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Its odd you mentioned that mixing sutra and tantra is abuse. Why do you think so? (Making fun of someone is definitely abusive. )

Not all practitioners have the necessary merit to begin Dzogchen or Mahamudra before laying a well-founded ground in the prelims. Even recognized tulkus in the various sects of Bon/Vajrayana have to go thru the grind of sutric and mantric practices. I guess the current batch of West-based Tibetan teachers are not too concerned with keeping to this agenda, preferring to 'open' the doors wider, implying a greater scope for misunderstanding and even abuse, as evident in many Western 'sanghas' nowadays.

Anyone practice this? I think i would like to learn this when i find a teacher.

Hi Dainin and DiamonD... Great stuff! I watched that too. Awesome sync!!

Its not so much being led by the nose with desires as hooks, but to see thru the basic assumptions of what noses and hooks are, beyond the norms of mediocre interpretations, so that one attains freedom from conceptual overlays of everyday forms. To become unbound, so to say.

Taking the spiritual warrior's path is most daunting. An admirable aim.

And this is for DB... subtly inspiring, to say the least.

Some parts of Ireland are profoundly spiritual. A few of these sites will give the visitor a feeling of 'being home' upon arrival. Its like connecting with the Womb, if you know what i mean. Instant 'aaah...' sort of way.

All actions are karma-free, until the conceptual mind starts fabricating stories and yo-yoing between the 3 times. That is when contraction takes form and begin to root, in other words, karma begins to generate momentum. Give the mind space, and the heart will be able to absorb anything, even the dullest, the dirtiest, the nastiest, and instantly transform such yukkiness to bliss nectar.

Its precisely the relearning of it that i refer to as pseudo-spontaneity. It cannot be the real article during practice. It only becomes real when the practice is dropped. Kittens on the learning curve to becoming graceful cats display all the signs of awkwardness. Humans are no different.

Spontaneity is uncreated. If it can be induced, its only a mock type of pseudo-spontaneous reaction. True spontaneity arises when all preconceived notions have been laid down, either temporarily or otherwise. In the absence of the 'I', every moment becomes one of spontaneous presence. The closest associated glimpse into spontaneous presence is when a person experiences peak arousal just before orgasm is reached. At that point, the self is almost completely abandoned, though there are still very subtle traces remaining. This explains why sex holds such fascination to many, even to the point of being compulsively driven to it, like a moth drawn to a flame.

Your agitation could be a result of wanting things to be different and not the boredom itself. In other words, in such instances, you have empowered the cause to bring about an undesirable, reactionary effect. Now, in the same vein, you can choose to disempower the cause, which is one way, or, allow the energy of the 'cause' to dissipate on its own volition (second way), or, use the energy from the 'cause' to feed your spiritual growth, which means instead of reacting in a mundane way, you choose the 'higher road' -- not react, but act in a wise manner so as to cut undesirable habitual tendencies. Acting in a wise manner involves not giving in to habitual responses, not by force, but by deep seeing and understanding, by contemplation and reflection.

i thought it was a foetal pacman

Kudos, S.o.t.S !! _/\_ (especially like the 2nd last para.)

Perhaps you are not chanting a mantra appropriate to the situation at hand. The Mani is very powerful but serves more compassionate purposes rather than cutting thru negativity. There are one or two really potent ones (Sengdongma is one, Mahakala another) that will repel entities, but without the correct guidance, chanting them will only bring about temporary relief. What you need is to speak with your guru and request if its in your karma to do some practice whereby this sort of encounters can be eradicated at the root. Then the disturbances will permanently cease to impact on your daily life, unless you create another set of circumstances to re-attract a different class of entities yet again.

Is that the Port Dickson in Negri Sembilan?

