Apech

PART III The Reckoning of Sean "A Cat knows a Cat when they see one." Chapter 9 Verse 143 The Great Book of Daobums And it came to pass, in the darkness of the Interwebz of yore, when all was Netscape and AOL and Windows XP, when the people called out with the beep beep beep of the 56k modem, there arose the Sean, and the Sean was online just as the people of that age were online. And he saw that the people were strange and had read the dark book of Mantak Chia and did not ejaculate thereof. And rising from his place of meditation he proclaimed 'Let there be a messageboard, and let the messageboard be called the Tao Bums - for he had not yet learned to spell it with a d and not a t.' And there came theretoo a great throng all clamouring and shouting, saying they had raised the kundalini and it was good. But they were rude and swore at each other 'thou art wrong and talkest shit' - and so the Sean made there to be a moderation team, so that the people instead of shouting at each other could blame the moderation team for all that went wrong. And it was so. And so the ad hominem was cast out from their midst and the people had to behave or risk a ban. But there were those among them who still swore and talked shit - and they were cast into the Pit. Such were the first days and this is how it was.

Hugs anyone?…..thought not.

Is there any way to make this more transparent or smaller? Its a big blue blotch at the top of my screen.

"You know where you are by reference to where you are not," said @blue eyed snake. The cat looked at her, up to the sun and back again. "Do you need a hat, or a parasol?" he asked. "No," said @Bindi , "she means we need a map. One with a big blue arrow saying 'YOU ARE HERE', or several red arrows saying 'YOU ARE NOT HERE' ." @Nungali put down the pack and took out some paper, carefully unfolded it, gazed at it for a moment and then folded it again. "A map?" asked the cat. "No," said @Nungali , "I just like origami." "Perhaps," said @zerostao, "if we go to that high point we can get our bearings." He pointed up the ridge line to a huge outcrop of glistening rock. And with that the company made their way up the natural weathered steps to the very top. The view spread out before them. A winding river ran Northwards, to the Western bank of it was a vast ochre coloured plain which seemed to have no other side, on the East, tall hills of tortured and twisted rock. @steve gasped, "I know this place!" he exclaimed. Smoothing the rock at his feet with his hand he exposed it as white shot through with red. "This is the Marblehead," he said, " and before us runs the river Taomeow. If we follow it North we will eventually come to the hamlet of Drew Hemple and the McDonald Inn." The group gazed in amazement that they had come to such a mythic place. "What then," asked the cat "is that horrid plain and those twisted tortured hills?" It was @dwai's turn to speak in awe. "That horrid land is no other than the Plain of Buddhawarz ... a place so desolate and empty of life and meaning ... and those twisted tortured hills are the ancient battle ground where the giants of Kun Lun and KAP fought for the possession of Daobumia in ancient times." They all said wow. Then not thinking of anything else to say, said wow again. "But what if we follow this river to the village of Drew Hemple - eat at the MacDonalds - without any untoward and unwelcome feelings at a distance of course - what then?" asked @Bindi. And @steve then hung his head. "Beyond, " he said with gravity, "lies great peril, the Gorge of Jeffery ... and then the dark walls of Castle Mo Pai with its flickering light bulbs of doom." And with that they sat upon the Marblehead and wept.

One more heave they thought, but no. Their feet scratching the dry earth sending up clouds of dust. "Again," shouted @zerostao ," all together." They strained at the rope scratching the skin of their hands. "Now!" said @zerostao . A head. Two hands. Arms and torso. And finally legs slithering across the ground. @zerostao stood over the prone body of @dwai and wagged his finger. "Do. Not." he said emphatically, "fall into a deep reverie again!"

The white cat dabbed his paw in the pond and watched his reflection ripple. "What is real?" he thought "and what is not?" Then as the sun was hidden by sudden cloud. "And is it even worthwhile to wonder?" The camp fire cleared, the troupe of Daobums made ready for the day's journey. They had come far together. Or so they hoped. Or had they, as @Bindi feared, just gone round in circles? Far beyond were snow capped peaks, pink in the morning, and birds of aspiration wheeled in the welkin overhead. @zerostao ever restless bid them make haste but @mrpasserby and @questionmark ambled slowly and reluctantly at the rear. "Must I carry all the gear?" grumbled , @Nungali struggling with the great backpack. "Yes," said @blue eyed snake ," it's good for you." Slowly the little group made their way through the bush, past winding streams and outcropped rock, up a sharp incline and down into a green valley. Somewhere far ahead they knew lay the great destination, although they argued long and hard about where it was and what it was. Still, they were all sure that there was a path they had to follow. Long and difficult though it may be. @steve and @dwai urged them on and promised them a pleasant lunch if they persisted and thoughts of a picnic gave them heart. @natural laughed at the thought of sandwiches and cake. And so with new enthusiasm they walked on.

what does getting you somewhere mean tho?

do you mean you are being rude without trying? 😀 I don’t mean to be rude either but what does worthwhile mean to you? I can only say that realizations have this character of real ness about them - there is no doubt after them. It is hard to describe how but that is how it is.

