Apech

Deleted your last two duplicates Joe. I am sure LZ would tell the government to interfere less. That's for certain. But I am also sure that his government would not look like a modifies version of anything we have now. If it was what would be the point?

propping up the sky was a chore in olden days but that's just hot air.

@twinner How could implementing a new philosophy of government be simple? Yes Lao Tzu does seem to advocate keeping people uneducated but of course (as I was trying to say above) people are educated ... they are for the most part literate and numerate and so on. So you could not .... even suppose you woke up one morning and found yourself in charge undo what has been done. You would have to start from where we are ... to see how Taoist principles could be applied. I think just to say ... well its not going to happen so what's the point is in itself rather despairing. What the world lacks, it seems to me, are any new ideas for living and governing. In fact probably for the first time in history there is no alternative to some kind of model of democratic capitalism ... nothing that's seriously proposed that is. This is why we are always faced with Mr. A and Mr. B who look more of less the same and say almost the same things. the one who has better PR and is lucky with the chance gets in ... As the OP asked political ethics for Buddhists or Taoist have got to include embracing change and transformation. Not radical or revolutionary change (necessarily) but at least at the heart of the approach has got to be the acknowledgement that you have to work with the dynamics of the moment. ralis said something about the Tea Party having rigid ideas which do not allow any embracing of change ... if this is so ... then they can hardly be in line with Taoist principles.

Done. Its at the bottom of the now very long list. Not because you are the least but just the latest.

I would suggest that pleasure patterns set up cycles in the body ... energetic/neurological - take your pick. The reason that you repeat is that the pattern is inertic and self repeating. By repeated activity you have become subject to it rather than it being subject to you. Pleasure is associated for you with porn ... because of past activity. For someone else it could be sex addiction with a partner ... or some other kind of pleasure ... food, drugs whatever. The porn is not the problem ... the problem is the energy locked into an inertic cycle. Its very hard to just stop. I think this is only likely to be achieved by a sudden and complete change in circumstances. To remove yourself from the triggers entirely and distract yourself. But this is not a real solution. The best way to deal with it is to slowly and methodically break it down. Set some goals which extend the time you spend between ejaculations. Timetable it. If say you now last 10 days say, then target 14 days ... work out the date and give yourself that target. then a longer and longer period. Until you are lasting a long time. Then when you feel you are on top of it and not it on top of you - vow to stop entirely. That's how I would approach it. I would also look at the psychological and physiological reactions you are having. Some of these might be because you feel guilty or have a mass of stored negative feelings about what you are doing. This is part of the trap. ironically guilt or other feelings will tend to make you less likely to break the cycle. Guilt in fact is trapped will. Try to make yourself relax about the whole thing ... see it as a challenge to do with mastering your energy and freeing up your will. Just my thoughts. Good luck with it.

I'm listening. Every word. What did you say again??? Love your flower pics!

just being a smartass as ever

Yes you would have to change the view of what government is supposed to be (and do ... presumably) ... but I think the point is you would have to (or it would be best to) develop this new (TTC informed) view within the context of where we are now ... that is in western liberal democracy ... individual freedom and the rule of law ... when we have a more or less universal education system then feeding stomachs and starving heads ... treating people as straw dogs ... daily doing less (when much of society calls out for intervention) ... well it wouldn't be simple would it? I doubt that Lao Tzu would say roll everything back to feudal overlords and start from there. He would say deal with what is there now ... perhaps ...

Yep can't wait either.

shines the light of night beside my bed, so monsters hide in the shadows.

Slightly annoying web design but some useful info here LD4all

Sure you can consciously develop lucid dreaming ... there's techniques for this. You now have a personal practice thing! Bottom of long list in that section. No problem posting here BTW its up to you. A.

Hi I've had spontaneous lucid dreams ... usually when something is happening energetically ... Do you want a personal practice forum ... I can set one up for you to record stuff like this if you want. A.

"Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds."

yes General Discussion prob the best place

Great subject. Meditation on death can be very powerful. Someone said most people live their lives as if they are immortal ... i.e. never thinking they are going to die ... whereas we all know the opposite is true. There is meditation on the 'fact' of death ... its inevitability and so on ... and also on the process of death. Both very helpful I think.

1+1=10 (binary) 10000 things = 16 things

Trust your feelings. What you felt about that guy was probably real. I know what its like to work on a front desk ... in fact apart from technical aspects the whole job is really about responding to people's energies. A lot of people get exhausted by this because it is happening unconsciously (for most) and they end up hardened (some might say brutalised ) by the experience. I still think you should deal with it by letting his energy pass through/by you. Deal with what he is telling you at face value ... as a technical issue ... try to maintain your own centre and remember energy is energy and return it to the 'comos' ... any form of psychic self defence could just make the energy build up .... anyway my 2 pence worth. best of luck ...

Samuel Delany Nova, Jewels of Aptor, Eistein Intersection, Dhalgren, Stars in my pocket like grains of sand ... etc.

I think it would be a mistake to fight or consciously put up shields as this adds to the idea that there is conflict. I also think that this sort of thing is happening at a subtle level with everyone you deal with ... not just the obviously v. angry types. Energy is energy ... not good or bad just what it is. So I think you can deal with it as such. Let it pass through or pass by without attachment or reacting ... say to yourself that it is nothing to do with you personally but just part of dynamics of the life-field (for want of a better expression). Alternatively just play soothing music and put them on hold for 20 mins until the next customer advisor becomes available .... (sorry cheap joke but I couldn't resist).

Gud kwestjihon.

Let's arrange a TBs excursion ... return tickets optional Interesting to see how they fare if they open up more to outside influence. It still begs the question as to why the dharma needs to be protected in this way ... if you see what I mean.

They've had elections recently (last couple of years) haven't they? I seem to remember they had a king before that. Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing of course.

Hurrah! I am going to tentatively suggest that it is quite difficult to interpret the TTC in terms of modern state/world politics. His advice was directed necessarily at feudal despots in the early history of Chinese culture (was it the Warring States period I can't remember exactly). In any case the kind of less is more approach which you can read into the TTC could just be a restraining hand on a overbearing tyrant. What would Lao Tze say to a modern ruler and what would his analysis of the state of the nation/world be if he was here today? There was a great Buddhist king in India (Asoka) ... I'm not sure how he applied dharma to ruling a country. Tibet ... a strange example really. I see Tibet as actually a kind of culture frozen in time, kept isolated and 'backward' in an attempt to preserve a way of life. Not really sure if this is dharma applied. Isn't impermanence and change a basic aspect of life ... and if so why is it not embraced by so called Buddhist leaders?