C T

Are you guys really serious about going around shooting one another to prove a point? Man.... would you just reflect on this for a minute and think what it sounds like, and how claiming such cwazy stunts have any bearing on spiritual development sounds so incredibly stupid, childish and basically shallow. Based on what you have said, its apparent that you guys have been carried away by fantasy. What a shame cos there's so much intelligence and potential in all of you. Misdirected somewhat, and rather hopeful... but however it is, i think you guys are chasing nothing but flowers in the sky.

Welcome to TTB, Mr PGJ. What part of Ireland are you in? Im in the beautiful West, Galway to be precise. There are two Tibetan Buddhist centres in the Republic. One in Cavan, the other in West Cork. I know the West Cork centre, Rigpa, under the auspices of Sogyal Rinpoche, has a number of branches in all the main towns and cities here. Their website will have all the information if you are interested. Being a noob is good. Beginner's mind, as they say. Peace, CT

There are alternative types of flour other than wheat. I bake cakes with rice flour mostly.

One of the 'healthiest' sugar alternative, which is quite popular with artisan bakers big into healthy bakes, is light or dark molasses. Molasses are known to alkalinise the body, which is a good thing.

unprocessed sugar?

pack it out, campers winged birds fly, yet leave no trace do souls e'er get lost?

I saw all this coming right at the start of that 'feminism helps men' topic.

Oh, please don't! Well, as i said above, depends on your goal really. Mine is to increase awareness, hence the ideal approach to take with this aim in mind is short sessions - break - short sessions - break... this can be for however long i want. I can do this for days on end if that's what i choose to do, but currently not in the position for this to be effected, although have done it in the past in formal retreat settings. In that environment, there comes a time when sleep and waking moments merge, and awareness pervades both. During the retreat we sleep very little anyway, like 4 hours, so its kind of easy to get to that level. Most retreatants reach it within 20 days of solid practice. Sometimes one can see mantric seed syllables, yidams and buddhas appearing in dreams, and other times see phantasmagoric images, those that are usually associated with dreams, while wide awake. Teacher said this is a solid, auspicious sign of stable result for it engenders a familiarity with the bardo after death and before rebirth.

Why not shoot him a mail to request clarification. Sounds a little funny to me too.

after reading thru all the comments and responses, it suddenly struck me that the highest achievement for a Vajrayana Buddhist adept is to reach non-meditation, which equates to a gradual lessening of time spent on formal meditation and yet an increase in effortless non-distraction. There is nothing to be envious about pertaining to length of time one is able to sit in meditation. Longer does not mean better. Usually it means quite the opposite, as sometimes practitioners can get hooked on the spacious mental environment and seeks to remain there with increasing frequency, or worst case scenario, find it more and more difficult to 'return'. In Vajrayana meditation practices, the yardstick is not how long one can sit, but how aware one can be out of sitting, back into everyday living. As the saying goes, Non-meditation is the fruit, meditation is only the means. Its easy to confuse the means with the fruit. I do understand not all paths have the same ideal, though. I have investigated various practices, and have found that the Buddhist approach trumps all the others because it does not lead to dependency. In fact, the more time one withdraws into the shell of meditative absorption, the more the meditation teacher will see that he/she has failed miserably to impart a correct view to that student. Watch out for Joeblast's reference to 'dead tree zen'. Thats like a Venus Fly Trap of the meditation world, A very enticing pool which drowns a lot of meditators.

Yeah, but do you realize also that these teachers hardly read nor answer the mails themselves? They have a team of assistants doing that for them due to their 'celebrity-like' status. I once wrote an email to Adyashanti, just expressing how grateful i was to have stumbled on one so young and wise. Two weeks later, i got a reply from his assistant, saying 'thanks', with a footnote to remind me that Adya is an extremely busy teacher so please excuse the fact that he could not reply to every piece of mail personally. I thought to myself, "Sure, why not. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts."

The bardo of becoming is like purgatory. haha... you're quite right there!

Well, GMP, that which you have said above is almost exactly what 'bardo' means. Of course bardos exist. Bardo does not mean what you think it means. What it basically refers to are 'intermediate states'. Eg, From the time you become aware of a thirst to the time you quench that thirst, that is a 'bardo'. From the time a craving arises to the time that craving is satiated, that is a 'bardo'. Bardo does not mean a place for departed souls. Its not even a place as such. It points to transitional phases, which indicates that all component things are subject to change at anytime. When a person comes to rest in the nowness of now, then he or she is resting in the intermediate state between past and future. In truth, there are no words that can come close to describing that stateless state of resting because once its realised, one sees only one perfect continuum, flowing from nowhere and ending nowhere. This realisation brings an end to the bardo of becoming. Karmas are extinguished with the cessation of this bardo.

Aye. _/\_

"To do a dull thing with style -- now, that's what I call art." "The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship, you don't have to waste your time voting." "You begin saving the world by saving one man at a time. All else is either grandiose romanticism or politics." 3 quotes, by Charles Bukowski

harmony alights from a jumbo jet called Dwayne going nowhere fast...

