C T

I trust You would be pleased to see this, BKA... http://cstang.www3.50megs.com/baguazhang.html Hong Kong would be expensive in some ways, but it is a city 'hidden' with plenty of delightful surprises (sights, food, travel, accommodation, etc.) -- there is a big expat community in HK and once you are able to make a few friends who have been living there for a while they will (hopefully) fill you in on all the nitty gritty details of how to live it up on a few bucks a day. Not sure about now, but back in those days everything was so cheap! For me it was like a paradise cos then i was big into shopping, gadgets and sound systems, all of which are were so much cheaper compared to other South-east Asian countries.

sparkles on the sea broken sea-shells on the shore a lone sea-gull flies...

fly off a lemon a certain kind of yellow mellow to the eyes...

citation needed please?

People can have a lot of balls when making wanton judgements and utterances on line. Its nothing serious really. The pinnacle of Dzogchen realization is the union of View and Conduct. We see some here who shows they understand the View, but leaves something behind where conduct of speech and thought is concerned. Calling a lineage holder mad is an example of not having developed the fundamentals properly. Hence, even if the View is thoroughly refined, its of no beneficial consequence, both to self and others. Its sad, but the truth is thats the way Western Vajrayana students (some) tend to behave. Remember the words of Guru Rinpoche: "Although my View is higher than the sky, my respect for the cause and effect of actions is as fine as barley flour."

A good friend just brought me a present of Kopi Luwak beans... (civet coffee from Java, Indonesia). Waiting till Christmas to try it. Apparently its the most expensive coffee in the world. There was a promotion here not too long ago, and they were selling this coffee for 60euro a cup. WHOAAH!

strategize to win drop by drop, the nectar drips music to my ears...

Hong Kong is such a fantastic place to spend some time in. Lived and worked there for a year back in the 90s. Never a dull moment. Street food is fab, such variety and exotica... yum! Dim sum/congee/iced tea in the mornings, stir-fried veg and roasted goose for lunch, and even when you feel like indulging, 5-star hotel brunches for a song! These afternoon tea sessions are a fave among locals and tourists alike, with the widest menu choices on the face of this earth haha!! Its not an expensive place, except for having to rent accommodation long-term. Space is a premium here, and people have been known to make millions just from selling a few parking spaces in the city core. Safe enough to explore on your own, any time of the day or night. Its a city that literally never sleeps. And lots of places and names to dig around where spiritual/energetics expansion is concerned. As for Malaysia, my home country, its even more diverse than Hong Kong in terms of culture and customary practices due to the cohabitation of mainly Chinese, Malay and Indian folks who live here. Same with Singapore. Both these countries are tops where travel safety is concerned, with Singapore having a slight edge. The only thing i dont like about Singapore is the over-emphasis on cleanliness, almost to the point of dictatorial. No smoking in public, no chewing gum, no this no that. A nation of perfect citizens... (hmmm....)

colors disband quick! you are dismissed. now quick march back to the barracks.

It could be a gentle reminder to stay in the present moment... wonderful moment.

Part 1 of 7.

Skepticism can be a wonderful tool to sharpen experience, as long as it does not spawn cynicism. A beginner's mind, a mind untainted by cynicism, can be one which is eternally skeptic. See it clearly for yourself, observe with awareness whether or not the bardos are all the same essentially... the only difference is the level of grasping and aversion. The greater the degree of grasping and aversion, the more intense the images will appear, hence, for a dying person, generally speaking, he or she will be feeling the most fear and confusion due to a weakening consciousness, and will experience the most intense images of demons and such. These are nothing more than unresolved fears. During life, due to distractive tendencies, most people do not develop the capacity to pacify these unresolved fears. Unfortunately, unresolved issues do not go away. They simply germinate quietly, until such time when the death process begin to happen, they will take root in accordance with one's level of confusion going into the death process. If one has gained mastery over these fears during life, then going into this process will be just like waking up from a pleasant dream. It is a most difficult practice to maintain composure during intense arisings (like seeing ghosts and headless beings and what not) but once you have gained mastery over them, then its just a matter of staying composed. This is where mindfulness practice can begin to help in a great way.

