liminal_luke

I liked the jokes too -- they were funny. And I agree with @Apech about the value of humor. It´s just that I also see TheLerner´s point and think that it´s too much after awhile. If his unchecked presence here creates an environmnent where people don´t feel good about hanging out then lets do something about it. Why not suggest that he be banned? (Perhaps you already have and I´ve not been privy.) As I´ve said, I would support such a move. If people aren´t allowed to make transphobic comments here than it´s not too much of a stretch to think we could also ban energetic rapists. Especially ones who continue to see nothing wrong with their past actions. Of course Sean might not go for that idea. I have no idea. Suggesting a ban sends a clear message that his views and past actions are not accepted here.

You´ll be glad to know then that I don´t intend to silence myself entirely. I agree with you that Voidisyinyang behavior has been and is reprehensible. Energetic rape is not OK. I´ve said it before and will say it again should the occasion arise. Voidisyinyang is unrepentent and if there´s a push to ban him from the board I will support that effort. What´s not so useful, in my opinion, is making fun of him. While we may entertain ourselves, such posts are unlikely to have any positive effect on Voidisyinyang himself. To me it´s a little like gossip. And I say this as an inveterate gossiper. Gossiping about other people is fun, no question, but it´s a low vibe kind of talk. It´s not the kind of talk that lifts us up. Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity, even the most dispicable among us. The best version of myself posts things on the internet that foster inclusion and belongingness. That´s the kind of Bum I want to be. Making fun of people -- even of Voidisyinyang -- doesn´t jive with that vision.

Thank you for this. I thought there was value in returning with Voidisyinyang to the O at a D topic to see if his thinking about that had changed from back in the day; it`s clear to me now that Drew is who he is and no amount of arguing with him online about it is going to change anything. Bums who think his behavior rises to a ban-worthy level are free to take the matter up with Sean. Making fun of Voidisyinyang is easy but the thrills are cheap and, as you say, not representative of the best this board has to offer. I will stop.

I recently completed Robert Peng´s online Yi Jin Jing course and there´s this one move that I simply can´t do. Fortunately, Robert provided an easier variation for physically challenged people like me, but it was a real Dao Bummer to realize that I needed to do it the easy way; a humbling experience, coming to terms with that limitation. Of course maybe it´s not so bad to be humbled from time to time. Maybe a good humbling was just what I needed. Sitting in a chair to meditate strikes me the same way. I don´t ever want to be the old codger sitting in a chair while everybody else sits on their zafus. I feel this way even though I´m told -- and believe -- that it´s possible to be good at meditation in a variety of positions. The belief that floor sitting (and full lotus) is best is just one of those things that I´m too stubborn to completely let go of. Hopefully I won´t go to my grave bemoaning the fact that I´m not better than I am. It would be nice to be like water and go with the flow.

Are you picky about gender? I´ll take one for $5.

Part of the beauty of this place is that for the most part we don´t charge each other for advice. People weigh in freely with their opinions and thoughts. Some, though not all, of these opinions are quite sagely. Void´s advice may or may not be of great value but I wish he didn´t offer it for sale. I´d prefer to keep this forum noncommercial.

Philosophical entanglements are about as desirable as strep throat, but I´ll briefly enter my version of an Ivory Tower (such as it is) and say that I think Daoism is about Yin and Yang. Not one or the other, but both. It´s best not to get overly infatuated with either sun or moon, darkness or light. Nature is always slipping between the two and if we aim to follow nature, to follow the Dao, so will we. This flowy dance between Yin and Yang is easy in theory and hard in practice. At least for me.

This sounds like sensible advice, especially for somebody like me who still wants to look cool while meditating. Better to focus on substance (what´s happening on the inside) than the instagram-worthy full lotus pose.

...

Thinking of you, Nungali and Yueya. Thanks for taking the time to report in. Take care and stay safe. LL

You´d be surprised.

As far as I know, they wouldn´t. I just found it interesting that another Daoist teacher also likes this chant. It seems there´s a lot of cross pollination between Buddhism and Taoism, with many practitioners taking up pieces of both. Purists in both camps likely decry this mixing; personally, I don´t think it´s so bad.

In a simpler world people who started threads titled "All welcome for open conversation with no secret motives" would be welcoming, open, and free from secret motives. Alas.

Sifu Jenny Lamb, who taught Yi Gung (Kunlun) to Max Christiansen, is a big proponent of chanting Namo Amituofo.

