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Everything posted by C T
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Living Life is a totally misconstrued taoist concept
C T replied to tulku's topic in General Discussion
I think larger testicles (testicals?) tend to do that as well. And warning signs could come in handy... (sorry Mal, bad humor :lol: ) -
Seth/Deci Belle... Two wonderful posts, lots of great insights as usual! Amazing realizations from you both. Touched. Very grateful... _/\_ (just a little inspired insert that came to my mind after reading your posts! )
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Wonderful, Adi! Happy to know you like Lhasa too... perhaps you will like Priscilla as much - Her song 'Dream' is one of my favs! and to continue the inspirational and happy theme, here's a little stack of tracks worth a listen or two -
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Most people are afraid of Void as Void = Death and Loss
C T replied to tulku's topic in General Discussion
Well, MH, its apparent you are doin' plenty of living here on TTB! 20 odd posts short of 10,000!! Significant number according to Taoism eh? If ever there will be a TTB Hall of Fame, i'd wager your name will be listed there!! :lol: -
happy all round
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Good approach. http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Meditation-Erica-Brealey/dp/1844030547 Feedbacks from friends indicate that this is quite a good guide for beginners - it covers most mainstream traditions, with a few simple guided exercises included. I have a copy of it myself. One quote jumped out at me while i was flipping thru its pages just now, just to see if it will suit your enquiry. Its from Unmon, a Zen guy of days gone by... When you walk, just walk. When you sit, just sit. Whatever you do, don't wobble.
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Living Life is a totally misconstrued taoist concept
C T replied to tulku's topic in General Discussion
Attachments, which is the root creative instinct for anger and hatred, arise from surrendering control of one's emotional impulses. These emotional impulses are all related to grasping and aversion, which in turn are tied to being overly dependent on the sensate realm of existence. The antidote is the development of Equanimity. Equanimity is not to be devoid of passion ~ its the practice of cultivating perfect mindfulness so as not to be enslaved and/or ruled by one's emotions. Its clear there are many on this forum who have transcended, or are already in the dynamic, positive process of transcending this dependency. This is indeed heartwarming to see. A good article that speaks about 'Attachments' - http://archive.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2009/fall/ask_the_teachers.php -
...yet the legacies of their deep love for life... live forever. Check out these hauntingly beautiful tunes by - Lhasa de Sela (died aged 37, cancer) Eva Cassidy (died aged 33, cancer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=852gverKRPo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGwDYBWEDSc&feature=related
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Thoughts like blowing leaves drift across the barren land of dreams clasp only that which is painless with claws sharpened by desires at times, running scared nightmarishly from itself the mind the frontierless mind... the inhibitor comes, followed by the clown the poet, and then executioner and a thousand other images each in turn pirouetting in the spotlight yet none is real.
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told you so. save your breaths, lads.
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Not sure if you can avail of it where you are, but this fish is generally trusted among the Chinese populace in Malaysia for its healing properties, especially after surgery. Might work for you, if you are able to get it. Try some live fish traders in any Chinatown. Or that stall in Nashville? If you are morally bound to not take life, then please just ignore this post. Scroll down to 'Live-Food Fish Trade' -- http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/Snakehead_circ_1251/html/uses.html