Yes, its a good opportunity to familiarize with all these arisings because these will be same sort of stuff that manifests during the intermediate bardo, although, according to teachers, its going to be much more amplified and many times more intense. Those who have not pacified these things during life will be swept away and will, by the force of their subtle memories, seek a womb to find comfort, and thus gain rebirth, to repeat the cycle of interdependency again. In a nutshell, there are practices which specifically helps practitioners to gain mastery over these negative mindscapes, now, during this life, with the aim of victory over the fears of the unknown and the unknowing, the root causes of confusion and trauma, both of which would render a dying person much aversion and grasping as the death process becomes subtler and subtler.

took the initiative, worked the fingers a bit, and found this article... http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2486/in-what-language-do-deaf-people-think quite interesting, life.

Could thoughts merely be a sum total of one's vocabulary store coupled with learned structures with which to form meaning and give direction to one's existence based off that storage? If so, then the expanse of one's knowing would be as wide or as limited as one's vocabulary command and memory recall, is that right? Are thoughts even possible without words? What will happen if one tries to think, not in words, but in sounds and visions? Or light....

I disagree. If it requires nothing, it wont have the force it has to eat an apathy-prone person from the inside out. And, this is the case with all those who have reached that level where nothing seems to matter anymore. Their insides have been eaten away. This is definitely not 'nothing'.

and i eat my greens once eaten, where do they go? outer space, perhaps?

hellhound on my trail straight out of the Buddhist forum Quick! Call Longchenpa!!

Hi BKA, In my practice and the realization of the fruits therein, these things are only distractive when and where grasping or aversion seeps in unnoticed. If there is presence maintained while these activities are engaged, then one should not be harsh on oneself because such activities, at the basis, are neutral, in the sense that they cannot help or harm -- its what we do with our minds around them that determines whether or not we form good or bad tendencies/habits as a result. By being present, it means having some level of discipline whereby we are fully aware of extracting benefits from what we do, no matter if we are watching telly, social media-ing, etc. These activities only become troublesome when they begin to eat into our psyche, and a dependency(s) takes root. As long as this is managed effectively through being fully aware of priorities, then by all means, have fun! One of the biggest mistaken views about spiritual cultivation is the one where the practitioner thinks there is a fundamental problem with being active outside of formal practice. Learning to pace oneself, i'd think, goes a long way in getting to have fun at times and also practice at other times. After all, assuming the average sleep time is 6 hours, that still leaves us with 18 hours to be and to do. That is a lot of hours to exercise mindfulness around our thoughts, words and deeds. my 2 rupees.

dragons lurk below down the very bottom of Skullduggery Lane...

on the far shore of Lake Ismata Kala just by the water's edge stands an old Jain temple boulders the size of Mount Meru forms the backdrop for this now deserted shell where, before the war Medhu and Jawal would go each day, with flowers, incense and a pure heart to make offerings and pray for peace its strange that sometimes we get something quite different than what we wish for i wonder if this is how life unleashes passion and longing so that the circles of desire will forever turn in the souls of beings even death will not bring cessation for where we come again and again beaten and exhausted parched from endless rebirths yet, this return to life always for unfinished business...

a mind filled with dirt shoes with sand in each of them all-round discomfort...

Its easy to utter such words. Those who feel that deep in their bones have no place for fear in their being. Free from fear, all concepts of good and evil become obsolete. The dissolution of dualistic concepts bring balance and unity. Balanced in body and united in spirit, one becomes like God. Becoming like God, there is no need to seek refuge from any thing. Not needing to seek refuge nor offer sanctuary, where can evil abide except in the minds of those who do not know the fundamental logic of spiritual cultivation?

realm of jealous gods with multi-colored faces and bean-sprouts for hair...

old bricks, old trees, youth a lazy stroll to the store for some oranges...