doc benway

sorry, I’ll put something else here soon

This puts me in mind of the title of a wonderful book published in 1969 by Jiddu Krishnamurti, Freedom From the Known.

I suggest that for everyone such must be dealt with thus not bypassed. I suspect @stirling would concur. To recognize the relative nature of designations such as good and evil doesn’t necessarily mean bypassing. All practitioners need to be aware of bypassing. And I would say you don’t have to be a practitioner to bypass - anyone can repress, suppress, feign ignorance, willfully ignore, look the other way, indulge in escapism, etc… and convince themselves they are doing well for themselves and others, all of that is bypassing. It’s happening all the time “for the rest of us” as well as those of us in la la land, wherever that may be.

On a related note, I offer the example of the dreaded gluten:

It was not meant to be rhetorical. You speak often of good and evil and I wonder if you take them to be absolute or relative. Good and evil are adjectives, labels we use to designate our reaction and relationship to actions, statements, and people mostly. Our reactions are based on individual and collective experience, education, and conditioning. So yes, I consider good and evil designations to be relative designations, dependent on a host of factors. In fact, in many ways they are as dependent on the judge as on the object of said judgment.

Do you believe good and evil to be absolute or relative judgements?

There’s an important difference. He did not say “Who is mindful?” There is no question being asked or answer expected. Observe ‘who’ is mindful. Look directly at who is looking, no question or answer there, just look directly. ‘Who’ is behind my name and face and profession and thoughts-feelings ! What is there left or left to do, when there are no more designations, not even who.. Rest the body, speech, and mind and just be open. Look for it in stillness of the body, in silence of inner and outer voice and narrative, and in the experience of spaciousness, openness of the mind and heart. If you look properly, you will see. It is always there, you can never move away from it. But it needs to be pointed out by someone who knows how to point, the one that goes before, because it is too habitually overlooked, too unfamiliar, too simple. Some see it spontaneously, others not, and it’s always crystal clear and open, with the potential for giving rise to all appearances and experiences, the Great Perfection. This is also where “What is nothing (MU)?” will take ‘you’ if you take enough time with it. What is nothing exactly? The question eludes and exhausts the conceptual mind and in a flash you see what is always there, where thoughts and feelings come from and where they go and what is left when they have passed, if you are quiet and open enough. But it looks like ‘nothing’ because none of the labels work, the eye can’t see itself. So it’s called empty. But it’s not absence or non-existence because it’s all playing out here and now, so vivid and present with, or without ‘who’ just leave everything just as it is. And the thoughts and emotions, they’ll be back.. And you know ‘who’ will be back, already is I’d wager. And so it goes and you’ll notice, and reconnect with the stillness, silence and spaciousness over and again until it is more than familiar, until it is trusted, Refuge. That’s one way to practice.

Many years ago my karate sensei told me to sign up for a black belt test. I told him I wasn't ready. He got pissed, and he never got angry. He said something like, ‘You think you know better than me whether or not you’re ready? Sign up!' We can’t always see ourselves clearly and we can have a much better picture if we can also see ourselves through the eyes of others. This is one of the values of interacting on this forum for me. It’s taught me a lot about myself.

You who want knowledge, see the Oneness within. There you will find the clear mirror already waiting. Hadewijch II of Antwerp, 13th century

If we have the good fortune to connect with a teacher who has truly “gone before” and demonstrates mastery, walks the walk, I think it’s invaluable to learn as much as we can, to observe as thoroughly as we can, while we have the chance. A good teacher will let us know in no uncertain terms when it is time for us to fly on our own. We may think we know when we’re ready as well, and we may or may not be accurate. Either way, I think it is fine to follow our instinct, even if we prove to be wrong. We will learn something either way. I had the experience with both my neijia/neigong teacher and my Bön teacher. I tended to be a bit dependent on both and took their queues when they came. After teaching for a while and coming to him periodically with challenging questions from students, I remember my taiji/neigong teacher telling me something like, ‘It’s your turn to figure it out now. You can’t depend on me forever.’ It felt very harsh at the time. I didn’t feel quite ready to be the “authority” but him pushing back gave me the confidence I needed to accept that authority, whether it felt warranted or not. When my Bön teacher pushed back, it was similar. I would email him experiences and questions and one day he said something like, ‘As much as I like to help, I’m very busy and you need to learn where to look for your own answers. You know where to look, you need to trust that.’ Now, whenever a question or uncertainty comes up I simply stay with it, not pushing it away or trying to figure it out, just being with the question, with the uncertainty. If I am quiet enough inside and open enough to the subtle, inner winds, the answer is nearly always already there and usually in the voice and aura of my teachers. If the answer isn’t there, I have learned to be OK with that too. With time it comes and if it does not, perhaps it’s not something I need at the moment.

where’d my money go to fund eggs, and oligarchs pray for my country

ps - recognize that suffering also expends energy, a lot of energy, so choose wisely

A few thoughts, FWIW, although I would not call myself “Buddhist." I think there is focus on suffering for two reasons. One is that it is unpleasant but, more importantly, it is optional. That pain is part of life (physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual) is absolutely undeniable. The degree to which we suffer because of that pain is variable and there are concrete steps we can take to reduce it. When we suffer, we do not see as clearly and our decisions and choices come from a distorted view. Liberation of suffering allows us to show up more fully for ourselves and others and our choices can come from clarity and openness, giving more options and more accurate responses, sometimes surprising and unexpected. For some, this is worth the expenditure of energy, for others maybe not.

The yang side of English bulldog ownership is they can’t reach their butt. The yin side is that it needs wiping from time to time...

Knocking on that Bad Gateway Too pearly for the swine? If sean remembers we’re out here waiting Everything’s gonna be fine!

What I think is important is that we have the capacity and willingness to really look at our beliefs, where they come from, what they mean, and who they benefit. Then equally important to be open to new possibilities, even those that seem far fetched or implausible.

I don’t have to imagine it. Looking back at my education, I see very little but indoctrination. Looking at the current state of the world, I see very little information that is not propaganda. None of this is accidental and it exists even in “free” countries. Priming us from early childhood makes us more pliable as adults.

Me too

Seems better this am.

No escaping that! I am is everywhere but where I am not

Slow again for me as well. Slow all day yesterday and this AM.

Shakshuka is delish! If I’m feeling industrious, I’ll occasionally make fresh tortillas with red cornmeal. That kicks it up a notch but like you say, too long for a regular breakfast meal.

Morning slop - 2 scrambled eggs in a pan followed rapidly by a tortilla, pressing down gently to allow egg to cover both sides. Cook, flip, then add sautéed onions, potatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes. Add shredded cheese (I like cheddar and Jack) then gently roll in pan and serve with salsa.

takes no prisoners wisdom of mountains and Earth speaking with candor