doc benway

Well said... again we agree. Far too many of us are living in the hungry ghost realm and our present Western model, which is being adopted world wide, makes it challenging for folks to realize that it's possible do otherwise. And that can happen to anyone, we all have the potential under the right circumstances. The distinction between them and us is artificial.

Yes, I'm unfortunately familiar with that photograph and with some of the history of the First People of this "great" country of ours, baptized in slavery and genocide. No surprise that her children are addicted to violence and power. Your discussion of reality begs the question, what is reality now? Is it not the screen itself? It's as if the organic is now unreality. Technology seems to me to be little more than an amplifier of human intention. And one thing is for sure, the human tends to be insatiable.

I agree with you 100%, that doesn't lessen the irony. If we are so down on the technology why use it? Why not live our values rather than write about them? And yes, I'm guilty as well. Technology, like all else, is a balance - yin / yang It makes our lives much easier and more pleasant, which makes us fat, sick, and lazy... It allows us to feed, clothe, and shelter our kind much more efficiently and effectively, and so we have overpopulated the planet and will eventually choke ourselves out by using up our resources. Our cognitive abilities have taken us to wonderful places in the arts, sciences, and spiritual realm, and put us at risk from religious fundamentalism, nuclear technology, child pornography, and pollution... There's no free ride. With great freedom and capacity comes great responsibility and, unfortunately, we can clearly see how sorely lacking we are in emotional and intellectual maturity as a species. Like Jiddu Krishnamurti liked to point out, we've come a very long way technologically, but not emotionally or psychologically. I do seem to see some degree of change and awakening in the generation of my children and their children and that gives me hope. At the same time, I continue to meditate on my own death daily and that brings me security.

I think you are on the right track. There is no need to be too attached to have your feet directly on the earth to benefit from practice. I would suggest a practice that seeks to help connect with and find balance among the elements. Depending upon your training and tradition, the elements take different forms - that's unimportant. The important part if finding in yourself that connection to each of the elements. Open yourself and quiet yourself inside. Then you have the opportunity to see and feel how you are actually a manifestation of these elements in every aspect of your being. If you are quiet and sensitive enough and patient, you may see where you may be lacking or over representing these elements and just that awareness and openness will help bring them into balance. This is simply a meditation on the elements that I've found very beneficial. If you know them you could practice this along with prayers, mantras, and mudras - or simply by itself. Enjoy

In answer to the OP's question - I have no idea. These experiences of oneness do occur. The teachings and practices of the mystics of all the wisdom traditions attempt to help us to get there - Jesuit, Sufi, Kabbalist, Bön, Buddhist, Hindu, Daoist... each in their own unique and beautiful way has developed methods for this. While I respect each of these approaches, I am not personally convinced that there is a direct relationship between doing any particular practice for any particular period of time and this awakening that you seek. Jiddu Krishnamurti saw this and, despite his warts and imperfections, tried to use this lack of certainty and security to help guide people to that very goal that he felt could not be reached with any guidance. His approach appealed to the intellect and use of rational thought to transcend itself. While it may seem paradoxical, this goal we seek is inherently paradoxical as are the methods that point to it. In my view, this state that you are looking for is already within you, within all of us, it is the foundation of who and what we are. It is obscured by all of our conditioning that has been passed down from generation to generation from time immemorial. This conditioning is very powerful and ingrained. I do believe that the practices and teachings of the mystics can open our eyes to the conditioning, to the ignorance and obscurations. Once we are aware and directing our attention to this, we have already begun the process of dismantling, cutting through, and perhaps one day transcending. I do feel that doing this type of work is worthwhile. Not necessarily because it will be successful - for the right person at the right time, it can occur in an instant or elude us for a lifetime. But at least practices that cultivate awareness and seeing through these obstacles do not continue to reinforce and strengthen the ignorance. There is a saying in taijiquan with respect to how to use the methods to beat an opponent in combat which comes from how one goes about uprooting a tree: 一搖二晃三擊 : yi yao, er huang, san ji, which means to first shake and loosen the roots, second uproot, and destabilize the foundation, third attack and destroy. I think we can look at these practices in a similar way. In the beginning we become aware of what is preventing us from connecting with what you seek, our true nature. That serves to shake and loosen the hold our ignorance has over us. Next we begin to dismantle the shell of obscuration that surrounds us and guides our every thought and action. Finally, if we are fortunate enough (some might say blessed, or having suitable karma), the walls may come tumbling down and reveal what lies underneath. As I said earlier, I'm not convinced that there is any completely reliable and reproducible method for this. I do think that the Daoist, Bön, and Buddhist methods have some degree of efficacy. I'm not familiar enough with the others to comment but I suspect that they do as well, otherwise they would have been abandoned long ago. On the other hand, I think a large part of it depends on the individual. Not only what they do but who they are, how they are put together, what produced them over generations of breeding and behavior... in a word - karma. So I don't think I can help you at all and I expect nothing from you in return. But it makes me feel quite good to know that you are aware enough to recognize that something is there and that you care. And for that, even though it may cause you enormous pain and frustration, I think you should be extremely grateful because it means that you've taken a step in the right direction and are blessed with the opportunity to try. _/\_

Nice to see you Aaron. I hope things are good with you.

