Apech

Settled science, mate.

I kind of agree ... but I'm not sure if you can actually use the ego to weaken the ego ... I see it more about just admitting that there's 'something' greater than you (ego) as I see the refuge assembly to be illustrative of the continuum of buddha-nature. It's like you've come across the Holy Grail in the woods and you cannot help but bow before it because it is so ... awesome (there I used that dreadful word).

He can't - he is 'Steve on the internet' - and that's that.

Intended by who? You know the mind and intention of the Buddha better than all the millions of Buddhists round the world? How many people have become enlightened through practicing Vajrayana? Many - I don't know the exact number. I'm not sure what you mean by that last remark - but Buddhism works by growing confidence through listening, study and application. As it begins to work for you - you gain the confidence to continue. This is hardly just repetition. I think it is fair enough to speak as you find - but your critiques so far lack any really substance.

Hi. I've been a practicing Buddhist for more than 20 years but although I belong to a 'sangha' peripherally I don't attend any group meetings and so on - and actually when I did I didn't really like them. Some of this is because I live in the West and Western Buddhism is beset by a number of issues and while I am committed to dharma as a way this doesn't mean I want to make it part of my social life. I found that many western Buddhists are just frustrated Christians - or to put it another way they adopt Buddhism without ever addressing their preconceptions about what it means to be spiritual and so on. In fact quite a few think they are practicing an atheist religion - and/or look at Buddha as a kind of Eastern Socrates both of which are wide of the mark. There's a huge tendency also to want to market Buddhism to certain target audiences and sell it as a therapy - mindfulness and so on - or to focus on the admittedly striking cultural aspects such as Tibetan art and so on. It is kind of understandable but ultimately irrelevant. However in the type of Buddhism I practice (Vajrayana) there is a lot of praying and devotion is cultivated ('mo gu' in Tibetan). It took me a long while to understand why this might be. To give a quick background to why - there are three types of perception. The first is object based where we deal with things as in the ordinary world in terms of function and form, the second is 'imaginative' where we deal with whole images such as in dreams and visions etc. and the third is called pure perception where the true nature (dharmakaya) is revealed. Pure perception is looking directly at reality without any intermediary and is non-conceptual .... and thus beyond also any kind of serial mentation or object orientation. In the first two kinds of perception we have vehicles which guide and orient us - such as name/form, ideas and concepts, images and so forth. But in the third there is no such anchoring - but the yogi practitioner needs to be able to navigate in this kind of open space and it is aspiration or intent that does this. Prayer - as in Guru Yoga or even just normal refuge prayers is a way of focussing aspiration towards the goal - the Buddha mind, dharmakaya ... the union of wisdom and compassion etc. That for me at any rate is why Buddhists pray and prostrate ...and though it looks externally just like a religious act, internally it is perhaps something different.

OK, this is going to be a bit rambling and tinged with Buddhism - but I am trying to make general points here, so bear with me. 1. There's usually quite a lot of emphasis initially in cultivation on ethos and shaping yourself to be a better person. Sometimes this is couched in terms of 'ego' and so on - as if somehow by effort you can reduce your ego - which is of course impossible because if you had that strength then you would have a strong ego. There is also quite a lot of stuff about not actually having a self! which is hopelessly confusing and can be unhelpful (even if it is metaphysically true). What is true, I think, is that there is a process of self-referentialism which is harmful to practice because it is weak and victim orientated. Self-concern, in this sense, is a poison. A poison which prevents energy development. Your subtle body is tainted by feedback loops which make it shrink or not develop properly. I know we talk about being selfless - and that this is good - that it is a moral teaching - but actually this is a practice which aims at self-benefit. The more you can not fall into self pity or even hold views that make your needs the most central thing - then this allows tightness in energy to release and for circulation to improve. Putting others before yourself and so on is a method for squeezing out self concern and building a sound subtle body. Our normal state is like this - kind, generous, creative, open. And the first step towards this is to ease out the habit of self concern. Thoughts? More later.

You are now a Mahasiddha? tell us more.

squiggles

ah so

or

bodice

zippered

pretty please

@steve, Hey this is a shame - you are clearly a genuine person with good intention and the lack your presence on the mod team will be sorely missed. Best wishes with whatever you need to deal with in the real world. I certainly hope you will hang around and keep your connection with the rest of us poor fools. Just remember that you are - and always will be - 'steve on the internet' ... and not everyone can say that!

scum

What do you think the answer means?

I believe you asked about what to do 'next' specifically? Of course keeping to the middle way is good advice for everyone - but there are people and times when say, risk taking or going out on a limb, radical change of life or trying to undertake some dramatic quest might be right ... but I think it is suggesting not for you right now. I don't think it's so much good or bad that you need to think about. In this case there's an 'as above so below' sense in which the sun setting or being at its most hidden just means energy consciousness is internalised. In the winter plants go dormant in seeds within the earth - which is the right and appropriate thing to do - waiting for the conditions to arise which will allow growth into outer expression i.e. the Spring. I think maybe it is saying focus on inner energy work or meditation for now. Obviously this might change in the future when the time will arise to be more outwardly dynamic and so on. the hidden hex is called Marrying Maiden and I feel this emphasises a theme of inner housekeeping - the maiden gets married goes to her husband's house and takes charge of the running of the household. It suggests perhaps that you have some inner sorting out to do, getting things organised and so on - a bit like Jordan Peterson's 'clean your room' ... I don't use hidden hex's much so just reflecting what I feel here. My own perspective on reading the I Ching is that if you ritualise it - that is for your own benefit - to set your mind in the right kind of reflective state. I would say the reading is always accurate - but sometimes a little obscure or hidden - and if you feel that using the I Ching is going to be helpful keep a record of your questions and answers so you can go back later and reflect on the interpretation and so on . This way you can build confidence and skill in reading the results.

Hi, Hex 11 is three yang lines supporting three yin lines - which is 'correct' in other words the right way round and suggests that where you are at now is actually not that bad. (?) The moving line 9 in 2nd place is about walking a central path and avoiding extremes. This suggests to me that the Ching is advising you against taking on any big tasks at this time - but staying balanced and trying to live in a modest cultivating kind of a way. The hex 36 is about hidden brilliance - the sun after it has set or the winter solstice - so its about not being a shining light in the world but working internally like the sun under the earth. This is just my thoughts by the way - feel free disregard if it doesn't seem to apply. In my experience the Ching is always right but sometimes its answers take a while to chew over before you get what it is saying. Ragards A.

Coronabums has a better ring to it.