C T

earth business. Later... for now, i am befriending a ripe papaya...

But he already acknowledged the thickness of his jawbone. That says a lot.

Fair enough.

Its very rude to call someone your 'buddy' and then abrasively deride their perceived weakness. But obviously that is a trait you seem to enjoy flaunting at every opportunity. Why is that?

Im sure you know what you are talking about. That doesn't really change the things i have seen.

High test males have a tendency to self-destruct when rejected, or even before actual rejection occurs. One obvious sign of a house which had previously been home to a rejected high test guy is seeing a couple of fist-sized holes in the plaster boards and kitchen cabinets, or dented fridges, broken mirrors, that sort of tell-tale signs. Lower test males have better resilience in the long run. Seen it many times. Anyway, women have told me they find dominant males a big turn off. They have indicated sensitive men and those with a polished sense of humour ranking way ahead of macho, aggressive, pushy types.

For a simple buddhist, potential means the arising of an understanding that its possible to end afflictions by keeping precepts in line with the Noble Eightfold Path (which is akin to practitioners of other traditions who studiously follow the way of their elders). For a middling buddhist, potential means the arising of an understanding that its possible to end afflictions quickly, and the way to do it is to be dedicated to the wish for ending the afflictions of all beings based on the full realisation that what other beings want deep in their hearts is common across all classes of beings, from the high heavens thru to the lowest hells. For a buddhist with superior insight, potential means the arising of wisdom in fully knowing the hows, whys and where to recognise the base energy behind the arising of intent-process-response culminating in spontaneous knowledge (omniscient awareness) conjoined with indescribable compassionate outpourings (the kind of compassion not limited by the 6 sense boundaries)... imminent Tathagathahood. (this is my personal take, not representative of the views of others who claim similar labelship).

over there, not here most people play it by ear not me, i hear not.

i'd like to sample less pies in the days to come.

Nicely done... may you have many many more years together!

Live fishes are perpetually having a bath... how could they smell bad, eh?

Ferrari, i meant.

If you thought being gifted a book and/or flowers everyday is irksome... The besotted Italian stallions woo their women by sending them gifts morning, noon and teatime too... But i get what you are saying, different strokes for different folks. Timing and intuitive listening is important. Depends on the individual. Some women do appreciate the attention and being swept off their feet (and into a waiting Porsche...)

Just for conversation's sake... (already in relationship, so i wont be doing this anytime soon... or else... i'd have to be prepared to sleep in the shed out the back of the house lol). If i met a lovely girl in a bookshop and say i happen to know where she works, and that she likes to read, i'd get a book delivered to her everyday until she relents. Flowers are kinda old school in these modern times, no? Maybe both... a bunch of carnations and a book each day. Wont be cheap, but sure, if it works, it'd be worth the few bob spent.

hahaha...Cool. in my younger days flowers was my thing. I would send flowers everyday until she said 'yes' to lunch or something resembling lunch. Worked too. The very last time i did this, the 'date' went on to last for 8 wonderful years.

new year's eve seems like an opportune time to give it a bash, then, que sera sera.

Perhaps someone could be adventurous enough to put it to the test and report back?

Not entirely. Sitting quietly = passive. Smelling like fish... thats pretty aggressive, one would think. Not to mention the pongyness.

True, in most cases. You're sharp!

is it really yours? such exquisiteness of taste knee-length pyjama...

Wonderful idea! Just spent the last half hour meditating on 'gratefulness', having been led to it by this really inspiring clip by a Christian bodhisattva ( ), David Steindl-Rast....

Focus, please. The (real) practice of Buddhism makes full engagement with life a possibility. Buddhism is about ending afflictive delusions permanently. Not escaping suffering or wallowing in morbidity. Actually, we can observe the fruits of the gradual cessation of afflictions when the practices are becoming effective... as the afflictions recede, the Paramitas self-arise, without any need to actually cultivate with any sort of fervour. The energy becomes lighter and lighter. I dont think any authentic teacher in all the Buddhist schools would foster in his or her students a need to escape from anything. If there was an emergency exit somewhere hidden among the various Buddhist traditions, surely the Noble Eightfold Path would not remain as the pillar of support for all those who are sincerely practicing the teachings given by Buddha Shakyamuni. And the main theme that revolves around the Noble Path is the eradication of fear. Fear is what binds a person, gripping, almost suffocating to the point of unconsciousness (denial, compensatory thoughts, justifications... these 3 factors bind a person to ignorance, or wilful neglect, which is like being awake yet unconscious). The Buddha did say, "The secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment when all help is rejected will you be truly free." Subduing fear means to be able to stay strong and present in the face of all aspects of life's challenges. What good is it to overcome fear only to then run away from it again? Surely that does not make much sense. As fear subsides, one becomes more and more present, more open, more expansive. If these qualities does not manifest in conjunction with Right Practice, then something must have gone awry in one's understanding. Typically, holding such ideas as what is in the OP is a good example of this. A lot of good Buddhists i know are very proactive and engages enthusiastically with society and community. Of course, there are instances of practitioners cutting off all ties with family and society, but these are individuals who want to dedicate themselves to a life of monkhood, asceticism and are hermit-bound. But then, such occurrences are not the sole remnant of the Buddhist tradition as they are common across all spiritual paths.

Its obvious why this is so.

You bet! This is why in the Vajrayana sects, as well as in other schools, one primary contemplative exercise is to focus on the immediacy of this life, how precious it is, as a reminder not to squander energy on hankering after physical immortality, because that is merely a fantasy. If a practitioner can generate wholeheartedly, this life, a genuine altruistic heart to gain freedom from craving and attachment, then, thru the spiritual evolutionary process, the fires of passion and aggression will eventually be put out. With this comes liberation from birth and death, which is the highest result. After this, the practitioner, having become unbound, can then choose whether he or she wishes to gain rebirth in this world so as to 'save' other beings (actually no 'being' is being saved, sounds odd, i know - but this is the crucial difference between this path and others) or to remain unborn and unceasing, which is to say, to exist in prime potential, at nil point. Those who yearn physical immortality does not have this understanding, so, according to the logic of the Buddhist path, is still bound by craving and attachment, the most basic cause of rebirth. Strange, ironical sometimes, but always true. Such subtle or gross craving and patterns of attachment leading to the same rebirth of the exact same result, each subsequent moment, over and over (on the wheel of samsara its said) can be clearly noted in our daily thoughts, words and deeds, if/when mindful attention is brought to the fore. It is only when this can be seen to happen can the chains be broken. So, rebirth is actually bringing our habits of delusion from one moment to the next, without waking up to see it happening, and thus, remaining like in sleep, we continue to recycle in samsara. If we recognise the habitual reactive tendencies, we can choose the response. This seeing and choosing a different response is the transcendent leap. There are however some who can see their patterns clearly but will not choose to respond from a higher place. Karma is a strange and wonderful thing...

Motivation. Moderation. Discipline. Empathy. Joy-bound (transcending pleasure). 5 keys to freedom from being harmed thru sexual activity.