With respect to quantum mechanics, the word quantum was first utilized by Max Planck and indicated that changes occurred in discrete amounts (quanta) when observing behavior of systems on a very small scale. This led to the view of fundamental aspects of nature occurring in a discontinuous fashion which was heresy from the perspective of classical Newtonian mechanics. It subsequently led to a much more sophisticated understanding of light, energy, as well as atomic and sub-atomic structure. The irony regarding folks criticizing QM on an internet forum is that I think it's fair to say that without quantum mechanics we would not have (or at least would not understand) the very computers we are using today. Certainly we may have devoped them in other ways (mechanical, vacuum tubes) but our understanding of semiconductivity and solid-state transistors is rooted in QM as far as I know (but take everything I say with a grain of salt - I'm no expert).

There is no better teacher than the natural state of mind - the state which is not characterized by any specific thought or experience but holds the potential for and hosts all thought and experience. If one is truly able to rest the mind in stillness, silence, and spaciousness, the reasons for and benefits of this practice will become clear. No book or website can make it any more clear than direct experience. Sometimes being in a state without thought is more like being in a stupor - this has no value whatsoever. It's important to be able to distinguish between the two and the former generally requires some degree of competent guidance whereas the latter does not. Good luck!

I also have a connection with crows. My friend, who is Lakota Sioux, shuns them and refers to them as harbingers of trouble. My experience is different, I find them to be valuable teachers, then again I'm not Lakota.

I can't like this twice so I'll quote it... I have a wonderful book that does something like this called Mathematics: From the Birth of Numbers by Jan Gullberg. While we may criticize science and scientists, looking at the temporal evolution of methods and views is humbling for me. I have enormous respect for the people in the trenches and the work they did, are doing, and will do in these fields. And yet I can't help but think that no matter how far our intellect takes us, it will never capture the experience of that moment when we take a deep breath, exhale, and rest in that space that remains, undisturbed by thought. This puts me in mind of Roger Penrose, a theoretical physicist who has been working on ideas about quantum theory and consciousness for some time, who referred to string theory as "a fashion" and quantum mechanics as "faith."

One of the best book purchases I've ever made...

It's nice to remember sometimes that our different paths still rest on the same earth... most of the time.

I always find it suspect when information on quantum mechanics is taken from a virulent anti-semitic and sexually obsessed source, but that's just me.... The beauty of modern physics methods and views (quantum mechanics, string theory,...) is that they seem to get closer and closer to my experiential frame of reference developed through years of Daoist and Buddhist practices. Very reassuring to see the scientific and spiritual paths converge, at least in my own limited interpretation and experience. edit - corrected a few typos, it's early

That death is going to come, willing or otherwise. I think that the same willingness can simply be brought to letting go of effort and resting in what is, as it is, for now. Then maybe we can do it with death as well. That will be quite a journey - I've been meditating on it often of late. I am blessed in that my job gives me a chance to make contact with it daily.

Illusion or not, faith is the fuel that can allow some to take the journey you so eloquently describe. When's its been felt, that can be felt in the words. Thank you for your post.

You are all awesome

Hi Nickolai, Nice of you to share and cultivate your vulnerability as you are doing. For me, I try to notice the one that is feeling these feelings. As that becomes clearer, I get the sense that there is a feeling there - sometimes good and sometimes very bad, but that feeling is not who I am. Our error (ignorance) is to over-identify with that feeling. Then it is a problem. When we do not identify with it strongly, it is seen for what it is. A feeling that is there for a time, then gone as another feeling comes. The one who feels and experiences all of these things is "something" altogether different. It transcends feeling, harm, even death, although sometimes it doesn't feel like that. That is the refuge to seek when the feelings are threatening for me. And when I can rest there, I know that I cannot be harmed by those feelings. Good luck and blessings to you.

Butter, salt, and white pepper...

Does anyone have interest in a thread sharing inspirational or interesting images and photos related to the Dharma? Here's a very cool photo taken in the 1970's or early 1980's I came across that I'd like to share - In the center is Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, to his left is Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and behind is Chogyal Namkhai Norbu.

Baguazhang is a wonderful compliment to qigong and taijiquan if you can find a teacher. That said, when I was putting a lot of focus into the martial arts, meditation, and qigong for many years I also felt like I was missing something. That something turned out to be opening my heart, practicing love and compassion - now nothing seems to be missing.

Nicely said It seems to me that faith is inseparable from the spiritual path. The seeker is unsatisfied and looking beyond mind. Faith is that which gives this endeavor meaning, direction, and sustenance. It is both a beacon and a support, depending on where you are on the path.

Please follow these simple guidelines: 1. Post the title of the book and author as the topic title. Feel free to abbreviate if the title is long but try to make it clear what is being discussed. 2. In the first post in your book topic, lead off with the full title, the author's full name, and a link to the book on a retail site if possible, to facilitate others getting the book. 3. In the first post, also include a brief summary of why you chose the book, what it's about, and when you would like to begin the discussion. Feel free to lead a formalized discussion or just open the floor to generalized discussion at your discretion. 4. We'll leave these topics ongoing so that people can dig up old threads and continue discussions as they read books that might interest the group. 5. Please search the subforum prior to posting a new topic to avoid duplication. Many thanks to Adeha for the idea.

I'd rather you be open and honest than careful, like you usually are. This takes us to the comments made by "the1gza." It is my opinion that believing that "we have the truth first hand" is a type of faith. In fact, the presumption that we "have the truth" is generally a mistake, IMO. Our brain creates an image which it then interprets, then reifies that image and equates it with reality. Your experience of the tree is quite different from that of other people and other lifeforms - it is not truth, just perception.

So much good stuff - thanks CT