Apech

I think this may be something to do with the English language as it is forcing 'the unknown' into being a thing. As if there is something called 'the unknown' which gives rise to heaven and earth. Perhaps nameless is better after all? I know what I want to say about this but its difficult to express - I am going to think and post later. Cheers A.

You haven't got this Haiku thing sussed have you.

squirrels and bluejays, who says nature's under threat? two animals left.

Yes! My favourite movie along with Kurasawa's Seven Samurai. I liked David Carridine as well ... also The Water Margin ... and Monkey Magic.

I'm a literati Daoist ... I couldn't remember what I said before so I deleted my vote and did it again.

Stig, There's a big difference in English between saying 'unknown' = adjective and 'the unknown' = noun. I think the sense is this: the Tao encompasses both all that is unknown and all that is known and whether it is known or not is dependent on naming. So if you consider absolute reality and say 'these parts (although technically it has no parts) I can name and this is the known, the rest is infinite potential to be (maybe) and this is the unknown.' Whether something is known or not is contingent on naming. Naming being about defining form and function or perhaps applying an appropriate term.

Maybe it says "No Smoking" or "Keep off the grass". ?

Wonderful film - thanks for sharing it - I really enjoyed watching it. Beautiful photography and well informed comments from the scholars. Made my day. Thanks again.

Added my boring vote ... no orgiastic cross-dressing bisexual rites for me. Last question ... don't strongly feel the lack of anything ... this may be delusion but there it is ...

Hi, Before I answer this (very detailed) poll - could you put a none of the above in the last question please.

Depressingly accurate summary of desperate economic policy. I think the bankers think they are in a casino and not the real world.

Thanks for posting this ... just one question ... Descriptions of Dao, Fail the eternalness of Dao. Though names may be given, They cannot be eternally named. Why have you used plural 'names' and then 'they' in last line. I thought the sense was that although you can give names to the Dao - you cannot really define it. So its not 'they' cannot be eternally named ... but ... It cannot be eternally named ... or perhaps 'completely named'????? Is the way you have translated it implied in the original Chinese?

Hi, This is a spillover from the other thread on the Reputation System. Its the first poll I've done so I hope it works. It only allowed me three questions - I wanted to distinguish between scoring posts and scoring people but I couldn't - so I think that's another issue. Anyway - here goes.

Crow pecks for seed. Caw! yellow corn and dust gray ground harvest birds fly by.

As a tribute to Marblehead I will not mention the word karma but I would say this ... its obvious from looking at the world that there is no justice dispensed from heaven and that nasty people do nasty things and yet seem to get away with it - can be very successful, rich and seemingly have everything they want, while others who are altruistic by nature, kind and so on get all sorts of shit heaped upon them. That is just how it is. But is also true, mechanistically that if you lie, steal and harm others then there are results from these actions - results which are external (bad done in the world) and internal (mental and emotional disharmony). You have to make a personal choice about what sort of person you want to be. If you are attached to success/failure, power or money, or just getting one over someone else ... then it is very hard to make this choice because you are pre-determining who you will be. If you choose freedom, if you value yourself beyond the pettiness of jealousy and revenge then you can start to work to gain the personal power to change yourself. But to do this you have to accept that the world may still dish out the same bad things. Maybe things will improve but maybe not. This is something to do with self-respect and courage. It is natural to worry about worldly injustice - but really it is best to focus on who you are and accepting responsibility for yourself ... see the world as a testing ground.

You have to be careful when talking about Buddha-nature and Madhyamaka philosophy and I am sure that Vaj. will point this out. There are two distinct views called Rangtong and Zhentong (or Shentong). I believe that Dzogchen is Rangtong - and this view upholds the emptiness of everything and does not admit anything beyond that - it could be termed "emptiness of self" applied to all phenomena. This school does not teach Buddha-nature in the sense of some kind of essential nature but only as referring generally to the potential for enlightenment. Zhentong The Zhentong view could be termed "empty of other" and holds that ultimate reality while empty, is full of the luminous qualities of enlightenment - which could be said to be Buddha-nature. To a Zhentong practitioner the dharma-kaya is ultimately real while being empty of any phenomena, and while it could be said to 'cause' or allow the arising of the phenomena, it is untouched in its own essence by them. Learned people have said that while Rangtong is the pure view of Madhyamaka anyone who practices Vajrayana tantra is by its nature practicing a Zhentong teaching.

The childless women are the ants, the childless men the uncles. (American accent required for this joke).

The light is beginning to dawn - I get this now.

Daughter in prom dress The boy is graduating I'm just informal

now one spark inspires... the pen scrawls calligraphy "back in five minutes."

for a stray haiku you reach out and grab a star one supernova.

Well yes I kind of agree with the poster above who said this is getting a little obsessive (or words to that effect). It is 70/30% against using the reputation system. If it is used at all - people think it should be used for spamming, trolling and possibly the way people express themselves - and not as an assessment of content. Even with a set of guidelines people do not want to use it. Suggest it is switched off - or even better we individually and collectively exercise our will and don't use it/ ignore it. I think this thread should be locked now - there's always the other one if you want to carry on. Thanks for voting.

For a long time I used to reject daydreaming or idle musing because I am interested in things that work and have some effect. I thought that daydreaming was just a waste of time - lacked energy and even sapped energy from me. However the more meditation I did over the years I realized that when I daydream my mind is telling me something. Sometimes it is telling me things that I otherwise could not access. I realized that there is energy involved although in a different phase from what I prefer. Provided there is no indulgence in daydreaming ... that is as long as you don't prefer it to the extent that you become completely abstracted from things that matter ... then it can be a helpful thing. It is part of the rich terrain of the mind which we can explore.