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The republic of Ireland is very unique in the sense that its snake-free. Legend has it that St. Patrick drove them all away and cast a protective spell over the land so that none of these reptiles can find a way to survive here. To this day there is no record of any snakes found anywhere on the island.

Awakened heart can always be discovered like that. It does not take gearing up or struggling to achieve. When strategies are not yet formed and we feel uncertain about which way to turn, in those moments of vulnerability, bodhichatta is always there. It manifests as basic openness, which Buddhists call shunyata. It manifests as basic tenderness, basic compassionate warmth. When we walk around like we’re expecting to be attacked, we block the seeing of this awakened heart. When we release the tension between this and that, the struggle between us and them, that’s when bodhichitta will emerge. At the relative level, this awakened heart is felt as kinship with all beings. At the absolute level, we experience it as ground-lessness or open space. ~ Pema Chödrön ~ When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

Personally, i do not feel that there ought to be any confusion between the two. It has been said that the greatest strength comes from limitless kindness and gentleness. There are, however, persistent confusion among so-called practitioners between the known, knowing, and not knowing. The known, meaning accumulated memories, can stun a person so tragically that basic beauty, strength, goodness and potential gets enmeshed and mired by doubt, trauma and self-defeating habits associated with the past. In this, clarity slowly degenerates, uncertainties creep in, and could result in being so stuck in the past that helplessness is all that one feels, like a goat being slowly suffocated by a boa constrictor. What little strength is there eventually is snuffed out, and one becomes paralysed and fearful from dark imaginings churned up in dreams and regretful thoughts. To be in a state of knowing all the time is best. This suggests flexibility and a readiness to respond adequately and spontaneously to any given situation. In such a state, it is easy to maintain a sense of equilibrium, thereby cultivating a state that has no room for frivolous wastage of energy since one's mind and body is always in a state of rest. This is the ideal vantage point, one that naturally inspires inner confidence, mental dexterity and physical vigour. No longer pulled by hope and fear, ego is finally mastered, allowing genuine pride to surface, all the while not losing perspective on the value of true humility. Finally, not knowing is simply to remain in an ignorant state usually by choice. This is the least conducive ground for any personal development to evolve. One who is imprisoned by ignorance is usually ruled by anger, lust, perversion and vengeful thoughts. Needless to say, even if one were to possess the physical might of an elephant but remain prone to one or more of these negativities, gradually, if not rectified, the end result will be the rise of habitual self-hate and a continuity of ever-deepening delusion.

Q: What is your intention, young man? A: My intention is to become the president of America. Q: Well, well... and where do you see yourself 10 years from now? A: Sitting in the Oval office and smokin' cigar while browsing FB of course. Duh. Intention is kinda like having an idea of what we want, for example a cake, and visualisation is kinda like drooling just thinking of the absolute delight we'd get from a spoonful of luscious blueberry cheesecake in our mouth. WARNING: This post contains graphic images that may offend, and is intended for clarification only. Practice only under strict expert supervision.

The World from Light's Point of View

thinks, "Detention camp." feels like a tour of Warsaw acts like a tourist...

I know its not everyone's cup of tea, but speaking from the pov of Buddhism, while its good to empathise and do what we can to alleviate suffering and help those who need it should this be a phase of our current life experience, we are also reminded that ultimately, its all just a very absorbing, dramatic movie and we are both the director, the actor(s) and the prop person(s) - its good to feel deeply about the movie we are directing in order to give it a sense of realness, but at the same time, the teachings often remind us of the futility and danger of thinking that anything is actually happening on the screen, no matter how real the images appear on it. So we do what we can to enhance the picture quality, to keep it believable, keep it functional, yet at the same time if we can remember/be mindful not to get carried away, just as the director who directs a tragic scene can make it more or less dramatic depending on circumstances and capability, then we will succeed in making a worthwhile movie.

Since even before birth!!

