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Yeah, the talks were offered by Lloyd Burton, whose article was linked above. You brought attention to the seeming weakness of Leigh Brasington, who led the retreat, but did not write the article in question. Im assuming Lloyd was one of the speakers at the retreat. I dont see any particular reason as to why you need to nit-pick. If the article is useful then take what is good and leave the rest. I understand it may not be adequate for a lofty practitioner, but hey, its good enough for me cos im still learning.

that article was written by Lloyd Burton.

Nungali, the description 'Reverse geyser' suits you to a T.

Insightful article on the integration of meditative absorptions (Jhanas) and the Brahma Viharas. http://www.leighb.com/jhnbrmvhr.htm

Im getting notification "There appears to be an error with the database" and unable to access most topics and contents. Anyone else have the same issue?

Hi Bes, did you try deleting the history and logging in again? Usually works for me after the site's been down for a while.

So the way forward is perhaps to raise awareness of habit-triggers and find neutralizing antidotes where negative ones are noted. This brings up the question again: What is the root problem - thoughts, imaginations and fantasies, or a lack of awareness?

Below is apparently the mother of Lhoga Tulku Rinpoche. In her later years, she became a nun and commenced intensive practice. A few days ago this kindly lady passed away, and amazingly her whole body shrank to about one foot long. Its believed this is the sign of high realization. The above was shared via FB. As yet unable to verify if this actually took place. Nothing showing up on the www, and none of my friends have any pertinent info on this. Anyone here heard or read anything which can help to shed some light on this? Im not one to speculate nor keen on sensationalism, but well & good if true. What do you think - does the lower pic looks like its been retouched?

Thank you Rex. Im increasingly unconvinced by the authenticity of this report.

I think there is nothing wrong with following thoughts or fantasies when accompanied by awareness. Getting lost or distracted by these acts is the result of losing awareness. It is not caused by the arising of thoughts or fantasies per se. We can lose attention, concentration and awareness, which creates some notion that we are no longer present, but that is just a notion, nothing more. The fact is we are always present even when we are not - it is not something for us to lose because we don't actually own anything, least of all this state called 'presence'. Sounds silly, but that about sums it up.

I had the same question wrt the head not shrinking. The binding is part of the process, but if this happened only in the last few days, bearing in mind how the Tibetans revere such a manifestation, im doubtful if they would allow the body to be moved, let alone photographed, at least until the process is completed, and to see it placed in a container like that reminds me somehow of carelessness/callousness.

Its not that simple i think.

Well thats good reasoning, but it still does not explain why it should be feared unless the core issue is something else other than one's fundamental nature. Analyzing data is good. Personal experience is good. Reflecting on the experiences of others is good. Intuitive insight gained from physical and non-physical teachers is good, which should add up to positive result - so how does the fear part enter into the equation?

....which is dry

How do you know that the true nature is divine? Maybe its just the most ordinary thing? By calling it divine is self-seduction - which might explain why people clamour for that state. Would the fear and desire cease if the label was changed to 'dry', for example? Or 'pus-like'? Divinity is an alluring term. So is buddha-nature for that matter, but the approach to this from the pov of Buddhism has never been one which defines that nature as divine.

Anyway, attachment is the main defilement of human beings—we know how to be attached to so many things, we are more capable of complex attachment than animals. Animals have attachment but they have attachment for simple things. Their attachment is very fixed and predictable, but our attachment is very sophisticated. Sometimes we don’t know ourselves, we also get confused about ourselves—attachment can have all kinds of overlapping attachment, attachment to having no attachment for example. So all of these things we have to deal with ................... step by step. So generosity is not just to make poor people rich, it is so much deeper than that. If it were just to make poor people rich, then we would first have to define who is poor because there are so many different levels of poor—money-poor, knowledge-poor, wisdom-poor, capability poor, appreciation-poor, satisfaction-poor, contentment-poor, all kinds of poor. So which one do we have to deal with first? And how do we make them all rich—knowledge-rich, wisdom rich, financially-rich, contentment-rich—all of these combined, or some of them, or what exactly? That way we would never reach the paramita. We would have to make all sentient beings in the entire universe rich in everything, which is not realistic and could even be harmful thinking. But it’s not that. The basis must be realized... When we are free from triplicity, when we are free from duality, then we have reached the generosity paramita. ~ Tai Situ Rinpoche ~

Yeah, you are right. Just meditate. Forget about all the jargon. I apologise for imposing.

Supercharged waveforms is simply the dynamic principle behind evolutionary consciousness, which is the force that drives the gradual adaptation and eventual habit of learning to ride a bicycle, or working on a Rubik's Cube, as two very straightforward examples. Until one actually masters either one, certain key terms and subtleties behind the instructions can never be fully grasped, but by becoming fully familiar with the activity to the extent of experiencing success would it then all make sense.

My secret level spiritual partner is the Buddhadharma . Inner level partner is shunyata. Outer level partner is my girlfriend. Fail one still have two. no worries.

Dzogchen is not based on Padmasambhava, is it?

stars are abounding a coyote howls nearby pining for her cub...

my little grey cells empowered by batteries too many to count...

the bear fur blanket a dimpled gecko above invading my space...

One lily. Buddhist temple grounds, Malaysia