee the Vedas... I think Shri Yukteshwar had his own agenda for making those claims, and If I remember rightly {I do not know, Its been a long time} the Vedas were supposed to have be written before the Kali Yuga, you know, back when Gods were still walking the earth and one could practice austerities for 4 thousand years to get deep Insight... lol, not that I believe that either, But in terms of a date, the Rishi's wrote the Vedas, which started the whole Hindu religion/s so they are far more credible on Hindu subjects than one yogi who grows up within Hinduism and claims something differently because he wants it to be that way. To make it clear, I do not actually believe in the Kali Yuga, But the Veda's state that when the Kali Yuga ends, the Gods will be able to walk the earth again and hang out with us humans. It paints a picture like, I wake up in the morning, yawn, walk out the front for some sun, and their is my neighbour Vishnu watering his front lawn and standing about looking Awesome! Thats the end of the Kali Yuga. Seth.

Hehe, It is just a list of the astonishing sheer number of military engagements that USA has engaged in, one for every letter of the alphabet and more! What a great country! You could argue that some of these battles were justified, and maybe some were, but most of that list is just America shitting on smaller country's [sorry I mean protecting its Interests] so sloppy can live the good life, enjoy the good achievements and feel proud to be an American. lol dont worry I feel this way about Aus as well. We are like America's little attack hamster at the moment politically speaking. We would Invade a lot more if we were just Bigger! lol {militarily speaking of course}

"I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, until I reach enlightenment..." I have been having thoughts about 'Taking Refuge' which is a fond part of my practice. When I first started taking refuge, It was like making a dedication of commitment and/or an aspiration builder. I would repeat it over and over, to attempt to build resolve, and I like that. Just lately though, I have been thinking about other possible levels of meaning. To me the part that says "I take refuge in the Buddha..." means [in part] that I am taking refuge in my Buddha nature, my own awakened Mind. Then It occurred to me that there are many times when I am actually not 'Taking Refuge' in Buddha, but am actually attempting to take refuge in Illusory phenomena. In a way, taking Refuge represents a turning away from seeking Happiness in temporary and Impermanent things that only engender more clinging/delusion and aversion. {I cant help notice the Sutric path renunciation vibe here, but dont worry, I still enjoy things, lol} So now I am catching myself more often, as I start to try to take Refuge {find happiness in} samsaric elements. And when I realise that is what I am doing, It is a lot easier to see the folly of these grasping actions with full knowledge that they will not lead to happiness, and so I can just let it go. I wonder how many other layers of depth this simple practice may have? Any Ideas? Peace. Seth.

Yep, look at what Nazism, The American Dream and British sovereign rights have done to our world. Even here at TTB's I have had Fanatics tell me that the American Dream is Sacred and Holy The sense of entitlement over others that Nationalism seems to breed is hideous. Then the bleating Sheep cry "We have a right to defend our way of life!" Even when that way of life is murdering Innocents all over the world and sucking the few valuable precious resources owned by third world country's off them for almost nothing in return. Here is an Interesting Timeline: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_military_operations

I personally believe that nationalism is one of the great evils on earth. It is so Insipid because it looks so Innocent on the surface {of course I love and am willing to fight for my great Country} but then it allows people to justify all kinds of Horror and atrocity. In Australia here, round John Howards time {our old captain} he began a very successful get nationalistic campaign. Before then we were more open to Immigration, and really didn't give a shit regarding being Aus that much. After all we only have 200 years of history here. Not much time for a culture to develop. Now every white trash yob with a ute has an Aussie flag sticking off it, and stickers saying 'Fuck off, we are full!' in side the shape of Australia {directed at Immigrants} or stickers saying 'Aus, If you do not like it, Leave!' {directed at anyone trying to Implement change here} Now at voting time, there is massive mobilisation against Immigration pro candidates. Most of it seems to be rooted in Racism, as if the people were white and spoke English and needed help we would open up and let them all in. Sad.