We live in a world of duality? Maybe thats why there is such a rigid, often limiting structure around. We dont really see this, but we sense its there. If not, would transcendental work/spiritual pursuits have any meaning, i wonder? What would happen if we are able to change the way we view this idea? Instead of admitting that we live in such a way, why not investigate to see what 'we' 'live' 'world' 'duality' really means? Please refrain from asking for an elaboration, because for me the process is still very much ongoing. Moreover, we each must discover the meaning most appropriate to our own capacity and mental scope. It seems to be an individual journey. Though many would walk the same path, repeatedly so for most, not all will experience the same residual impact of the exercise. .just some thoughts.

behold blissful shade RayBans bans the sun's bright glare sips iced lemon tea...

certain factions under the umbrella are not happy to be in the shade, it appears. born & raised in a muslim country, not a muslim myself, but have many peace-loving, warm & wonderful muslim friends there.

Silas, This is also not an attack. Your assumptions are weak, and the hypothetical situations you present are even weaker. Why do you keep assuming buddhists (or buddhist practitioners) wont do this or that in those conjured scenarios mentioned? There are so many variables involved that its impossible to say exactly how things will pan out. A homeless man could be many things... He could be getting a beating because he had just molested someone's child. He could be getting a beating because he is a kgb agent. He could be getting a beating because he is a cia agent. He could be getting a beating because he paid some guys to do just that. It might be some actors getting together to pre-act out a scene. The list goes on. Assuming again that he is indeed in the kind of mess that you had painted, again, you are only guessing that a passing buddhist would simply turn a blind eye to it, when in truth, it could again be many other possibilities occurring. Your understanding on emptiness and illusion needs to be taken deeper, if you are sincerely trying to see it from the teachings (buddhist) point of view. There are many layers to it. What you have presented are quite superficial and if you choose to remain on that level, the only outcome (for you) would be more confusion. I suggest less hypothesis and more investigation. Buddhist apathy? Its possible, taking into consideration the human factor involved, but as a philosophy and practice, its certainly far removed from apathetical contexts.

Summer. Camping. Tea bag. Hot water. Why not? Have fun, Songtsan!!! Please come back soon!

`interesting life story, Songtsan! Kudos for sharing... a part of me says its made up, but thats only because im a little jealous at all the adventures you have had, experiences which would have knocked the average guy off the perch, but you, my friend, seem to have come good! Well done, and every success to you in the near-future launch of your book! I am sure it will be well received. Btw, i once had a swim coach who could not swim too well. Come to think of it, most top tennis players in the circuit have coaches whose names were never mentioned in any of the slams... ever. Tacticians. Wizards. They eat integrity and spit fire into the bellies of their charges and make them walk tall while they themselves look less than fit & wear glasses. Not sure if you have heard of a guy named Vince Lombardi? He is the one who, many years ago, took the Green Bay Packers from obscurity to greatness. His ability to motivate others knows no equal, and this speech of his is a small gift from me as a sort of thanks for having the guts to get up and fight each time you get mown down.

Its only informational bytes, not knowledge, my friend. It only becomes knowledge when/if you are able to integrate the information by converting it into something that will raise you one further step up the gradient. Perhaps you hasss miss the point i had tried to make regarding the difference between knowledge and information.

One can NOT learn great knowledge, son. haha Best thing can happen is each day people gather and store immense quantities of all sorts of information and then try to make sense of all of it, sifting thru layers of what they deem useful or not, and then bounce such gathered info against what they call 'life' and then strut around like peacocks all day talking nonsense based off of what information they have gathered, usually making a big fuss over trivial things, wasting energy on feeble crumbs which they use to feed their addiction to info-gathering. The funniest thing is most people live their lives immersed in this well of information, thus its as if using a broken compass as a navigating instrument. haha Of course basic information, like how to get to the bus stop and such like are useful to a degree, but information in itself, especially a dependency on it, is the absolute stunter to spiritual growth (if there is such a thing, btw). Hop[e you have better success my friend. Come up with more info. Or, grace allowing, something useful. The choice is, your pleasures.

Sometimes i would set the intention by wishing, "May this offering of rice bring all of you one step closer to a better rebirth." _/\_