C T

taken by the fire that burns thru' all desires.. behold! a diamond!!

The jury's still out on this one.. Dont hold your breath though.. Dont think they'll be back until... until after Christmas perhaps?

and favorite post grandma kept in her drawer for thirty-eight years..

peace be upon him (what if its a 'her'?)

One person can walk into a forest a thousand times and leave the forest each time with a "new world", yet another person can walk into the same forest, the same number of times, and each time this person leaves, leaves with nothing new... Objective and Subjective worlds? Its not that clear-cut i think. Our senses are limited. What we do not perceive within the limitations of the senses we normally tend to assume do not exist. Yet, thankfully, there are ways in which these senses can be enlivened, expanded, transformed, and/or transcended. The question is, when the senses are enlivened, expanded, transformed and/or transcended, do we then see another reality(world) - a world where previously we thought was not there? My limited understanding tells me the answer is yes. Yet in essence its the same world, although underlying this sameness i believe lies a myriad other worlds, as many as there are levels of consciousness. I do not believe the world ceases when the body dies. For as long as there remain the subtlest of consciousness, cause and effect remain; for as long as cause and effect remain, worlds of all different manifestations and dissolutions will continue to shape and reshape. How these worlds appear, however, would be beyond the grasp of our present levels of consciousness. My view on the matter. Its limited.

The Heart of Wisdom Sutra - a commentary... http://www.westernchanfellowship.org/heart...commentary.html This one Sutra alone is enough to bring you to the other shore... All the best. PS - Heart Sutra chanting in Sanskrit - my fav version becos its got a nice tune too!

Y'all come back now hear! Aft Christmas... or aft lifetimes we shall meet again..

Fair enough. But there will be periods where retreatants are given time to ask questions, and you could most certainly do with a teacher who would be able to skillfully address them, especially if you start pondering about dependent origination, for example..

I think the act of believing itself tend to generate too much expectations, so i would tend to view it as a kind of exercise in self-contraction, whereas acts of faith generally imply a kind of surrender, which is always good as it requires plenty of yielding, which naturally leads to self-expansion. Just a little thought..

Back in 96, i took a year off work and volunteered my services at a Buddhist retreat centre, where in exchange i got to attend all the retreats that were held there that year. Some were of very short durations, like a weekend for example, while others lasted anything between a week to 10 days. It was a great experience, a year well spent. Met loads of teachers, each with their own style - some taught well, while others were only there to gain some teaching experience. This i think ought to be your main consideration Steve, before you decide on which one to go for - find out the teacher's background first, otherwise you may leave the retreat feeling as if you could have taught the teacher some...

Perhaps "ev'ry" then? Problem solved Have a good night..

In every Yang, Yin The great simultaneous flow Ever evolving..

The rider walks home Becoming one with the walk twoness transcended..

A vipassana retreat is an excellent suggestion!

Jolly good post GIH.. really enjoyed it, and its pointing in the right direction, so what an exhilarating potential awaits - have a great journey!

Oh that's right, there's more More than we already need Breathe deep, live simply..

You speak as if you have no choice? If you really are not able to abstain from junk food and fluoridated water, why then compound it with mind-altering substances? It does not make much sense to me. I suppose OMC was right to say you do have a mind of your own - after all, who do we really think we are to play God with your decisions eh? I just pray you do make the right ones though. Looking on the bright side, at least if you screw up, there is always TTB to fall back on for remedial advice - there's plenty of evidence of young people who have made the wrong decisions, wised up, and then return here to try and get counsel on how to mend their paths. Are you gonna be a part of this statistic? Really hope not. Wishing you the very best, and much blessings.

What you ought to really look into is abstinence, Hyrdo.. your body is like a temple - treat it with the respect it deserves, and listen to those who have been where you intend to go, and listen wisely. Please.

b minor ev'nings for these days of doom and gloom perfect antidote..