Very cool Simple Jack I have just started practising dream yoga. I would love it if you would give a run down of how to/you practice, or even start a thread on this great subject. I have the books on it but I would love to know hints or personal elements you have found that help make this practice effective... Seth

I was reading just recently about the 3 kinds of Prajna, or Wisdom. Book learning Prajna. Meditation & practice Prajna. Guru relationship Prajna [from pointing outs and transmissions...] All 3 are essential for Buddhahood. The article put Book learning Prajna as being crucial for helping get the meditation/practice Prajna. I think one has to be very careful saying that something is 'just' Intellectual knowledge and theory. Seeing things clearly on an intellectual level, [right view] is considered a crucial element, and I have read some teachers [gelug] claim that If you have right view down pat, It can make up for deficiencies in other areas of ones practice... Right View, is sometimes heralded as a path in and of itself. {as it will naturally lead to one desiring to practice} Seth.

Hehe, read his books been to his presentations, [a long time ago]. And, new agers have 'powerful' experiences seeing David Ike, Jim Jones, Max, and channeled pleadians... The one common denominator here is the new agers themselves, who will have a powerful experience with anything they have paid for, or that validates what they already believe!

Hmm I would have to see how he arrived at his conclusions. I do not myself remember the date it is supposed to change, as it is many years since I hung around hard core Vedic practitioners, or cared about such things, but i do remember the lectures clearly stating that the first accounts historically In the oldest Veda's that first describe the Kali Yuga all say it lasts... a long time [lol]... and it would be 1000+ years again till we start to come out of it...

Lucky, I personally think you may have a better conversation with SJ if you at least be open to the possibility that he has attained something [as he claims] and then ask careful questions to fill out the story. You may be totally right about your accusations, but you may not be either... If anything he describes things well and is a good resource here. Seth.

I see that it keeps popping up in this thread as well. When someone like Greg Braden, is suddenly an authority on future events, alarm bells should start ringing. I guess I am lucky having grown up in an apocalyptic cult. It helped me see the dynamic early on. But when we face changes {serious ones} it seems many 'need' stories and prophecy's to take some of the stress of. Back to my original point though, when the world is needing serious action to set things straight, and half of us are sitting back waiting for Jesus or Aliens or 2012 to come do everything for us, then... bad news... We are heading for some serious shit {my prophesy lol} and we are the only ones who will have to fix it.

Sorry as well manitou, but this is a horribly westercentric perspective. your Everybody does not include kids in Somalia, the Sudan, Afghanistan and a host of other places. Are you seriously suggesting that because we {in westernised countries} have a tun of environmentally destructive gadgets that increase our communication ability, that we are somehow more spiritual? I hope not...

sorry Phore, but the Kali yuga lasts at least another 1000 years. that is as straight as can be. The Veda's were very very precise in there dates. The only people who have said that 2012 equals the end of the Kali Yuga are Newage channelers {BS} and dodgy yogi's who want to increase their western audience but sprouting newage bs, and pretending that that is traditional stuff that the yogi's have always known.

Perfect Steve, to me taking refuge, first starts with the Buddha, which is our own Buddha nature, so as I said previously, It represents turning away from taking refuge from suffering in the 10000 thing, all the ways we try to hide from the reality of our own Impermanence. Then taking refuge goes next to the Dharma and the Sangha, which are the things that will help us find our Buddha Nature. That to me does not fully equal finding a new security blanket. Sure, It can bring about a restful place sometimes, but in the attempt to find ones own Buddha Nature, all security gets tossed aside as we try to let the uncomfortable truths penetrate us. Also on a more esoteric level, I do believe that when we take Refuge, we enter the blessing fields of the Buddha's and Bodhisattva's, and come under a protective or guiding Influence, at least as much as our Karma allows us too... Seth

