C T

Bravo!! This statement comes from one who understands the virtue of magnanimity, a quality that all 'real' masters possess as second nature. (Unfortunately, those 'masters' who have chosen to walk away from this forum (perhaps realizing that this site is full of incredibly sharp members who do not part with their dosh blindly), or those contemplating or threatening to walk away (due mainly to being lost on the art of stress management) seem to have it in short supply. I know of a few masters who continually post here, yet have opted to remain 'faceless' - reasons being: they have perfect composure, are confident in their own skin, have no ulterior motives other than to banter (which i am sure they enjoy immensely as they are humans first and foremost), take a real interest in the lives and experiences of fellow beings, share in others' pain and rejoice with those who made breakthroughs, regardless in which area of their lives, and once in a while, share some gems of wit and wisdom which makes one go, "Ha! Thats brilliant!", yet, whether they get the acknowledgement (or not) seems not to make an iota of difference to their well-being and good-natured disposition. Perhaps you (reading this) may also, upon reflection, come to remember who some of these real masters are. No need to name names - for one of the most basic trait demonstrated by true legends is the ability to be self-effacing... the less serious they take themselves, the more serious and deep will they be able to help others. Hence the saying, "To be truly happy, you must forget your self." Real masters are those who simply appear at the most opportune time and say the perfect thing that you simply needed to hear right then, and thats it. There are so many masters here. All we need to do to actually recognize them is to emulate their total absence of self-absorbed importance, and they will appear to us in all their simple, profound glory. Rock on!

It comes as no surprise your response. The past can be a strong dictator. It even caused you to see more than what is actually there. This sometimes is known as 'self delusion'. Inflammation? Hmm, and you really think you are completely absolved from what you perceive as a situation which has become inflamed? I have not seen anyone directly provoking your responses... you offered them the way you see fit, and one would assume you will take full responsibility for them, instead of alluding to unfounded notions that there are folks here who dislike you and are out to smear your good name. Why would someone even bother to come on a forum and tell some stranger that they are disliked is beyond me. I think i will do the wise thing and cease hereon to respond any further lest i too get branded of being stalker-like as well. (Although i may change my decision should the need arises). You have a good day too.

You seem bent on over-reacting quite often, Ya Mu. What i said here was not motivated by our past exchanges. Having said this, reading of transpirations between Twinner, Owlege and your kind self did make me wonder why you have chosen to be predictable in your responses towards those who call into account some of your claims. You may not notice how personally you take what your critics direct at you. Instead of reflecting followed by acting from a wiser platform, your retorts are mostly very personal and quite childish at times. Speaking for myself, i have no axe to grind - i am merely expressing my thoughts and also trying to find some reasonable ground to begin to understand how a 'high level master' like yourself could choose to react in set patterns, and not able to show magnanimity and the noblest qualities needed to rise above reactionary modes when you respond to your critics. What you have said here, about me being pissed off, is another instance to substantiate my observation. Furthermore, the fact that i have remained silent till now lends more credence to the fact that i do not bear grudges, especially silly to anyways, with faceless people whom i sometimes choose to interact with over the net.

I did not intend the quote to be applied to you, Cameron. I posted it more as a reminder to myself, and thought it was timely to share it with others because idealizing teachers is all too common. From personal experience and further observation, i have noticed the all too frequent tendency of students to project their insecurities and expectations on to teachers, as though being guided by an almost ignoble motive of wanting to proof to themselves, and others, that teachers are indeed fallible beings. As it so often happens, some individuals within any given 'sangha' would actually make it their quest, sometimes unconsciously, to locate character flaws in others in order to address some imbalances in their logic processes, and in doing so, actually tilt the scales even more, creating a chasm from which all too often other students innocently fall in and get caught up in a messy web of conspiracies and the spreading of half-truths to downright lies. And the irony is that all the teacher wanted to do was to share his or her realization with others, with no thought whatsoever of having to proof to others his or her impeccability and perfected status. Such needs are, in most instances, spread by less mature students, and from them, the ripple is effected, where most 'my oak tree is bigger than your oak tree' situations arise from and takes root.

Funny thing is that the original name has been reinstated!! Seems comical, dont you think? I suppose having a couple of mods in one's corner does accord for some jingly perks! And we are told mods are meant to be unbiased and equanimous. I know one or two who are most upright and objective in their role, but there are also one or two who are a bit dubious... perhaps out for personal gains. Its fairly obvious when mods openly show support towards this guy Ya Mu, to the point of attempting, simultaneously, to undermine some other poster's integrity, which i find to be quite unsavory. Just thought i'd lend a very small voice here.

(Quote from Sensei Enkyo O'Hara) We all want to idealize our teachers. We want to idealize enlightenment, and we want to idealize ourselves. What happens is that we set things up so that there is enlightenment, and there's this teacher who's going to give it to us, and that teacher has to be perfect, and we have to be perfect. And of course, that makes it almost impossible for us to practice, to have genuine compassion for ourselves and for others. The fact is, we're all human. And, enlightenment does not bestow perfection. There's no such thing as perfection.

