Apech

sorry I’m still not kissing you

I thought Hunger Games was a bit of a Battle Royale rip off - but the first film was ok and M. Wouldn’t let me watch any of the others.

I read the first two books in the 90’s cos my daughter - who never read books was obsessed with Harry Potter. I must admit I thought they were very derivative and poorly written. I have never watched any of the films.

The answer is Nungali - I’m not kissing him!

She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!

what is up with sticking pins in people? 😀 super powers is def a bloke thing.

I thought it was just the martial arts background of many plus the mantak chia retention syndrome which drives many young men here

I watched a bit of the guruviking interview but I couldn’t get up much interest.

Do people still go to church where you are? On a personal note I moved to a majority Catholic country and a small rural village ( full of old ladies in black) - but I was amazed how relaxed and open minded they are about the few LGBT+ people who either live here or are related to those who do. Also historically most witch trials and the like were 16/17th century puritans and not the inquisition.

An extract from Park's book 'How Buddhism Acquired a Soul on the way to China' attached if anyone is interested.

yes particularly the ‘abstruce mystery school’ - xuanxue… the last step In the process involved a classically trained Daoist or Confucian scholar reframing the translation into ‘correct’ Chinese - if they hadn’t done this the sutras wouldn’t have been taken seriously by the intelligencia .

There’s a very good book called ‘ how Buddhism found its way to China and squired a soul’ by Park which explains in some detail how the Chinese approached translating the sutras.

Oh I thought you meant ‘entities’ …but insects?

It’s full of something alright.

Spooky!

well put just as an example Tilopa appears in both Buddhist and Hindu lineage lists.

I think what Sam is suggesting is that the idea of distinct ‘things’ called dzogchen or Chan may be confusing. I think it’s not about one thing dominating another thing but more something happened from which what we know as Dzogchen and Chan emerged.

Could be Sam van Schaik or Jeffrey Samuel - I have read a lot of both.

I don’t have references to hand I’m afraid.

Marpa held two lineages the direct and the indirect - the first from Naropa and the second from Maitripa. The Mahamudra lineage was the second. But of course this was in the tenth century AD and is not relevant to the true origins of either Mahamudra or Dzogchen. The true origins are connected to the kingdoms in the area of the Kashmir and Afghanistan which were in turn connected to the silk route and kingdoms such as Parthia and so on and of course China itself. This is the route along which both goods and knowledge were transmitted.

Thanks so Song Dyn for widespread use of term for a set of practices- is this what you mean by a modern invention?

isn’t the term neidan used in the cantong qi (sp?)

Apart from anything else Marpa obtained the Mahamudra lineage from Maitripa and not Naropa. Zouwang is first mentioned in zhuangzi and is probably much older thus pre- dating the Buddha.

I did but it did take a fairly large amount of alentejo red wine.

That would be acceptable.