Ananda. Thats me. hehehe....

Ahh, thats great news! That means we are all oozing with potential!! Yay!!!!

in the foliage enokitake mushrooms expand and contract...

The compassion you mentioned above, GMP, is only a very beginner approach in Mahayana. In Mahayana, its called outer compassion, and has to do with everyday understanding of what compassion is... do good, treat others as one wants to be treated, and all that. Most teachers of mindfulness are well aware of the importance of incorporating compassion into their courses, but are apprehensive they will lose students due to Western conditioning associated with the word 'compassion'. You see, many of these teachers are making a living out of facilitating mindfulness-based programs. No students means no income. Sure, there are also many who are doing great work, charitable work -- in prisons, hospices, etc. conducting similar trainings. These are the ones who seem to have some conviction to integrate the conjoined principle of wisdom and compassion, both in their own lives and those whom they are assisting. Buddhist meditation is not restrictive. Even dying people can practice... in fact, dying people should be practicing more. Its not helpful to compare Qi Gong practices with Buddhist mind training. Both are good, but with completely different dynamics. When integrated, great results can be seen.

Your effort in analyzing/detailing your perception is very much appreciated. Its clearer where you're coming from. I was merely opining on what i read into that particular 'handbag' post. It did not strike me at all that he was putting down all women. I had thought he was making an obvious comparison between women who are more absorbed by materialism as opposed to a very rare few here on TTB who probably couldn't care less about what sales are on where, be it handbags, shoes and all the other excitable objects that a hefty proportion of women today, especially now with their increased disposable incomes, hankered after in the past and could now afford to possess. I never underestimate the immense satisfaction humans have in the ability to possess something... anything. Its as if their self-value increase thru the gratification of that deep longing to own something which their minds objectify. These things are then desirably wrapped up by media houses to tantalise and scintillate the unawares, men as well as women. Perhaps it'd be worthwhile to do a research on what profit percentages advertising companies are creaming off the top from targeting women, and whether or not they have significantly stepped up their campaigns in this sector in the last decade or so, due to a increasingly large pool of women having their own independent income now PLUS probably another source of secondary income either from their spouse or ex-spouse. These companies must be rubbing their hands in glee and will come as no surprise if they are also agent provocateurs to the feminist movement, for very selfish reasons, naturally. My gut tells me these ad agencies are getting bored with men. Not only do men of today have only one source of income, but due to the almost idiotic legal systems in place all over Europe/USA/rest of the world, this source of income is often the subject of scrutiny by the courts (in the event of dispute), dissected, and parts have to be shared due to various reasons, some of which are actually not the men's doing. But it matters not. Judges don't want to hear anything in favour of the men, especially where there are kids involved. Is this an agreeable point? I would like to hear different views on this. Im only speaking from conjecture here, and not from experience, although i have seen a number of male associates and acquaintances crumble under the sheer pressure of a separation while their partners kick off their shoes and drink champagne in Costa del Sol. No, im not slagging women here. That is too easy to do, and a cop out. If i was in their shoes, perhaps i will do the exact same thing, maybe even more. I feel there has to be a more sinister undercurrent at work somewhere, and right now, its not clear where is the root of the problem. This flow is bound to be detrimental to both men and women in a couple of decades from now... and there are glimmers of this happening already, some of which have already been discussed on this very thread. Eg, the fact that young children nowadays are no longer seeing the relevance of education. There is major disrespect of teachers happening in the education system now(not the fault of the students), and kids are more preoccupied with things which are clearly mis-prioritised. This is a vast issue that spans all cultures and societal levels. Its a monumental challenge to redirect the flow, and god bless those who seem oblivious to this ominous unfolding. Off-topic rant over.

When i read Aetherous's comment first time, it did not conjure up the idea in my head that he intended that remark as applicable to all women -- just pockets of them, which, btw, in modern times now, is the unfortunate truth. Any intelligent person reading that same remark should probably see the same thing too, that is, that there are women (as well as men) who could do with living more consciously by not succumbing to materialistic distractions. Aetherous made a clear statement - that generalized observations do not hold much water because there will always be exceptions to the rule. It was a fair comment, and should be taken in context. Not advising anyone how to think or how to view things here, nor calling anyone out for being overly adamant without genuine grounds to be so. Sometimes we need to reevaluate our views, and make necessary corrections when the time is appropriate, even if that means having to put one's pride aside.

The Mahayana tradition already recognised this ages ago. Thats why, traditionally, it is said that mindfulness training alone serves only one half of the full purpose of cultivation. Mindfulness is basically a wisdom approach. Whats missing in modern-day mindfulness training is that they have inadvertently have left out the other wing from this contemporary model, which is knowledge in the cultivation of compassion. Together they restore balance.

winter approaches in the far north, a storm waits while i brew the tea...