On the contraire, its actually quite pleasant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_LKdAGphsE

A few useful facts and tips: http://chinese-tea.net/10-famous-tea.htm http://www.fmltea.com/Teainfo/tea-brewing.htm

Yup! Dont bite hand that feeds is right!! It was not his intention though... its my own carelessness that caused it. Update: 22 hours have passed. Still no painkillers taken. Trying to get a full night's uninterrupted sleep was not possible as the hand was throbbing a bit, yet i feel well rested this morning. I remember having a dream of looking at my hand and thinking Wow! No pain at all! Amazing to have such severe wounds and be pain-free! Am on antibiotics though to ward off infection.

Hi guys! What an appropriate and timely topic. Some of you here may recall that i love dogs very much. I have 3 dogs, two of which are classified as strong breeds. The other one is as sweet as a plum... she's big, long, with droopy eyes and long, dangly ears. Well, today my left hand nearly got torn off by one of them. It was sheer good fortune that i am still able to type this, albeit with a small degree of difficulty as i am only able to use the fingers of the right hand and middle finger of the left as most of the hand is bandaged up. There's 3 deep lacerated wounds that look real nasty and will take quite a while to heal, plus a number of puncture wounds on both hands. This is in addition to another bite i got just Monday passed. Likely it will be at least 20 days before i can return to cheffing duties, which is a bummer. Anyway, not to bore you all with specifics, suffice to say that i had to endure six long hours in the Emergency Dept getting treatment, and even though the hand has now swollen to almost double its size, i have not taken any painkillers in the last 10 hours, nor do i intend to. I do not practice any qigong nor any other form of energetic, chi-based healing practices. Just a thorough understanding of the basic principles of mind and how to harness its potential to manage pain. I still love my dogs to bits, but we have decided to return one of them to the breeder from whom we took him. After much contemplation, we feel this is in the best interest of the animals concerned, especially the one who lately seems to think he needs to exercise his dominance over the smaller-sized dog. Just wanted to share a Good Friday story with y'all. Have a great weekend!!

If one looks into a mirror without presuppositions, then its not delusion.

It would be rather unwise to choose pain as a learning path one would think. But sometimes something physically debilitating, even permanently, could happen to the best of us... the question is, what do we do then? http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1829

Pain is not the issue, nor is it the cause of suffering. The real issue, perhaps, is the overwhelming desire of most people to want to lead a pain-free life? Pain can be a blessing at times. For one, it can be a reminder that we are mortals, and as such, we have a limited lifespan. It can be a useful wake-up call to bring us to the realization that life is precious and that we ought to cherish and be grateful for the simple gifts that are abundantly available to us right now. I think what we keep our focus on most of the time makes a difference in our attitude towards managing pain. I have friends who are keen practitioners of pain-free living. They live like gods, doing everything within their means to ensure that the possibility of pain is minimized. While their motivation appears sane and normal on some level, deep inside, what they all appear fearful of are the inevitable pains and potentially agonizing effects of old age, dying and death. If they asked for my advice to lead a fulfilling and meaningful life, i would tell them to think less of their own satisfaction - instead, try to devote more of their time and money towards alleviating the mental and physical anguish of those who are really in 'pain', like doing volunteer work with homeless people, the aged, and children who are terminally ill. This then becomes a real purpose... to remove self-cherishing, which is the root cause of the world's problems.

Congrats CP!! In the face of small obstacles great patience always wins! ...btw, obstacles only get huge when we permit them the leverage to grow. With a little mindful attention, we can usually stymy this leverage from snowballing out of hand. WELL DONE once again!

The gist of this post appears to have described your personal philosophy most accurately. You seem very familiar with concerns as regards to where you are stuck. And btw, quotes and messages only become true when reflected against the past. Such become weak and obsolete in the face of present observations. So, it often cause me to wonder why you are so fond of quoting those whom you do not even particularly care about with regards to their achievements as spiritual guides? Rather odd, dont you think?

Being observant, one learns even from those who are mired in fixated views... in truth, one could learn ever more so!! late edit for mistype.

hungry cats' real time sneaking peeks betwixt shut-eyes lazy as can be...

Well, i am afraid to say your understanding needs to be investigated further.. tantra does not promote attachment to this world. Neither does it promote non-attachment, btw.