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I would make a similar assertion. Yet, even if there are 5 teachers for every student, if the affinity for Dharma is lost on the student, still it would amount to zilch. On the other hand, if one's potential has been ripened, even tripping over a hedgehog can instantly awaken one's intrinsically perfected Mind. Such exceptional individuals would be the prodigies, spiritual heirs, Vimuktas, those naturally endowed with lhag tong(intuitively perfected insights) from merits accrued from previous mindstreams and such like. Like i said previously, not many of these rare souls can be found nowadays. Yet, the truth remains that beneath the veils of ignorance, our buddha nature and Buddha's buddha nature is exactly the same. Also, Your reason cited for books is correct, but its not the only primary reason. One other crucial factor is the awareness that people generally are very much in their heads a lot of the time, and craves intellectual stimulation, so no matter what, books will be read, so dharma writers reckon why not generate a sizable flow of dharmic materials, put them out there, alongside other spiritual literatures ~ at least then, by chance, or by merit, someone's mind somewhere will be transformed and turned towards realization upon exposure to such dharmic reads. If reading the printed word can aid stimulation towards a desire to abandon cravings and desires, why not? One downside of this is when people get hooked on the words and use them as a sort of numbing shield, or perhaps as a justification for their delusional ways. I am sure we have all met folks who seem to get high on showing off how much experience they possess, albeit all gathered from over-indulgence in books and such. Knowledge is great, but there will come a time when all this gathering of knowledge will have to be abandoned, for if not, they could, in time, turn from mental tools of gold to binding chains of rusted iron. This sort of stuckness is the main detriment to Rigpa. Jamgon Kongtrul elucidated the 10 powers of knowledge. The first 9 can be garnered thru doctrinal investigations and deep intellectual penetrations, but the last cannot. These 10 are divided such: Six powers to vanquish cognitive obscurations 1. Knowing what is appropriate and worthless 2. Knowing how actions will ripen 3. Knowing the faculties of sentient beings 4. Knowing their dispositions, temperaments 5. Knowing the inclinations, aspirations and wishes of beings 6. Knowing where the various paths lead Three powers destroy meditative obscurations 7. Knowing meditative stability, the concentrations 8. Recollecting former states 9. Superknowledge of the divine eye One power destroys fine subconscious traces 10. Knowing peace, the extinction of defilements "These 10 powers are the quintessence of firmness, essentiality, steadfastness and unchangeability. Since they possess these four qualities and properties, all ten powers of the Great Sage, of all the perfected Buddhas, are similar to a vajra." -- Jamgon Kongtrul, from the Unassailable Lion's Roar
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Hmm... when i read that remark by Pero, i was actually thinking of some rare self-realized adepts. Not many though. Of course many will make claims, some authentic, some not so. One or two can be found here on the forum lately.
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Absolutely no one? (scratches baldy head)
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In addition, i think anyone who wants to self-learn Dzogchen and uncover/stabilize Rigpa should get a copy of this: http://www.keithdowman.net/books/fg.htm#Flight of the Garuda its not expensive: http://www.amazon.com/Flight-Garuda-Dzogchen-Tradition-Buddhism/dp/0861713672
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In addition, i think anyone who wants to self-learn Dzogchen and uncover/stabilize Rigpa should get a copy of this: http://www.keithdowman.net/books/fg.htm#Flight of the Garuda its not expensive: http://www.amazon.com/Flight-Garuda-Dzogchen-Tradition-Buddhism/dp/0861713672 "When you practice wholeheartedly, you may have meditative experiences, discuss them with others, write commentaries, and sing songs of realization. Although these are manifestations (of the practice), they will (only) increase thoughts. Remain in the state beyond concepts. This is my advice from the heart." (Longchenpa)
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What a coincidence! I was just reading this write-up http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/affirming.html an hour ago... I like my Honda pedal bike. Had a BMW last year - sold it when price of fuel rocketed over here. Damn the wars.
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As an afterthought, a prayer for a safe weekend, please, to all folks over on the East Coast... _/\_ Heard the news. Its a biggie. Any chance of it changing its course? Mind yourself if you are in that general direction.
