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I don't understand why anyone would want to become a complete vegan TBH, but joining some kind of recipe sharing community will probably help.

Nope. Just as I thought, you probably don't get it at all. I'm afraid this is one lesson you'll have to learn through your own experiences, that is, if you're genuinely interested.

The American healthcare system is fucked up, true, but the overall standard of living can't be that bad since the US ranks 13th (and falling) in the HDI list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index There's no point trying to run away IMO. You'll probably find the rest of the world just as lame and idiotic, only in different ways. As Genkaku used to say "wherever you go, there you are."

Misogyny wasn't nearly as prevalent in popular culture as random fragments of literature might suggest. (especially not in modern Taiwan or the PRC) Remember, cultures aren't monolithic. All patriarchal civilizations have their random misogynists, even 21st century America, although they're currently in hiding: http://petepatriarch.blogspot.com/2007/12/truth-about-women-from-pua-perspective.html Besides, we Indians were a lot worse when it comes to female infanticide and stuff. PS. Our peasants routinely abuse their wives and daughters. Strangely, the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor are the worst of the lot. If you expected that poor peasants can't afford too much misogyny, you would be sadly mistaken. As far as I can tell, the only thing these classes have in common is that they're both resigned to their fates. The middle class seems to be the most practical in their thinking, and consequently the most egalitarian.

OP: "Saving"? The deva realm has always been one of the six major psychological landscapes inhabited by sentient beings according to Buddhist cosmology.

I think the condition is that if you don't accept the Four Seals, you shouldn't call yourself Buddhist because it's impossible to maintain The View (cue shrieking dakinis) without them. Yeah, I know. Thanks. PS. Actually, eclectic Buddhist is a bit of a misnomer because there's very little I reject from Buddhism.

Meh, only if you take tradition seriously. I'm an eclectic Buddhist. My favorite philosophies include (in no particular order) Process Philosophy, Transcendental Phenomenology, Buddhism, the western Analytical Tradition and Taoism. What's gonna happen? A dharmapala's gonna hunt down and slay me? I appreciate Buddhist tradition for at least tolerating other faiths. Islam was very big in old Tibet, even within Lhasa.

I'm really curious. Those of you who followed our exchange last night, what do you think of dragonfire45? Frankly, I've no idea why he'd think I'm out to convert everyone to Buddhism. (You have no idea what a hard time I gave my Buddhist teachers. As for E-Sangha, even I have lost count how many times I've been banned from that place.) Skillful means are employed to ensure the mutual co-arising of wisdom, not BuddhistTM wisdom. I may have failed to help him in any way, but he has certainly illuminated my mind on one or two points, and I thank him for it. It's possible that he was just trolling for fun and profit. However, if he meant every word he wrote last night, shouldn't he be informed that he sounds like a deluded racist? Consciously or subconsciously, he seems to think that Muslims, particularly Indian Muslims, are to be despised for whatever reason, and justifies this hatred by thinking "Oh, it's the Muslims who hate us Hindus, so it's okay to hate others in the extent to which they identify with that tradition."

Um... Isn't that what I'm doing? Except suspending all thought, that is? PS. I can't remember saying anything different either. Could you please jog my memory?

In short, don't trust immediate sense, but maintain a deep awareness of emergent phenomena and find the overarching patterns which give rise to the senses. Then all phenomena become our teachers. I think this teaching has many things in common with other traditions including Taoism. Nothing "religious" about it in the sense TzuJanLi is using the word. He seems to have loosely reinterpreted the word to mean something like "rigid orthodoxy", then mixed up the two definitions.

Not India. ISRO operates the largest, most high-tech satellite in the Asia-Pacific region, including China and Japan. China produces a lot of worthless research, but west vs. rest of the world is a false dichotomy where scientific research is concerned. I think China is a special case here. Since the government throttles freedom of inquiry, a lot of people find themselves unable to apply one set of standards to society and a completely different one to scientific work, so they either end up in Laogai labor camps or doing bad science. No doubt there are exceptions.

BTW, would anyone believe me if I told you I was literally up all night in a futile effort to convince dragonfire that I'm not the devil incarnate? Then I went to class, came back home and slept for 15 hours straight! I don't get paid enough... for a televangelist, I mean. ; I also have a long way to go as far as minimizing attachment is concerned.

I don't understand all this true and false business. I just wanted to thank dragonfire for teaching me why I wish to transcend delusion in the 1st place. I swear, the next time we have a conversation, I'll go "i R dum. thAt betR?" just to put him at his ease.

M: He thinks I'm the online equivalent of a televangelist because my tone sounds dishonest and/or jarring to him. I'm not too clear on the reason. He didn't try refuting any of the arguments I posted above. That must be hard when you're being willfully delusional. Meh, are there ways to conduct a semi-rational conversation when your opponent prides himself on the quality of his Ad Hominems? (because of his religion?)

^Since you asked, by rejecting what your senses tell you on face value. Eg. If you were to tell me that this is so and so, I may not believe you because you could be delusional on the subject. On the other hand, if I can discover precisely where your actions fit within the interdependent web of causality, then I can fish a gem of true wisdom from the ocean of phenomena. We can't be certain that our hypotheses will never be subject to revision, but learning the right lesson each phenomenon has to teach is one way of overcoming delusion one small step at a time; provided that we wanted to, of course. Is that televangelistic enough for you? I tried not to make it sound blatantly obvious.

I guess there's no barrier between rationalism and delusion for you after all. Have fun on your interesting path! Tell me, are all Parinamavadins conspiracy theorists or only those who enjoy conspiracies? ralis: Are you a Parinamavadin? Do you think I'm here with an evil plan to harvest innocent Taoist souls too? (Sweet, now I AM kinda beginning to sound like a televangelist. I could get into this )

Thanks for your perspective. Here's mine, just for the sake of completeness: No matter how you act, you can't help but clarify the true nature of existence to me. There's no escape, you are my teacher as I am yours. One difference could be I have vowed to respect all my teachers, whether voluntary or involuntary, but I'm not sure about you. It makes little difference to me either way. I just don't understand why you bring up televangelists and stuff. Do you really think I'm out to convert everyone to Buddhism for my dark masters, or is it just that you love the flavor of delusion and actively cultivate it in a cheerful spirit of Chaotic Stupidity?

What are you talking about? You're my Buddha too, whether you like it or not!

You and me. From delusion delusion, not Buddhist delusion. What else is conversation for except to learn?

Nope! But that doesn't make you any better at it.

Likes of me, eh?

dragonfire: I'd have had to lie and dissimulate just to come up with the kinds of response I could tell you were expecting from me. Funny this is, if I had lied, you may have embraced me as a man of rare honesty. As I have bared my soul to you, you're telling me to come back when I ready to respond rather than react instead. If nothing else, you're a terrible judge of character.

That's rich! "Arguments". Heh heheh. Like you presented any for me to answer. I could help you correct your delusions about us cruel, mleccha invaders with a complete socio-political perspective, but unfortunately, you're stuck at the moment. You appear to be incapable of believing that I could have any decent intentions unless I surrender completely to all your opinions, so I will bid you good day. Are you sure you're a science student or a scientist? I must say I'm surprised, because I've often encountered exactly the same passive-aggressive attitude from other Hindus. (don't see red again, many of my teachers and best friends are Hindus) I can only pray this a coincidence. My advice would be to observe and learn from dwai. He's the kind of realized, non-communal Hindu (or Muslim) that keeps getting scarcer with each passing day. </parting-comments>

My, my my. My, my, my, my, my, my. My, my. cya!