@mrpasserby all I can say is ,

Thank you @C T and everyone, I'm in a pensive mood and thinking about origins. And lineages. I was very stuck by @Nungali's 'vision' (to which I could suggest Isis as one name for her). Even though I have 'settled' for Tibetan Buddhism as practice I am still at heart something of an eclectic. I have always looked for a system that 'worked' - by that I mean it has to cut through to the real world. I am a dreamer but not a fantasist. My whole search has been based on experiences I had as a child - which looking back I would say were spontaneous meditational states, which again I assume without evidence to be based on work done in past lives. Anyway the point being whatever i do whatever system I study or practice it all relates back to - is it real, does it work. This is why I still see myself as an eclectic traveller on the path - which is almost the definition of a Daobum. It's quite a lonely journey, the path we walk on, and subject to derision and hostility sometimes. To find friends on here with whom to walk, even for a brief while, is a joy and a support. We might disagree about a lot of things - but maybe that doesn't matter in the end. So having done our exorcism let's beam good will to our fellow Bums. Good will to you all!

On a serious point isn't this all just a movement toward pod-life. We work from home on-line, get our supplies delivered by Uber Eats and Amazon, socialise by zoom and then cam sex with electronic dildos. Meanwhile outside the unvaxxed vigilantes roam the street with AR-15s and packs of wild dogs fight at the wind swept intersections of deserted highways.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arse_Elektronika

'teledildonics' lol

@blue eyed snake love that baby laying on of hands pic. @everyone I'm feeling a bit low today. I don't know if I mentioned it, I guess not, but my father died about two weeks ago. I was sitting around midnight listening to 'Waterloo Sunset' on my phone just before going to bed when a call came through. It was my sister - she said my father had had a fall and the paramedics had not been able to revive him. He was dead. Jesus it was a shock, so sudden. he was 97 and it turned out after a post-mortem (autopsy) that he had had a heart attack and it was this that killed him not the fall. I was shocked for a few days, then began to relax a little but today is the first day that I actually feel down about it. he was a scientist and didn't believe in all this Daobum shit that we like - but still I'm kind of amazed that unlike with other people I've known who died there is no post mortem connection. I like to prize myself as a mini psychopomp and I often have dreams or visions associated with dead or dying people and feel that the extra energy I have as a cultivator can help on a field level. But with my father - zilch. I won't trouble you with a potted psychoanalysis of my emotions about him. He was a decent human being, very intelligent - fairly big in academia - but very little of a father to me when I was growing. I had to do the whole living/learning thing pretty much for myself - without much in the way of support or guidance. But then I was a strange little kid - and if I hadn't been I would never have ended up a DaoBum would I? ----- We have had quite a history of energy/entity sharing here on DBs haven't we? Including a certain group who were overly keen on it. I won't mention their name for fear of summoning But it seems to me that DBs inevitably has its own energy field ... aura? through which we relate individually. Recently if seen as an entity it would be 'tired', 'energy sapped', 'reluctant' ... this kind of thing ... as if where in the past I would rush to my computer and look forward to interacting with the Bums ... now the inner voice just says 'nah' ...'leave it'. Well bollocks to that! Let's do an exorcism. Let's burn some sage, sprinkle salt, clang some bells, chant some rhymes, let's dance naked widdershins and deosil ... draw an odd pentagrams and away with it. Avaunt thee, avaunt thee tired serpent. Back Nak, back Sebau, back Apophis back to the earth, I stamp on you. An echoing cackle sounded through the glade as all the group turned to look at the cat. "He's lost it," they muttered to each other, " ....again."

...snip I'm up. Very interesting and thought provoking, thanks N.

It is excellent!!!!! thank you @liminal_luke and Jose.

Great Masters, Dodrupchen Rinpoche with Sakya Gongma Trichen Rinpoche

As they huddled by the camp fire in the dimming light, the group were suddenly startled by the sound of a loud horn. Turning they saw approaching from the East a bright light as if a star had fallen to the very earth. From the direction of this light a white hart darted quickly through the clearing, as the company gasped at such a sight. Three virgins dressed in the lightest gossamer walked from the light, each holding before them a sacred object. The first a flat box, the second a great cup and the third a bowl. In wonder the Daobums gazed upon this sight. Then with a voice like the soft call of marsh birds from the reeds of the fields of joy, the first maiden spake. "My name is Ubereats, who is it among you who ordered food delivery?" "What bringeth thou?" they all called out in unison. "Pizza, large Sprite and Fries," came the answer, and with that the maidens faded into the night. The company of friends took the gifts and thanking the Good Lord and the Holy Spirit set down partake thereof. For it being Lent they would eat Fast food as is customary. "This tastes of cardboard, " remarked @Nungali pulling a face. "I think you are supposed to take the pizza out of the box," replied @questionmark.

I don't think I quite understand what you are asking. Do you mean how do you verify the success of the operation?

I've never had a near death experience so I can only report what I have heard - and that is that the clear light experienced at death is the same as the clear light experience through meditation. As per the Tibetan Book of the Dead. When you say there's avoidance to discuss this - where did you get this from ?

Eases his old body down by the campfire and takes off his knee length riding boots. Pulls out an over large cob pipe and stuffs it with tobacco. Lights a match and starts to draw. Coughs gently. Coughs again. Splutters. Turns green. Jumps up and runs behind a hedge to be violently sick. "I'd forgotten," I explain, "that I don't smoke." I've been reading Lord of the Rings again. I don't know why but every few years I feel the need to. I know there's plenty of people who don't like fantasy - and I don't think I've ever managed much else, although I did read the first G.R.R Martin book of Ice and Fire ... which was okish but just doesn't compare. There's something about Tolkien's writing which is almost psychodelic - as I read descriptions of landscapes for instance my mind is filled with vivid imagery. The films weren't bad but the books are something else. It was suggested I read the Silmarilion ... I tried but I just couldn't get into it.

Is this the thread that launched a thousand posts and shook the lofty towers of Daobumia? Or not?

So you see - I start a nice friendly thread and already I get complaints

How do I edit the title?