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Hey, lighten up everyone... time for some Binduism to bring some laughs into your weekend!! (although i think what Colin Lama said to Greta towards the end seriously rocks! Crazy wisdom haha!) And for those who may temporarily wish to avert humor in favor of a more stoic perspective, try this:
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To Serene Blue... an article that sheds some light on your question regarding Mahamudra and Dzogchen - http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/advanced/dzogchen/basic_points/introduction_dzogchen.html
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In a vast number of (Taoist)Chinese households in SE Asia, and also in those who have moved out of SE Asia, Taoist and Buddhist ritualistic practices are quite commonly married in a harmonious union. Traditionally in these people's homes there would have altars put up, upon which are laid various Taoist deities, and also Buddhist ones. No one there seem interested to argue about the differences since they are more concerned with being bestowed with bountiful blessings from both, and any bias shown is seen as detrimental to this flow of continual richness in spiritual and material endowments for the whole family. Since mom is a religious Taoist, growing up, it was a requirement for all the family to visit the temples during the various Taoist religious festivals (and there are many!) and these places would be thronged with people seeking to ask for blessings, and those who also at the same time be making offerings for having received blessings. The interesting thing which one can see upon entering these holy grounds is that all of them would contain statues of Buddha Shakyamuni and other Buddhist icons, which would have been strategically located depending on the leanings of the individual abbots who oversee the daily affairs of their temples. On the flip side, dad is an orthodox Buddhist, and the only real 'festival' he acknowledges and partakes of is Wesak/Vesak, during which time he would take my brother and myself to the various Buddhist monasteries to participate in the celebratory processions. Strangely enough, in none of these monasteries have i seen even one single display resembling anything Taoistic. Now, the strangest thing i have observed from the ritualistic religious observances in the Chinese of SE Asia is their overarching desire for wealth and materialistic accumulations, whereby in order for this to be made the likeliest outcome, they would go to any length to accommodate the various avenues where such blessings could potentially be most lucrative, not withstanding whether that be Taoist or Buddhist, and in some instances, some of these folks would even place the statue of Jesus upon their altars, and i swear, with my own eyes, i have witnessed a few instances where Sai Baba's photo also found a spot to sit on! Over the years, i have occasionally tried to grasp the meaning behind this rather peculiar pattern found among the Taoists where they have no qualms to demonstrate obeisance to anything which they come to hear as having the power to grant them wish-fulfilling blessings, and i conclude that they are pretty much motivated by what transpires during one's lifetime, and to squeeze as much material and physical comforts as they can into and from it, even if this means getting the heavenly gods and the various earth deities to interject on their behalf. For this, they are happy to bribe their way into these gods' favor, and in return, can be tremendously generous in returning such favors when granted. They are not so concerned with enlightenment and liberation, at least not in the same league as the Buddhists. Hence, from the above musings, i concluded that the Chinese (i am speaking of Chinese folks outside of China here - strange but true) can be most pragmatic when it comes to this life and what it offers, whereas for those who adhere strictly to the Buddhist doctrinal paths, this life is only a transitory phase where one rare opportunity has been gifted, without which one could well be stuck in the different realms with no possibility to make full use of this life to wash off one's karma and remove obstacles towards liberation from samsara, and for this, it requires one's personal effort, as exemplified by Buddha Shakyamuni's supreme enlightenment, and no amount of blessings from the gods will be sufficient to warrant surrendering personal effort in exchange for faith in the gods' mighty hands of destiny. Nevertheless, i think peace can be enhanced from learning to be flexible enough to use whatever is available to remain in the natural state without struggling with this and that, and also, in the process, we can save energy by not arguing which path is the more superior. In the end, its how we are able to let it all go that really matters, so i would be really interested to hear some Western Taoist views on how this letting go is practiced from their standpoint. You see, for the majority of Eastern Taoists, they dont cultivate the way you guys do... they tend to indulge as much as possible in physical materialism while alive, and then, even more of the same after they die, by getting BMW-driving Taoist priests to do elaborate chastising, sin-abating, bribe-inducing transitory death rituals to the gods of Hades so that they will be reborn into ever greater freedom from all the materialistic wants of life, using this life as a sort of springboard towards their next life's goals. And as to the funeral costs for these rich Taoists, well, lets just say that no expense is spared, no corners cut, and nothing is cheapened... As for the similarities between the two, i am afraid i do not know enough of Taoism to offer an informed, experienced-back perspective to really do any justice here, so i will enjoy reading what others have to say. Nice weekend, everyone!!
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Thank you. That's very gracious and redeeming of you.
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Hear ye! Hear ye!
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Look, Vmarco, for the record, you were not stalked as you claim. You over-rate your own self-importance. I have no interest to engage with you, nor respond to your posts, EVER, so do me a favor, and cease your accusations of me doing all these unsavory things to you as you keep harping on and on about. Even after a nice holiday, the first thing you do upon return is to re-collect dead wood. Please take a good look and remember who is it who is unable to let the matter go. I can imagine what sort of chip you are shouldering here. But guess what, its no longer my business how you want to carry on now that you have returned. I am sure you are glad to know this. My only agitation with you is your recycling tendencies in each and every post you made. The pattern was seen, then i started dropping hints, but you could not/did not cop on to it, so i became more direct, and what followed (your defensive attacks) is best left unrepeated here. From now on, please do not highlight my 'name' again if you do not wish to see my posts in your threads. I promise i will not come near you if you can do me this favor. If you cant, i will have no option but to bring some 'light' to the surface, deal? To those who missed you, i can only wish you all 'happy engagements'.