9th

I wonder what would cause such a weakness...

You missed my point. I was saying that the name might have come from egypt, not that "set = satan". The Jews borrowed the 10 commandments from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which actually contains many, many more confessional phrases. Its possible they also borrowed the name "set-hen" as a way to focus their hatred of evil. All of these names and concepts are HUMAN CREATIONS... in case you hadn't figured that out yet. btw - do you know the name of the serpent pictured here: why dont you tell us about this one, hmm?

fascinating

The Venerable Kwai Chang Caine once said "Patience is the Master's final lesson"

From 15 shades of dog's dust We fell in fields of flowers Felt like dancing in the dusk But didn't have the power Now we had a place It wasn't much, but it was ours We called it Our Dominion Built a cabin on a crest Spent evenings in your eyes You'd tell me tales of noble quests I'd sing you lullabys We'd sleep beneath those triple moons Entwined beside the fire Truly, Our Dominion And from a cloudless sky Our friends descended Wearing silver wings They'd heard the sound of distant laughter Read our thoughts in smoky rings Sure enough, they liked it here Sure enough, they all moved in They called it their extension Someone said "Get organized! We'll prosper if we scheme!" He opened a casino, he pumped fluoride in the stream They named a plaza in his honour Shit, they keep it clean From each and every angle, highways grew from holes in hell They numbered all the houses, built a thousand black hotels Demolished our poor cabin, we relocated to a cell We called it "space" They taxed the air, the earth, the little birds up in the trees They fined us for a kiss in public, we paid up when we sneezed And soon the place was richer than Pope Pious Avocado III And all his dominion The city climbed the mountain The mountain sped on skateboards to the sea They lined up, mouthed a dozen Holy Marys on their knees The waters opened wide, they planted flags And in they dived Time to fly away again Was all too claustrophobic We shuffled to the park But it was fence-to-fence aerobics Thunder clapped, it rained black boiling bile And we fled soaking Back Still there is a place deep down inside your soul Where only I can go There's a place deep down inside my soul Where you can go Call it "Home" Our Dominion - EKS

When you tap a bell, it makes a sound that is derived from its physical form. The resulting tonality is indicative of infinitely more than just pitch and amplitude. The harmony of the natural order is a radiance, like an omni-directional echo... It is not an enforced systematization. There is (of course) much reactivity seemingly demanded by the "corruption" of the world we live in. And make no mistake, the civilized world that people have made is truly fucked up and incredibly dysfunctional. But while an effort to save the world is indeed noble... in essence, it is the same shit, different day. It is the externalization of ideals at the expense of personal integrity. It is another easy way out. Forcing the issue is already at hand, expanding options for the issue is not. Animals are motivated to survive by the fear of death. Challenging this motivation will not be easy, by any means - however it is the purpose of humans to rise to this challenge and derive a new motivation from it. Consciousness growth is the increasing interconnectivity between word and deed and thought and action and feeling and sensation and intuition and reason - and so on. It is activism at a primordial level. There is a distinct clarity of purpose when alignment between intent and expression is cohesively supported by the harmony of the natural order. When there is a great dissonance between intent and expression, mind and body, left and right, etc. the chips fall where they may, the other shoe drops, and so forth. Unfortunately such dissonance tends to contribute to apprehensions of the natural order as chaos, which are further reinforced by the narrow focus of obsessive addictions - and that includes spiritual disciplines, practices, meditations, studies, and so forth. The masturbatory aspect of bliss junkies spending all day on the meditation mat in the beaming golden light of rainbow purity and magical awesomeness and so forth - that is not "growth". It is yet another addiction, another cage, another slavery - and although there are much more favorable results for this kind of addiction in the short term, the long term results are the same as any other addiction. Ananda is only part of the equation in sat-cit-ananda. The unbalanced or obsessive approach may work in the context of a personal endeavor to generate sufficient escape velocity from the machinations of the social order, but it will only be a temporary and very conditional release until the missing functionality regarding the totality is consciously restored. And such functionality will be restored one way or another, sooner or later... and in the case of minds which are enslaved by their own obsessions - it will be done unconsciously, as it is easily possible to dream that you are awake. The totality will extract its due from your life, regardless of your ability to cooperate or not. If there is nothing left over for you, it is not a problem for the totality - it is only your problem. Freedom is available, but you must be willing to pay the price. As human beings who can potentially die at any given moment, the opportunity to consciously contribute is an ever-closing window that must be taken advantage of while it is still open. The "cubic centimeter of chance" is an apt metaphor. The addicted mind, the enslaved mind - is not rare, or uncommon. It is the most common thing, it is the lowest common denominator between ALL peoples. Starting with the victorious/defeated scenario of self-importance/self-pity, the spikes get driven in early, and they get driven in deep.

You aren't even close to shugendo... not by a long shot. And as long as you think you are, you never will be.