Oh thank goodness! (As a less-than-perfect oldster who, nevertheless, still hopes to accomplish something, this is good news.)

I used to be good friends with a mega-wealthy woman whose family had struck it rich from Texas oil. My friend enjoyed her money but it also caused her all sorts of problems. She lived in boring Vancouver, Washington (sorry Vancouverites!) because she couldn´t stomach the idea of paying the higher taxes she´d owe across the river in exciting Portland, Oregon. She had trouble dating because she always thought that guys wanted her for her bucks rather than her personality. Being at the far end of the curve -- whether it´s flexibility, intelligence, or money -- isn´t always what it´s cracked up to be. This is something poor fools who can´t even sit full lotus will never understand.

I´m reminded of a yoga class experience I had years ago. I used to be very flexible and there was this one pose the teacher had us doing in class (not full lotus) that came effortlessly to me. In an attempt to challenge me, the teacher offered a few more difficult variations but nothing made the pose any harder. She finally gave up saying I was unfortunate because there was nothing the asana had to teach me. It´s probably true that I didn´t learn anything from that yoga position, but twenty five years later I´m still thinking about the comment she made that day. Sometimes it´s the effort that difficult challenges call forth from us that ends up making the difference.

Nice to see you again Songstan / CrazyfoxAli. I like your avatar pic.

I don`t know anything about Amma but I`m glad some here have come to her defense. Well, perhaps defense is the wrong word -- too polarized. What I mean is that people have illuminated this topic with their own calm, neutral wisdom. It feels good to think there`s good in the world. I believe good people exist -- that sublimely, awesomely good people exist -- and would prefer not to lose the innocence of this conviction.

Your question, Earl Grey, is addressed to Taomeow but in the fortune-telling spirit of this thread I hope you´ll indulge me while I put my own psychic powers to the test. Hmmm...where did Taomeow get the above insights into the year of the Yang Metal Rat? (Luke gets out crystal ball. Wraps himself in purple shawl embroidered with glowing planets and stars.) Did Taomeow get her information off the web? This is weird -- nothing is coming up. Did it come from a book? I´m not seeing anything. A real stumper this one.

Steve the Terminator has a nice ring to it. Terminator of injustice, I reckon. (Or perhaps Terminator of Ignorance, wrathful deity style?)

Some Bums have reported benefit from Voidisyinyang´s instructions and advice. Nobody is speaking up here to say that they´re Paypaling any money, but I bet he does get his share of PMs. @sean, is this kosher? I´d prefer if business advertising was confined to it´s own area, perhaps to people´s personal practice areas or...isn´t there already a designated thread to announce paid workshops etc? I´ve never belonged to the spiritual-stuff-ought-to-be-free camp, but one thing I like about this forum is that we´re all peers here. Lets keep the advertising to a minimum.

Thanks @Earl Grey. I´m not ashamed. Well, not of eating meat or buying things that "intersect with exploitation" (great phrasing from Sean). It´s more that I think there´s a balance to be struck. We can try to arrange our lives in such a way that we don´t harm others and I believe there´s value in the attempt. At the same time, it´s worth noting that such attempts will always fall short. Perhaps capitalism is the problem, I don´t know. Maybe it´s deeper than that, a fall from Eden endemic to civilization. Things being what they are, I believe it´s simply impossible to live without harming other beings, try though we might.

A person can go crazy trying to be good. It´s easy for ethical types to get anxious just grabbing a bite to eat or getting across town. It´s easy to get depressed reading the news. My mental health is shaky enough without the double whammy of excess goodness and excess information, so I minimize saintly behavior and knowledge of current events. I eat animals. I shop at Walmart. I´ve never taken Uber but I would if I was more comfortable using my smartphone. There´s virtue in being morally clean, no question. There´s also virtue in coming to terms with the inherent dirtiness and imperfection of life. We do the best we can. Or maybe we do a little less than our best. I try to stay in good contact with family and friends. I mostly (but not always) avoid saying mean things to people online. I tip at the coffeeshop. That´s about the most you can expect of me.

Wise counsel is always worth something, though often undervalued. The trick, I suppose, is to recognize it when you see it. I´ve found that it can be delivered from people in all sorts of poses -- full lotus, half lotus, standing on one foot, sitting in a wheelchair...you name it. There´s plenty of wise counsel available for free right here on this site. I trust that the people who graciously deliver the goods know who they are.