Apech
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Everything posted by Apech
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After Self-realization, what else needs to be done?
Apech replied to dwai's topic in General Discussion
speculation? -
After Self-realization, what else needs to be done?
Apech replied to dwai's topic in General Discussion
No - nothing I said is about intellectually knowing - that doesn't even feature in what I was referring to and is just a preliminary. Well, we'll have to disagree there is an alchemical process, what you are calling realization is a stopping off point, an important one , but not the goal.- 211 replies
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After Self-realization, what else needs to be done?
Apech replied to dwai's topic in General Discussion
@dwai and everyone, I've read some of the previous posts but not all of them. So sorry if I'm repeating. To reply to the OP: I think you're fundamentally wrong if I understand what you are saying. Or perhaps I should say that I understand things in a different way. This is based on my own researches and thoughts and not any particular system (though I draw on my Egyptian researches a little). I suppose I could say that seeing your true nature and fully realising it are not the same thing. Most mysticism talks of the first and for most of us this is the goal. But seeing one's true nature still has a tinge, an element of dualism. So on the path we first have to see - in order to travel so to speak. In some literature seeing one's true nature and realising it completely are confused - this is because the first is a major accomplishment and it is hard for us to imagine past it. But the fact is, right from the start we are working with both awareness and energy/substance. The dawning of pure awareness is the end of the path of seeing - but by then at least we have pacified, regulated and transformed the subtle body enough to have clear vision. But this does not mean we are beamed up to some higher existence. In fact we are only part way through an alchemical process and we still have life, in a body, in a place, with particular relationships and so on. This is not an accident. The formation of the rainbow or diamond body, the body of light/energy, the logos body is when you have truly aligned, integrated and realised the non-dual nature of awareness and energy/substance, completely and indestructibly.- 211 replies
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Story of Atlantis Part 1 - Ice Age and Deluge
Apech replied to Michael Sternbach's topic in The Rabbit Hole
is it a submerged bump? -
Pandemic Panic - Transcending the Fear
Apech replied to Michael Sternbach's topic in General Discussion
One effect of the lockdown is to close down small businesses, shops and so - but funnel more money into Amazon and other online companies - making the rich richer and the poor poorer.- 317 replies
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It's not so much cheekiness as the premise of the question being wrong.
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Pandemic Panic - Transcending the Fear
Apech replied to Michael Sternbach's topic in General Discussion
@Michael Sternbach I think this is an important aspect to our response as DBs that has been overlooked so far. I know some people don't like plays on words and so on - but I think it is worth considering 'corona' as meaning a crown - which is obviously derived from a visible description of the shape of the virus - and indeed what sub-consciously caused the WHO to coin COVID as the name of the disease - especially as the outcome seems to be increased individual isolation and alienation, lack of social interaction and warmth - throwing so many back on themselves and introspection (which has both positive and negative repercussions depending on the person involved).- 317 replies
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Pandemic Panic - Transcending the Fear
Apech replied to Michael Sternbach's topic in General Discussion
But I like being miserable- 317 replies
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Pandemic Panic - Transcending the Fear
Apech replied to Michael Sternbach's topic in General Discussion
I don't know if people are familiar with the idea of proximate and ultimate causes. The idea is that things have causes which arise in the immediate environment and causes which are at a deeper fundamental level. For instance the First World War had a proximate cause of the shooting of Arch Duke Ferdinand in Sarajevo ... but an ultimate cause in the geo-political tensions and entente treaties which held Europe in a state of tension. I would suggest to my fellow DaoBums that the corona virus is a proximate cause. Its presence indicates that it is active at a cellular level in a person's body. But the ultimate cause is a level of fear in the human system which arises from spiritual and psychological tensions which we carry primarily because of the effects of civilisation. So while it is wise to take elementary precautions not to be coughed at, to maintain hygiene and so on - ultimately our best attitude to this and all disease is fearlessness, positivity and calm - in other words place our faith in power or energy or spirit and confidence that whatever happens we stay on the path. Thoughts???- 317 replies
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Pandemic Panic - Transcending the Fear
Apech replied to Michael Sternbach's topic in General Discussion
Before anyone shouts at me - I wear a mask when shopping etc. as required by the law where I live. However I know it affords hardly any protection ... and this is the right attitude because I unlike many others am very careful with social distancing and hand washing. I agree masks are indicative of courtesy ... I don't want to alarm or scare other people. But what I notice is that people don't wear masks properly and it makes them blasé about social distancing.- 317 replies
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Pandemic Panic - Transcending the Fear
Apech replied to Michael Sternbach's topic in General Discussion
A short film from Michael Sternbach's house:- 317 replies
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I quite enjoyed malcolm's contributions on dharmawheel - but there was no contradicting him! he regarded himself as definitive because he is a loppon I guess and the rest of us amateurs He criticised something I had been taught by a qualified Lama on the Root Downfalls - which confused me - so I just stopped going to Dharmawheel. Obviously conceptually buddha-nature and atman are not the same. However if realised maybe they are ... Also the treatment of buddha-nature varies slightly between say Mahayana and the tantras. I see the alaya as simply the capacity of citta to store imprints from events and nirvana and samsara as two sides of the same coin.