Karma was originally understood as a fundamental force in regards to the mechanics of existence, a sort of endless chain of push/pull reaction - the forces of momentum, inertia, attraction, repulsion, etc. Very many aspects of the modern science of physics would fall under the umbrella of "karma" for the ancient sramana. Even beyond this, they regarded existence as holistic in terms of the relationship between personal actions and cosmic actions, as they considered both realms of activity to follow the same fundamental law of dynamics in regards to possible outcomes and regularity of motion. A person who is violent on a consistent basis is more likely to experience the results of violence, simply because they are engaging in violent behavior more often. It is the kind of thing that is so simple and obvious that it is also so easily taken for granted. A being that is free of karma would no longer be subject to the law of existence which binds things to predetermined outcomes. Such a being would be "above the law" and therefore "not reckoned by it". In the early Vedic songs, the gods were sometimes presented as secondary to the sages in this way, if not subservient to them. This was an ancient people's understanding, and it is difficult for modern people to approach their psychology without undergoing drastic changes in apprehension. Even in the realm of eternal wisdom which has always been and always will be, the methods of communication and reference change as much as the cultures which inform the people who use them.

Karma literally translates to "action". When you drop a ball and it hits the ground, that is karma at work. Its like a chain of dominoes falling. If you were to say that karma is a sort of list of good and bad deeds, like something santa claus would make - that would be incorrect, and actually is the same kind of misrepresentation that the Brahmins leveraged in order to take control of ancient Indian society. They used oversimplified and superstitious ideas about karma to justify and enforce the caste system, in which they (as priests) were considered the highest class and were entitled to the most money, resources, land, and so forth. They used the concept of meaningful events (synchronicity) as a means of creating division of labor for their surrounding society, and for determining who "deserved" the most, and who "deserved" the least - purely based on bloodline, not capability. Changes in the weather are also karma - but most people dont have much influence over that level of karma. Whether or not you wear a coat is karma that you have almost absolute influence over. It is a matter of scale. This is a vital understanding for anyone who is attempting to view the big picture. Many incredible and amazing things are possible in life, but that doesn't mean they will always happen. It is possible to fly a F-18 fighter jet... but can you do it? Just because the possibility exists doesn't automatically make you a top gun ace pilot. Sometimes people will say "we create our own reality" - but if this is true, then why can't they create the reality where wings sprout from their back and they fly away into the sunset? Why can't they create the reality where piles of gold and jewels just materialize in front of their eyes? It would be more accurate to say "we create our own reactions to reality". It is another vital distinction. Hopefully you wouldn't be surprised to know that if you were able to materialize gold and jewels and fly off into the sky in that way, you would have no need to do so in the first place.

if you want to take calculated risks, you have to know how to calculate first but if you'd rather learn about risks the hard way, it can certainly be arranged... CT summed it up pretty well on that

then you roll over, scratch your nose, snore a little bit

dont forget rainbow brite, my nigga!

Gangaji learned from Papaji who learned from Ramana Maharshi. Gangaji had a student named Mooji who is also continuing the lineage. I cant say that I really agree with the majority of what these neo-advaitans tend to promote, and what I can agree with are the things that all traditions agree with already. Ramana Maharshi had such a powerful presence that it was impossible to be near him without undergoing spiritual transformation. All you had to do was sit there, in his presence. His darshan did the rest. These following students often speak as if work is not necessary, the unconditioned is already here, everyone is already enlightened, etc. That is a disservice at best, IMHO. The spontaneous awakening experienced by Ramana in his early youth was the result of many previous lifetimes of work. He did not seek to be a teacher, but obviously disciples began to gather around him, and he gave them darshan. It is a method of silent teaching which is primarily energetic in nature. It is a kind of transmission. So, the disciples did not have to work on themselves. They were worked on by the universal harmonies flowing through the guru. It is possible for the power of such transmission to last for many ages, many kalpas, many yugas. It is not necessarily guaranteed, but it is possible. The key mistake of neo-advaita is the lack of admission regarding this fact. What they are really promoting is bhakti yoga, not advaita - which was orginally presented by Adi Shankara as a counterpoint to yoga and buddhism. One of his key points was the focus on the reality and truth of brahman alone, instead of the emptiness (sunyata) described by buddhists.

lol Go team! ra ra ra! CRUSH THE INFIDELS

It seems that you haven't actually read the piece fully, since you are arguing against a point you have invented in your own mind, and not something I actually wrote, beyond the word "corruption", which I originally put in quotes for a reason. Also, the projected absolutism you have brought into this is inapplicable to the issue at hand. The fact that relativity exists is not some key to paradise, or some kind of final enlightenment. Awareness of the relativity of perception and manifestation is a necessary first step, it does not mean you have mastered reality. You are not a master. You are a beginner. Recognition of relativity is a step in the right direction, but it is not an end in itself, by any means. You seem to be waving the flag of self-confidence quite a bit, but you might want to begin preparations for the massive feast of humble pie which will ensue if you are able to get over yourself and continue with this work.

I found that etymology to be interesting. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, the first noble truth of buddhism is "Life is duhkha". The second noble truth is "The cause of duhkha is desire" (craving, attachment, etc.). The third is "There is a path to follow which will end duhkha".

Confusing the subjective with the objective is a dangerous mistake, especially regarding cultivation and the Great Work The tough stuff is still ahead of you, but if you cant be bothered with it, then go ahead and enjoy being comfortable as much as you can