Here is one very good explanation on what Meditation really is:

Hey there Hyrdo, As Blasto said, you are not alone! First off, i would suggest you drop the term 'Meditation' because it really conjures up a lot of unnecessary do's and dont's that can be very frustrating for one who is just beginning to 'enjoy' the art of contemplation. Try using the the term 'Observing' instead, since one of the primary aims of Meditation is indeed to habituate the Observer as opposed to the Experiencer, which most of us are, unfortunately. A practical way to look at how you can initiate this Observer mode is to picture a triangle when ever you begin your practice. On one side of this triangle you can project all those things which you think are impeding your practice, and on the other side, thats where you can project all the fruits that you want to attain thru this exercise of 'meditation', and at the apex stands the non- judging Observer. As you assume your comfortable position, whether sitting, or squatting, standing or walking, it does not really matter, because eventually, when you have become more stable in this way of practice, you can still engage this 'observer' mode no matter where you are or what you are doing - even if you are sitting in the loo for that matter! Seriously though - this is a very good way to begin establishing 'Mindfulness' - which is one of the fruits of Meditation. And its a simple enough exercise (and quick too) to bring you to a state of calm witnessing. Okay so you are in position - the next thing is to be aware, as you have begun to be already, all the different sensations that arise in your mind. Whenever you observe any detrimental or unpleasant sensations, simply assign them to the left corner of the triangle, and whenever any pleasant ones arise, assign them to the right corner, and keep doing this over and over, until such time your mind begins to loosen up, or sometimes it just gets tired and starts pausing. When this happens, you have to be attentive to the pause, in fact, pay more attention to the pause and the loosening up period than you do to the other two states when the mind is swinging from one side of the triangle to the other. When you direct greater attention to this, basically what you are doing is you are becoming extra conscious of how your mind arrives at the loosening-up phase, so at this juncture, you assume the role of the Observer, and take the position at the top of the triangle, and remain there as long as your focus is on this pausing phase. Dont try to coerce or force yourself to get to this mode. That would defeat the whole purpose of this exercise. The thing to REMEMBER is you want to habituate the Observer to arise as naturally and spontaneously as possible. After about (roughly) 21 days of this exercise, say maybe just half an hour a day, it starts to become easier to observe your thoughts because you have consciously begun to recognize them. And after that, you will begin to notice that your mind will automatically switch to the Observer mode whenever you begin formal practice, and from here, you would be halfway home! Your thoughts would slow down and the practice from then on becomes easier and more enjoyable, and you get more spacious in your mind as the gaps between the states of frustration and feeling wonderful become wider and wider, and then you just learn to linger and rest longer and longer in these gaps! Thats about it - simple, straightforward, and practically useful! Happy practice eh?

Thank you for a very good post MH! "Within that Mind which is Formless, all activities are displayed, and all phenomena appear and disappear like a dream, yet man chooses to see all things as having formation, as if real! How marvelous is that! If the Mind is formless, how are things that are perceived by this same Mind appear to exist as if they are solid and graspable? It is precisely because the Mind is formless that things appear to be solid and graspable, for it is only the Mind that is Empty that all forms are held, and yet, simultaneously, like an empty cinema screen, nothing is held. All forms are therefore viewed as insubstantial, projected from nowhere but the Mind, and return, empty, to nowhere but the Mind, including that which we call the Self." A reflection from the Heart Sutra: "Here, Sariputra, form is emptiness, and in the very emptiness, there is form. Emptiness does not differ from form, and form does not differ from emptiness; whatever is with form, there is emptiness, and whatever is with emptiness, there is form - the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness. Here, Sariputra, all arisings are marked with emptiness; they are neither formed nor unformed, not defiled or immaculate, not deficient or complete." Just some passing thoughts on Formlessness that came up when i read this post. All the best!

Hi Scott, I was reading up on toxins and the their effects on the physical/subtle body and ways to eliminate said poisons, from both the Ayurvedic and TCM perspectives. Found 2 articles that i thought might interest you, so here they are: http://www.itmonline.org/arts/phlegmmist.htm http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/Patwardhan4.html Hope they can help shed a bit of light on your path! All the best!

Yeah! I was gonna mention something similar but i decided to bite my finger instead!! LOL Happy Holidays!!

Here is a way out! Its the same way you came in! Just follow the signs..