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Is there a space for queer people in a traditional or semi-traditional setting?
Apech replied to dachungzi's topic in General Discussion
This is a very interesting conversation! I lean towards Bindi's point of view in some respects - and although I am officially a Buddhist and this has given me some stability and blessings - in essence I practice something based on my experiences since childhood based on energy and consciousness. I am happy to take from any religion if it makes sense to me but unlike many I was never Christian even though I was raised in England. I like Jesus quite a lot but I must admit I detest nearly all Christianity which comes across to me as a kind of psychosis - 2000 years prove me right On the Matthew 5:18 etc. I think that fulfilling the law is not the same as enforcing the law. By this I mean the consequences of each jot and tittle must be taken to their n th degree. As in the woman taken in adultery - he doesn't say to stop because shagging is always ok! - he says yes you can stone her if you are without sin. Which means if you have an energy impairment you can't throw a stone - if you are sinless then actually you won't throw a stone - which is a form of arguing the law to absurdity. So in the end - no stoning. What he says about adultery is that even if you look naughtily at another man's wife - that's adultery. Transgressions are universal and in consciousness - a bit like dukkha. It's another version of 'judge not lest you be judged' ... which is another neat one IMO. -
Is there a space for queer people in a traditional or semi-traditional setting?
Apech replied to dachungzi's topic in General Discussion
yes, I get what you are saying ... maybe you can find an enlightened teacher ... I hope so ... but the one's I knew are dead, sadly, so I can't recommend. best wishes. -
@TaraTarini Congrats on formulating all that and also debating Malcolm and surviving I thought he left Dharmawheel or has he returned? I think there is always a problem with any intellectual or conceptual formulation of shunyata - and actually i think Nagarjuna said he had no position and nothing to defend - which is why he won his arguments. I am of shentong leanings as I practice along the Karma Kagyu Mahamudra lines - for me the only 'thing' that could be termed existent is the continuum of Buddha-nature - which is empty of other. But is not, of course, a thing anyway. The Buddha's wisdom in knowing how things arise and cease. That all phenomena are empty is one of the dharma seals - and means as far as I am concerned that they lack a durable self or essence - how they arise? Actually they don't they just seem to because we have no awareness of buddha-nature. Is buddha-nature different to atman? That depends on whether you are thinking about it or whether you have realised it.
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I stole this quote from Twitter: Find someone who loves you the way Barack Obama loves himself.
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Is there a space for queer people in a traditional or semi-traditional setting?
Apech replied to dachungzi's topic in General Discussion
@dachungzi i think that sexual energy and spiritual energy are very closely linked - as to be more or less the same thing. Religions which invest in social organising and moderating the life of their followers tend to be very severe on anything that doesn't fall into the man-woman in marriage for procreation model. Although their priests, preachers or whatever are often having a colourful time on the quiet - while preaching the opposite for everyone else. I think the level of investment in conditioning people is so high because of fear. As far as Buddhism goes - I have found that the lay precept of avoiding sexual misconduct in western Buddhist groups has been unofficially extended to include any non-harmful relationship or sexuality but in the older texts (which were written mostly for monks who are not supposed to have any sexual activity at all of course) there is prohibition against any sex not between man or a woman. This is usually brushed under the carpet by western teachers. Although the rules are often bafflingly unhelpful anyway - such as not to have sex more than five times in one night (!) Of course to a certain extent the vajrayana does build 'antinomial' and 'transgressive' acts into the system via the mahasiddhas who lived strange and colourful lives themselves. But they do presuppose social norms which are then breached. If you don't accept the social norms in the first place then it's not quite the same. But I would expect that some lamas would accept you into their community on the basis of non-harm or practice of compassion and so on. You'd have to check this out - because some might take a more prejudicial view. You mention you have had spiritual experiences through meditation - this is more important than any rule based organisation - and i think you should let this guide you primarily - apart from that there are more possibly progressive systems in the west like wicca and western occultism - which would certainly be in line with your anti Christian stance -
OK I hope you get the answers you want.
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Have you been to a doctor about this? If not you should.
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You did some stretching - then stopped - now you feel stiff and achey? What do you expect?
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It suggests you are bit more relaxed - that you should avoid bouncing or over forcing and the best aspect is tissue connectivity. ... I think
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I would interpret this to mean that whatever task you set out to do (your stretching exercises) is incomplete - that this is not about just trying something out to see what it does but rather a sustained effort (over a reasonable period of time). 41 Decrease suggest you should just sink back into a routine and avoid thinking too much about it. I agree about not asking multiple questions - ask one and then reflect on the answer and ask follow up questions based on clarifying the initial response. Cheers.
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People may laugh at me but I'm not stupid - I once did a jigsaw in 6 weeks when the box said 3 - 6 years.