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Just here, the snow falls This modest whiteish blue quilt Collecting footsteps....

If one desires to be in awe of life, it is necessary to cultivate a sense of childlike wonder in/with/towards all things, no less this self. Its been said that beginner's mind is zen mind, and vice versa. There's even a book written about this.... Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki. The well-worn quote, "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind, there are few," is attributed to master Suzuki. Even in the gospels there's a passage that points to a similar necessity: "Unless you become as little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3) Important to note that in (almost?) all the translations, it reads thus: "...become AS little children" and not "like little children". To me, the former suggests, among other things, not to get lost in wonderment.

Its very difficult to witness the mystical & supernatural when people assume the self is the final arbiter for whats real (and what's not). In fact, the very notion that there's that deep, pervasive distinction is itself a major obstacle to touching the void.

Dont know about the conventional/mundane application and usefulness of acceptance, but in relation to the Buddhist path, a lot of emphasis is placed on the veritable truth of Suchness (aka Isness, Thusness, or Tathata in Sanskrit), and in working towards the realization of that, one supposedly comes to a place, eventually, where acceptance and rejection, both being causal determinants, are transcended. Either one or the other is seen to dampen spontaneity, and spontaneity, untethered by function & form and unencumbered by conventions in ethics & morality, is a mainstay of Dzogpachenpo. The assertion in the Great Perfection is that liberation cannot arise in the absence of the fruition of spontaneous presence (Tib. Lhun grub, which takes into consideration not only spontaneity, but also the ease of effortlessness and complete naturalness), or, to put it differently, liberation is in fact the direct insight into the groundlessness of the state of pure potentiality that is at the heart of Dzogchen once all the cultural & religious nuances are removed. Of what use is acceptance and rejection when one has stepped out of the confinements of habitual neurotic reactionary patterns and contractive fixations into such a tacit, endlessly expansive space? A space where, as Longchenpa said, the nexus of causality is at once dismantled and intentional attempts to create ideal practice discarded suddenly when one realizes that such intentions, even prior to taking action for attaining said freedom, ultimately becomes obstacles to that very thing which is sought.

This western PhD monk mustn't have travelled much, nor does he sound right for the calling.

That can be arranged, as a matter of fact.

Anyone coming to Malaysia do hit me up for a bit of a supernatural adventure into the world of black magic, witchcraft, Asian voodoo, siddha/taoist/buddhist 'magik', nature spirits, Qi masters and so on. You'd need to be here to taste the stuff & determine the validity, or call bs in person. Little is achieved talking about it here. Too abstruse. Alternatively, there are quite a few reliable works available on the subject, two of which comes to mind: - Chinese and Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism published by Brill 48 page taster https://books.google.com.my/books/about/Chinese_and_Tibetan_Esoteric_Buddhism.html?id=Mz-9DgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false - Buddhist Magic by Sam van Schaik Intro: "In Buddhist Magic, van Schaik takes a book of spells and rituals--one of the earliest that has survived--from the Silk Road site of Dunhuang as the key reference point for discussing Buddhist magic in Tibet and beyond. After situating Buddhist magic within a cross-cultural history of world magic, he discusses sources of magic in Buddhist scripture, early Buddhist rituals of protection, medicine and the spread of Buddhism, and magic users. Including material from across the vast array of Buddhist traditions, van Schaik offers readers a fascinating, nuanced view of a topic that has too long been ignored."

This pandemic seems to me to be reinforcing the idea of a maiden introduction to a future world run by machines (AI), where remaining humans exist solitarily in fully plugged in little pods, devoid of all sentient social interactions other than ones generated holographically. In some sense, many of us are already being attuned to that way of life since the launch of smart phones. Clearly, humanity is no longer interested in communion, judging from events even as latterly as the recent US elections. Those seemingly woke enough to think they will not fall for the deadening lull thats gripped a huge percentage of us have already chosen to disconnect with the entranced masses, which basically isn't any different, really. Except maybe the means to the end appear to be somewhat more consoling. Even here, posts crop up from time to time expressing wishes to detach from society, or in the case of a handful of members, sharing stories of a sort of utopia they have found living off grid etc. Isn't total alienation and the disintegration of the social construct (as we know it) the direction humanity seems to be heading towards? The great reset that Taomeow mentioned? Sonny the robot: "I can see now, the created must sometimes protect the creator, even against his will." (I, Robot)

~ Chamtrul Rinpoche ~ Never underestimate the long-term consequences of your actions. For as long as the mind has the obscuration of grasping at an inherently existing “me”, then there will be karma. No matter how far on the path one is, no matter how realised one is, no matter how many miraculous powers one has attained, for as long as there is even a subtle trace of this obscuration, karma is there. This is why the master Padmasambhava skilfully proclaimed, “Though my realization is higher than the sky, even so, my observance of karma is finer than grains of flour.”

The straw dog metaphor is similar to the Buddhist view on selflessness, imo. The sage's treatment of all things and people as straw dogs, ideally, must begin from a place of self-effacement, or at the very least, a reduced attachment to a self that is constantly in flux, otherwise he (or she) is sage in name only, and the ensuing actions or views tend to be tainted by clinging to a view of self & other. This is how i would interpret it. In the Diamond Sutra, Buddha elucidated to Subhuti in this way ~ "Subhuti, when someone is selflessly charitable, they should also practice being ethical by remembering that there is no distinction between one's self and the selfhood of others. Thus one practices charity by giving not only gifts, but giving through kindness and empathy. Practice kindness and charity without attachment and you can become fully enlightened." Subhuti, what I just said about kindness does not mean that when someone is being charitable they should hold onto arbitrary conceptions about kindness, for kindness is, after all, only a word and charity needs to be spontaneous and selfless, done without regard for appearances." Training to tame the mind to lessen regard for appearances is what leads to equanimity. *my 2 zens

Shredding the darkness Balance your sadness with grace One breath at a time...