Hehe, I think James Randy owes you a Million dollars

Very nice, but I can not entirely agree about the breath thing. Back earlier in the year when I started having panic attacks and mistakenly thought it was heart problems, It would get harder and harder to breathe and my heart would start skipping beats and getting all erratic. A couple of times as dizziness began overwhelming me as well, I was convinced that 'this is it, I am actually dying right now, this is the end.' I did not want to die, but the primary concern in my mind was for the welfare of my daughter. I could see her waking up to find my dead body, and being too young to open the door, she would be stuck in the house, possibly for a day or two before anyone arrived. This was utterly distressing for me. but back to Buddhism, these experiences were very profound for me in helping to let the truth of Impermanence penetrate my being. I kept being confronted with my own mortality, and It was hard to start accepting {on a deeper that my Intellect level} that this is coming no matter what. I am going to die, maybe right now. Yesterday I went and visited my grandparents who have been moved to a home. I have not seen them for years, as they hate heathens like myself. Still it was sad but also very good {Dharma wise} to see them. Grandma has lost the ability to walk and much of her memory, and takes a long time to be able to talk. Grandpa has given up the beautiful county home he built over 30 years that he wanted to die in, so he can stay with Grandma, as he is too old to take care of her now. Again it presented the fact that we all loose everything in the end. Our friends and loved ones die one by one, or loose their minds, or their physical independence, or we do also and in the end we die. All of us. To really let that truth in, at least for me, was a bit like ripping my self open. It hurt and I did not want to accept it. But the positive side of really letting Impermanence in, is it creates a great sense of compassion, and all our connections suddenly become precious gems, valuable moments. And for me it makes me value my time, and dedicate myself to removing attachments to things that are going to be torn away... It gives a great re prioritising of our Values, and I believe that is super Important for us Dharma practitioners. Great Blessings to all Seth.

Very cool everyone, very cool

Hehe, I have had moments with this doubt as well, but that was when I was not as sure about my path being the Buddhist path. Now that I have become certain that Buddhism is my path, I feel free to use other teachings or practices because they will only be treated as supplemental tools for my journey towards Buddha hood. For Instance I love Qero teachings, Its my favourite form of Shamanism {mind you Bon looks pretty attractive now but i do not have access to a Bon teacher as yet} and In many ways its teachings are almost entirely based on interdependence, so It strengthens my Buddhist practice, and It has some very 'skilful means' for interacting with the energetic universe... Same goes for much of Taoism...

Cool, nice thoughts...

"Here in this body are the sacred rivers; Here are the Sun and the Moon, As well as all the pilgrimage places. I have not encountered another Temple as Blissful as my own Body." Saraha.

No problem XieJia I mostly agree, but would add that i am not a Sage yet, lol, and until that day the Teachers and the teachings are precious indeed... ...so it would not serve me to be 'too' unattached to the teachings before they have ripened within me...

For the cushion, my prefered cycle of practice {when I have enough time} would be: 1. Reading some Longchenpa or from Flight of the Garuda, or other expansive Pithy sayings or songs. {thats kind of like foreplay} 2. Starting dedication prayer, then Reciting an Aspiration prayer, I like Karmapa Ranjung Dorje's Mahamudra aspiration prayer. 3. Reciting 'Emptying the depth of hell' {part aspiration, part confession of foolish behaviour of which I have an abundance, lol } 4. Loving Kindness/Metta meditation. {I can not do tong len, it gives me lung problems} 5. Vajrasattva visualisation mantra and confession - Awesome! 6. Then Vipashyna Mahamudra style... looking/enquiring into the nature of mind 7. Ending dedication of merit. When I am not at home or on the cushion, I like to regularly drop in with Metta, or semdzin of the white AH. I also practice walking and moving just a bit slower alot {when ever I can really} for embodied mindfulness. As often as I can, {and it blends perfectly into mindful walking} I become as present as I can to the Natural state, or Rigpa, with varying degrees of success. I have recognised the natural state, and most days may rest there for short periods, but my goal at the moment is to become stable and constant within it. Just beginning really. I also think a lot about Impermanence. I have been slowly letting its reality sink in, which has been an often painful but also rewarding process so far. I would really like to add prostrations to my daily practice but I have not received any instructions on doing so as yet. They seem like they may have many purifying benefits, and possible strange transformations of the body... Blessings to the Teachings, may they take root! Blessings to the Teachers, may they find fertile minds! Seth.

Very Cool Serene B, Great Blessings to your aspirations I was wondering what you mean by becoming a Diamond Sutra Bodhisattva? Is the Diamond Cutter Sutra the main text you are studying? I have not read it yet, but I began watching Geshe Michael Roach give teachings on it years ago, but I do not really remember the content. And Its cool you have found a Mantra that you like. I also Love the 100 syllable Vajrasattva meditation/mantra. -^- Seth.