Could you explain how it is that self-grasping represents the obscuration of emotions? I could not see the connection sorry. On a practical level, the idea of reminding oneself to always try and generate bodhicitta is also a reminder to always try to be aware, to check our very next thought, our next utterance, and our next action. Sometimes its not helpful to just think of how noble the vow is because a lot of buddhist practitioners i know have the tendency to remain 'elevated' after taking the vows, unaware of their actions and demeanor while in others' presence, often giving off the vibe that they are somehow more 'superior' just because they think they are all fantastic bodhisattvas and they need to make chunky sacrifices to 'save' sentient beings..constantly going on and on about buddhahood, arhatship, and using all these sanskrit lingo which can really stress the less orientated newbies to no end. While it can be entertaining at times, very often their enthusiasm (overjoy) simply makes them look constipated, carrying themselves as if they have a major cross to bear all the time. How mistaken they are. It shows a total lack of ignorance arising from muddled thinking. If you have lived in a buddhist sangha or have worked in a buddhist center (especially a Tibetan one) for an extended period such kinds of behaviors can very easily be observed to be prevalent. But the head teacher or sangha leader often allow these carry-ons to carry on, because he or she realizes that people will always be people, with their follies and weaknesses and ego plays, and Buddhist bodhisattva pretenders are certainly not exempted, with each person having to go through their own journeys, make their own mistakes and come to their own realizations before lasting change can be effected.

Actually most of what Xabir write accord with the true teachings. He is taking time to share his experiences for which there ought to be some appreciation. Yes, it can get repetitive and drawn out, but then our ingrained delusions are also very repetitive and drawn out, so there are occasions where it may need a lot of one particular kind of reminder or teaching to be justifiably repeated over and over again before it registers and shifts the old habits. And this is not even breaking the habit.. just nudging a little, like a wake up call. How the delusions are going to be vanquished is entirely up to the individual's efforts and degree of willingness to investigate with an open mind. Thats my short take anyway. ps - The remarks made by 'headless' in post 92 is one example of ingrained delusions.

To know what awaits after death, keep an interest in becoming aware of what one's first thoughts are upon waking after each sleep. I know what awaits me immediately after death.... half glass of orange juice, cup of strong coffee, 2 toasts, marmalade, and some cheddar cheese - every Sunday morning, a little bonus of some scrambled eggs. This is always what i think about first thing upon stirring. In my quest for Equanimity, life cannot get any simpler..

Is this any help? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8a0liBlQ30

Well said, L7. Just want to point out the possibility that once an individual finds his or her spiritual direction (to stand on own wisdom.. so aptly put) then whether the herd is there, or not, becomes inconsequential. With true wisdom arises non-attachment; if there are still traces of attachment, then wisdom is still work-in-progress - at its very peak, where wisdom unveils complete knowledge & understanding, all attachments, beginning with attachment to the notion of a concrete self, will have dissolved - and then what is left? Perhaps for this reason ascetics, contemplatives and hermits are at ease wherever they find themselves, whether in the company of men, of wolves, or within their own minds.

This (the highlighted statement above) is a mistaken view, my friend. If conventions exist solely on the level of delusion, Buddha would never have placed such primary emphasis on the cultivation and practice of Sila, and the importance of accumulating Punna (merit), as means (on the path) towards achieving Enlightenment. (Ref: Kimattha Sutta) You say a buddha perceives only wisdom... this is predicated on the conventional assumption that there is such a concept as 'wisdom' as opposed to...??? This assumption is itself derived from a relative standpoint, so you appear to have volitionally brought upon yourself a slight problem here with your argument. Buddhism speaks of Suchness... what is suchness? Suchness, in one way, means, (according to my understanding of the teachings) that one ought not to assert nor deny anything, so to say 'A buddha perceives only wisdom' is incorrect, on the level in which your argument is based upon, at least. Suchness could also mean the way things are... when the sun rises, there is brightness - when it sets, night comes, bringing with it a different kind of light - do you think a buddha has no recognition of this? A buddha sees and feels the same as anyone, because a buddha is not dependently originated any different from anyone else. Tsongkhapa is the founder of the Gelug lineage, of which the Dalai Lamas are successive lineage holders to the present day. To say Tsongkhapa's view is at odds with all other traditions is none too wise, for he ranks among the top three most respected figures in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon (the other two being Lord Buddha and Guru Padmasambhava). Even though i do not adhere to the lineage, i retain much respect for the scholars and siddhas of the Gelug tradition. Lastly, i think Namdrol is a funny guy. He thinks he knows more than any one else. Thats ok... by our thoughts we create our own destiny.

Are you certain the pre-analytical level is the level where conventions take formation? I would argue otherwise. Imo, i would say all things can be established, just as the sun can be established. Clinging arises when the observer cannot move past viewing/grasping at things from a limited, conventional level. Here, its as if you are saying one who awakens no longer see the sun, feel the warmth. I hope this is not what you are implying? An awakened mind has the flexibility to move in and out of conventions at will, whereas them that has yet to awaken do not possess this option. Hence the popular term, 'mired in conventions'. In addition, one who has awakened becomes unbound by both the absolute and the relative, thus seeing one in the other, one is able to move freely in the mind, and since the universe arise with mind, it follows that one simultaneously can move unhindered thru all of the universes in the various dimensions. Sorry for butting in. Had some free time, so just popped in to say 'Hi'.