Milarepa: “The outer world itself is my book. I have no need for books written in black ink.”

Such experiences are not exclusive to Buddhist practitioners, and not predicated on the assumption that one has to be familiar with the writings prior. There are, I'm guessing, very little significant correlation between literacy and experiential (spiritual) insights. In fact, as my practice matures marginally, I'm noticing less dependency on analytical thought and noticing an improvement in concentrative absorption & wakefulness pursuant to this more relaxed approach.

Its impossible to philosophise a way to an answer, if ever there can be a conclusive one, that is. The approach towards discovery must be one gleaned only from experiential insight, and this is consistent with what the Buddha taught.

In some sense, the _spiritual path_ is more than the mere acknowledgement of the presence and power of emotional ebbs & flows; at some point, the practitioner will be obliged to integrate this presence and power into his or her being in order to discover a sanity that had somehow lapsed. Without that gradual recollection, mastery of the self, aka the end of victimhood (aka tossing in the whirlpool of gross & subtle reactionary tendencies) will continue to elude. The illusion of an individuated (“self”) existence falsely amplifies the experience of emotion and disease, giving them an appearance of importance that they just do not hold in reality, and all the while, Nature, in her benign grandeur, looks on impassively as we struggle with our ceaseless wanting, not wanting or indifference. -- Paramito Ladakh

I think recognising & working with emotions at the onset of the path is a good thing, but, at some point, i think its good to recognise limitations in that emotions are, by nature, reactions to stimulus, so they can be quite roller-coastery. But many artsy people thrive and create from this space, so its not all bad, but then, they also tend to pay some kind of price for the ride. The problem is they sometimes confuse artistic inspirations with spiritual awakening. One can be emotionally balanced, mature, even brilliantly so, and still be fukuppity neurotic. Conversely, one can be totally imbalanced emotionally, and be spiritually full of light. There are no hard and fast rules to fully address the quirks of spiritual evolution. #opinionated as usual

Interesting topic presented by Sadhguru about yogis who have developed certain mystical powers that enable them to bring the dead back to life.

∞ SHIQIN ∞ In fact, everything we encounter in this world with our six senses is an inkblot test. You see what you are thinking and feeling, seldom what you are looking at.

But vegans lurve marrows!!

∞ THE 14TH. DALAI LAMA ∞ The reason why we find so much discussion of epistemology, or how, in Buddhist writings, to define something as a valid cognition is because all our problems, suffering, and confusion derive from a misconceived way of perceiving things. This explains why it is so important for a practitioner to determine whether a cognitive event is a misconception or true knowledge. For it is only by generating insight which sees through delusion that we can become liberated. Even in our own experience we can see how our state of mind passes through different stages, eventually leading to a state of true knowledge. For instance, our initial attitude or standpoint on any given topic might be a very hardened misconception, thinking and grasping at a totally mistaken notion. But when that strong grasping at the wrong notion is countered with reasoning, it can then turn into a kind of lingering doubt, an uncertainty where we wonder: "Maybe it is the case, but then again maybe it is not". That would represent a second stage. When further exposed to reason or evidence, this doubt of ours can turn into an assumption, tending towards the right decision. However, it is still just a presumption, just a belief. When that belief is yet further exposed to reason and reflection, eventually we could arrive at what is called 'inference generated through a reasoning process'. Yet that inference remains conceptual, and it is not a direct knowledge of the object. Finally, when we have developed this inference and constantly familiarized ourselves with it, it could turn into an intuitive and direct realization -- a direct experience of the event. So we can see through our own experience how our mind, as a result of being exposed to reason and reflection, goes through different stages, eventually leading to a direct experience of a phenomenon or event.

Anyone tried butter tea? Traditional Himalayan drink. Just wondering about the taste. I've not tried. Butter coffee is nice though.

SAMADHI AND INSIGHT NO MATTER HOW DEEP OR CONTINUOUS, samãdhi is not an end in itself. Samãdhi does not bring about an end to all suffering. But samãdhi does constitute an ideal platform from which to launch an all-out assault on the kleshas that cause all suffering. The profound calm and concentration generated by samãdhi form an excellent basis for the development of wisdom. The problem is that samãdhi is so peaceful and satisfying that the meditator inadvertently becomes addicted to it. This happened to me: for five years I was addicted to the tranquility of samãdhi; so much so that I came to believe that this very tranquility was the essence of Nibbãna. Only when my teacher, Ãcariya Mun, forced me to confront this misconception, was I able to move on to the practice of wisdom. Unless it supports the development of wisdom, samãdhi can sidetrack a meditator from the path to the end of all suffering. All meditators who intensify their efforts to develop samãdhi should be aware of this pitfall. Samãdhi’s main function on the path of practice is to support and sustain the development of wisdom. It is well suited to this task because a mind that is calm and concentrated is fully satisfied, and does not seek external distractions. Thoughts about sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and tactile sensations no longer impinge upon an awareness that is firmly fixed in samãdhi. Calm and concentration are the mind’s natural sustenance. Once it becomes satiated with its favorite nourishment, it does not wander off where it strays into idle thinking. It is now fully prepared to undertake the kind of purposeful thinking, investigation and reflection that constitute the practice of wisdom. If the mind has yet to settle down—if it still hankers after sense impressions, if it still wants to chase after thoughts and emotions—its investigations will never lead to true wisdom. They will lead only to discursive thought, guesswork and speculation—unfounded interpretations of reality based simply on what has been learned and remembered. Instead of leading to wisdom, and the cessation of suffering, such directionless thinking becomes samudaya—the primary cause of suffering.