Or iron thimble perhaps? Cant be leaving fingerprints on anything... lol

One year and then another. Appearances gradually change. Bone marrow shrivels. Eyebrows thin away. This time-limited body is like a mound of slurry. In the Triple World, earth, air, fire and water mingle and change. This is all our emotions allow us to notice And their sight obstructs our view of Heaven. One month and then another. The light and dark pass like melting snow. No part can be kept for long. Only the Dharma does not come or go. The lacquer bowl suddenly breaks. You are like the Dragon of Heaven - born to be lively and free. A roc can't live in a crane's nest. A little jiaoliao bird needs to stay near mosquito ponds. One day and then another. They never wear themselves out. Give up your judgments about everything. It's all insubstantial in the end. All things under the sun come to an end and dissolve. Spend what time you have in honest simplicity. Just one breath of the Eternal Admits you to the Great Chamber. One hour and then another. Inexorably march, step by step. Whenever I meet you, we each smile. But who is it who drags your corpse around? Steadfast and unchangeable Always mindful of this or that. You're young and strong. Exert yourself! Don't wait... oh please don't wait Until you're much too old and weak. ~ Hsu Yun ~

yellow submarine a jaundiced practitioner turns lead into gold...

Thats a very likely scenario.

It was a straightforward and simple ponderance, with no assumptions tied to it.

No one needs to proof anything to you. You overrate yourself.

Im just wondering, of the million plus Brits living around the EU, how many will have to return should Brexit happen.

This will have a bearing on the referendum as well. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/eu-referendum-how-many-uk-citizens-live-european-union-where-infographic-1526116

thats what it says in Dzogchen literature, and its easy to parrot the words.

Its unlikely you have made the effort to personally verify this.

So did i, until yesterday that is. Apparently its 66 days. (according to research done by the University College, London)

at snickerdoodle two bassets and a poodle one white and two browns...

Kudos to you for the level-headedness in assessing your life journey with as much honesty as it deserves. That in itself will gain you merit as you meander along the spiritual path. I have been blessed to have met quite a number of teachers who have inspired me immensely, and have also attended retreats under their guidance, and also spent some part of my journey living and working in Buddhist sanghas/centres. It has been revelational, imparting life and spiritual lessons which i would otherwise have missed. Just thinking back fills me with tremendous inspiration once again and also gratitude, not to mention increased devotion to the triple Gem.

The Celtic Tiger was just an illusion created and driven by crooked and greedy bankers and gangsters, aided by a wimpish govt. Got a lot of people into trouble, with the richest man here at that time not spared the heartless machinations of dirty bankers and dirtier politicians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Se%C3%A1n_Quinn If you read of a revival, its just another attempted spin to hoodwink the naive Irish yet again. Their good-naturedness and lack of firmness and determination reminds some of India and the Indians under colonial rule way back when. Observing as a non-Irish, i can see that policies are shaped around this apparent weakness of the Irish people. Its very sad because for a long time the Irish as a people have been at the receiving end of shoddy governance, one which seems to opt for short term measures and placation whenever there is unease or economic turmoil in the country. Personally i dont see this changing anytime soon, especially when the last PM, a weak-minded ex-teacher was given a second term due to a hung election. It was farcical.

Exemplified neatly by Ireland's current wobbly situation. Considering the punitive position Ireland occupies within the EU, it is shocking to see how mismanaged and mangled the whole mechanism of government has become. There are reasons for this, one of which i suspect is that the country has been zoned as a sort of dumping ground for benefit seekers. The situation is dire in this particular issue, and also in many other internal issues for eg, healthcare, education, transport, housing, crime... its a long list of broken.

Seekers by virtue of their status will tend to be confused no matter where they seek. In the tradition i follow, people come and go. That is the nature of circling around being lost to understanding some of the basic requirements of attending retreats long or short. Zen has plenty of heart. There are scores of worthwhile biographies available attesting to this. Maybe you will like to study some of them. An example would be 'Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind' by Maura O'Halloran. There are numerous others, and works by the Zen patriachs are replete with inspiring anecdotes, poems, rituals, and the like, that speaks of finding the transcendental and sacred in the mundane. No other Buddhist tradition does a better job at this, imo.

Creating merit is part of creating new karma. Basically the idea is to change the whole structure of ones personality. For example becoming less selfish or less self centered or more tolerant, etc. One becomes a different person. That is the merit aspect and the wisdom aspect is to understand the nature of the self. What the self is. To realize that the self is not an immutable unchanging psychic principle but it is a structure formed by many kinds of psychic elements all clustered together. That is what forms this notion of the self. So that is the wisdom aspect. The merit aspect increases from the change in the person. How the person behaves, relates to the world, and the wisdom aspect has to do with perception , how one sees oneself and how one perceives the world. ~ Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche ~