C T
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Content count
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Joined
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Days Won
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Everything posted by C T
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What you said above is completely irrelevant. I was opining directly to the opening theme, which is, where honor ends and karma begins. What has my doctrinal inclinations got to do with what i wrote above, which was a straightforward enough proposal. If you are keen to only discuss with those who agree with you, or deemed to belong to one camp only, then it would be helpful if you made that clear from the beginning.
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Is this really "The Ultimate Kundalini Experience"?
C T replied to Prince...'s topic in General Discussion
o M G could be wrong, but looks to me like there are some basic misunderstandings happening here. to each their own, eh? -
Fasting is a great practice. More so when you dedicate the merit to the benefit of beings who are experiencing starvation, famine, malnutrition, etc. This will enhance the deed and pave the way for many good qualities to arise in you.
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is a cracked mirror any less a mirror in essence? does dyeing water remove its basic waterness?
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cool...
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Karma has no beginning, because its only as real or as solid as the 'I'. Honor has a beginning, it starts with the gradual formation and a subsequent solidifying process of 'I', 'Me', and 'Mine'. The more fixated one is on the 'I', the greater the need to proclaim and defend one's honor (plus a whole list of other self-aggrandising concepts), which then spins karma into gear. Those who do not place too much attachment on the 'I', does 'honor' still matter? What say you, gents?
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i did. You clearly said that due to living a modern lifestyle, you are prevented from being seen as a true Taoist. Another head-scratcher i say.
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A true taoist cannot live a modern lifestyle?? By saying that, you have just thrown wu-wei out with the bathwater haha... Ever heard of adaptation and integration? Isn't that one of the core principles that guide a practitioner of Tao? Sounds like you need to revise and tweak your basic understanding quite a bit, Mr CD!
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for a little skip and a twist, i'd recommend an adventure in cooking South Indian Vegetarian meals! The flavours are simply outathisworld! Here's a great South Indian food blogger with loads of recipe ideas! Just looking at the pics makes my appetite soar... http://www.kamalascorner.com/
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I found this clip interesting....
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YES! That is the one of the premises on which anatta takes root. Even then, it can be further refined. That is the joy of contemplative work... endless refinement processes available to those who are keen. Have you heard of the story of the 2 groups of people, one in heaven, one in hell, sitting down to feast themselves? Its a good analogy for metta practice. So is the 'rudder' as an analogy!! Meandering stresslessly, guided towards compassion... nice!
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A sure way to measure if one has immersed deep enough into the 'unconditioned' is the spontaneous knowing of how compassion and the unconditioned are intertwined. Its safe to say that with your new found tranquility, the next phase would be to see if this intertwining comes to light. Its a good yardstick. If there is even a little recognition, then that is the direction to stride forward. This is perhaps the purpose you wish to understand. It is said that those who achieve a great degree of union with the unconditioned become selfless. In this selflessness there is often the spontaneous wish, followed by equally spontaneous acts of kindness and love, to all beings. It will cease being a contrived process which involves mental activity and concepts. The ending of the limited self is a direct result of the cessation of hope and fear. You have just begun to get glimpses of this now. The implications of this is truly immense, immeasurable even. May you attain the fruit of union speedily. _/\_
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Confidence to be increased in the 3rd and 4th Noble Truth only. To have confidence in 1 and 2 is to solidify the existence of stress and its origin (ignorance), which is incorrect. Dukkha is a man-made state, a result of wrong views. Thats all we need to know. Dukkha is not worthy of contemplation, therefore is not part of the refuge process. Therefore, it is more correct to have a clear understanding that refuge is not sought in truths 1 and 2, for they are to be transcended, as per the advice of Khenpo Choga Rinpoche. The right view is to seek motivation in the knowledge that stress can end, and follow the right path towards that. This is refuge. It sounds argumentative, but i am not disagreeing with your assertions. Just stressing the importance of separating what is to be abandoned and what is worthy of refuge. This knowing makes a huge difference in Dharma practice.
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Sounds good! Not bizarre at all.
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"If one takes refuge in the dharma, one is taking refuge in the truth of cessation and the truth of the path, and not in the truth of suffering and the truth of origination. The truths of suffering and its origination are part of the dharma, but they are what must be overcome [spang bya] or transcended and, therefore, are not themselves objects of refuge. Suffering and the origination of suffering by themselves are not the dharma. They become the dharma only when overcome." ~~~ Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche
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The view of no views.
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Approaching silencing the mind without becoming unnatural and imbalanced
C T replied to skydog's topic in General Discussion
that does not sound right at all. -
Let it be. I have no wish to argue. Realizations are not the fruit of Dharma. I think there is too much grasping at the importance of realizations. No matter how vital these are, at some point, they have to be abandoned. What you quoted above is not exempted. The fruit (of which refuge is sought under) of Dharma is the cessation of all views. Total extinction. Both what are deemed right, and of course, wrong ones. Therefore, the quintessence of Buddhadharma is the complete blowing out of craving. This is not a realization, its a fruition of taking the correct refuge.
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Understanding the nature of afflictions is not part of the refuge process. That is simply knowledge to arouse the motivation to abandon wrong views. Therefore, it may not be right to say that understanding the dependent nature of afflictions directly leads to attainment of stream entry. Stream entry comes from taking refuge correctly. In the Four Noble Truths, the refuge process is formed in only truth 3 and 4. Truth 1 and 2 is there to be worked on, and if worked according to the Eightfold Path, leads to cessation of dukkha. But this knowledge (dukkha and its origin) is not to be understood as part of Dharma, so we dont actually take refuge in that. To have this clarified is quite important, imo, as it will dispel misunderstanding that Buddhism places too much emphasis on suffering and morbid reflections. They ought to realize that dukkha is actually not a truth, and by adopting(taking refuge in) the 3rd and 4th Noble Truth, that falseness is unmasked, and happiness follows. The reason im saying this is to clarify that while what you mentioned may be significant, it is not significant enough as a means of refuge, therefore, is not actually Dharma. However, the resultant fruit of applying that knowledge is, and therefore refuge-worthy. Just wanted to throw it out there ~ in case some are not aware of this.
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When i started, the motives were all delusion-based, full of selfishness and totally blind to this. Over the years, a little progress was made. Now, i realize that everything i do is practice. Even in moments of ignorance and distraction, there is a little recognition of this. For me, this is progress. This is the flowering of awareness, which is the basis for expanding pervasiveness in meditation, until both meditation and non-meditation can be dropped. Eventually, i would hope to reconcile all dualistic tendencies, which is the way to end all clinging and aversion. The ending of clinging is the beginning of living without distraction. All distractions arise from subtle attachments to hope and fear. Living undistractedly is the beginning of freedom. Freedom is to be fully awakened in the basis of suchness. Unbounded, liberated, extinguished. Buddhahood.
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Hi Jeff, How interesting! Would you believe i have actually not charted the progress of my own path in any determined fashion at all? Haha... I just practice the basic teachings over and over, and sometimes do a bit of cross-reference with some texts which i have gathered over the years. To be honest, i have no great attainments. So i guess i am still at level 1, maybe 1 and a half, even then, it could simply be a conceited, exaggerated guess. But i can see how this could be helpful to inquiring minds. Many practitioners are quite concerned with progress. I guess i am not as diligent compared to others, and certainly have not gained the insight necessary for a deep enough understanding to intelligently comment on the 2 charts you have posted. Perhaps when i make a little progress i will come back and say something useful here. Thank you for taking the time, and the effort, to put this up for reference. I am sure it is very much appreciated. Blessings!
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If you had 2 minutes, what words of wisdom would you say to help this kid?
C T replied to chegg's topic in General Discussion
In a recent report, the CEO of a local charity is said to have been paid 240,000euro last year as wages, plus retirement contributions, and also given a flashy company car. She was so kind she waived her entitlement to her yearly bonus. Even the Prime Minister here gets paid less than that (approx 185k p.a). I doubt Obama's wages is much more that what she is getting. (i think US presidents get paid roughly US 400k dollars a year). Current exchange rate 1euro: 1.37 dollars. This world is going mad. Charities must be looking after themselves way better than what most naive people must be thinking. This means i need to stick one of these here: -
If you had 2 minutes, what words of wisdom would you say to help this kid?
C T replied to chegg's topic in General Discussion
If i was in your shoes, i would recognize how my emotional reactions is also causing me unnecessary suffering resulting in anger, frustration and probably disgust, and also recognize at the same time that im responsible for my own capacity to respond to the perceptions i hold of how others ought to behave in various situations. Having recognized thus, i can then choose to respond in such a way where the negative reactions will not have any (st)ink to cloud preceding intent and then act accordingly from there. I know sometimes i would fail to adhere to such advice to myself, but at least i am laying the foundation for wisdom-based awareness to take root for the future so that i may better prepare should similar situations arise again. -
If you had 2 minutes, what words of wisdom would you say to help this kid?
C T replied to chegg's topic in General Discussion
What is the connection between those images and what you wrote above? If a friend was dying, and someone made a similar remark in our midst, i dont think i would have the heart to react negatively to what was said due to the gravity of the situation. I would instead try to keep my mind pure and composed (and probably in prayer) to maintain dignity, respect, love and positive aspiration for the dying person to find great peace in the passing. But thats just me. You are free to express your anger, of course.
