C T

Not having sex does not make one less human, and definitely not a dilemma. However, one is always free to project whatever to dramatize the whole "Look at me.." scenario, but sex, or lack of it, in itself, is not, and should never be used as a mental "wheelchair".. If you choose to hang on too tightly to your limitations, do not expect others to loosen it for you. That is solely your responsibility, and how you shoulder this determines the outcomes of your interactions, including those with your 'self'. There is no need to 'act' in any way. Acting implies compensating and conforming, neither of which can be considered helpful, both to yourself and the audience. (The exception, of course, is if you're an aspiring actor, which you are not.) At the end of the day, its really a pain to have to remove all the masks... Its easier and safer to just be true to yourself. Sometimes it is better to be alone. It can be a very empowering experience IF you choose the right mental framework with which to practice this aloneness. Change almost always begin only when we realize and accept that we DO have options. There are no such things as dead-end streets, only streets where U-turns are permitted. We are allowed frustrations. We are allowed despair. Nothing very painful in themselves. It only gets unbearable when we struggle to rid ourselves of these states. Non-acceptance have a tendency to compound our problems. Instead, try understanding the lesson behind their presence in our experience. If we are honestly able to accept the truth being unveiled by our dissatisfactions, that in itself signifies a willingness to be open and receptive to change. All the best.

Wonder embodied Entwined, body and spirit, unmoved, unshaken..

That is so.. indeed it is! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIAn8AWdRu8 (the nature of appearances in relation to mental arisings)

One of my favs! Thanks A7. .. ... .. You came back with salt. Take out the pumpkin pie NOW! Yummy rub tummy..

Hey Zhi! If you ever get to any Chinatown, i am pretty sure there will be some stores that will sell most, if not all, the images and figurines that you are looking for. I am not sure where you are located, but i have been to Chinatown in London, and have seen them readily available there. So hurry on to your nearest Chinatown! The bigger your budget, the bigger will be the smile on the store-keeper's face.. (just kidding mate!) It would be no surprise if one or two of the bigger ones might have an online catalog? Just a thought. All the best.

Colored images of the 8 Immortals here: http://images.google.com/images?client=saf...l=en&tab=wi All the best!

Juice loose 'bout this hoose. No kidding? Is that real booze? Its one way.. you choose..

Pick dead wood for fire. Dead wood reborns in the flames. Life is just like this.

Hey everyone! Greetings! Found this on YouTube recently.. A simple clip.. but very very cool, i think. Check it out. You may enjoy it as much as i did. So direct, its actually funny in a 'child-like' kinda way..

With the coming snow dawns the dark night of the soul time to hibernate..

Mr Songs.. Glad you liked it.. thanks not needed. But thanks all the same.. Your buddy, Mr Cow Hi MH! Wasnt it just neat? If only the dude had known he never left the source all along.. hehehe.. Regards.

Absolutely spot on, Steve. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHmaBRlmYNw...feature=related ..and this teacher concurs with your observation too!

Here's a talk given by a prominent Tibetan teacher, Sogyal Rinpoche, that has some bearing on this topic. Very clear English. Worth a listen i think.

Hey Witch sorry to hear about this big little episode. It can be quite challenging to say the least. Of all the suggestions and advice i have read here, i would say 5ET's is the most sound. Its really hard to offer any concrete or specific course of action to be taken - in fact, it would be foolish to do so without any indepth data. Not sure if this friend of yours has made any connection at all with Tibetan Buddhism. If he has, i would suggest to him to go talk to a lama and if his/her view concurs with yours that its indeed an attack by malevolent forces, then get the lama's advice on what to do to neutralize the situation. If he/she thinks its really as bad as you have intuited, then ask if it would be proper to request the protection of the powerful Dharma Protector Deity Singdoma. If the lama agrees to proceed with the blessing of this Deity, the situation should resolve within a short span of time. Even if the blessing was not given, for reasons only known to the lama himself/herself, it might be a good idea to source a blessed amulet, talisman or mandala of Singdoma to be worn close to the body. There would be instructions to be followed prior to using the above, like it probably cant be taken into toilets, maternity hospitals etc. so do take heed. Also, for general 'cleansing', try using pomelo leaves (like 3 or 4 leaves each time) - just pop them into the bath and have a soak. Its widely used in all Chinese homes for energetic cleansing. You can use this as well! Other than this i dont have any other advice to offer, sorry. Hope your friend gets better soon. And you take care of yourself too! All the best. CT

An apple. Really? Yes. Have a bite.. its very sweet, really juicy. And red too. Really? Yes. Have a bite.. Has it been washed? Yes. Have a bite.. Did you wash it, or you just said that to pacify me? Yes, i washed it myself. Have a bite.. Really? Yes, have a bite.. its delicious! Really delicious? Have you tried it? No, i havent tried it, but it looks really really delicious.. Now have a bite.. If you havent tried it, how do you know its really, really delicious? Well, it looks really ripe and juicy, and red. All the hallmarks of a delicious apple.. Well, if its that delicious, why dont you have it? WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP AND EAT THE GODDAMN APPLE??!! Well, if i shut up, i wont be able to eat the apple, will i? Man, just eat the bloody apple.. i swear to god it was fresher before we started this yo-yo conversation about this goddamn apple.. Really? (Disgusted, Man with the 'really sweet, juicy red apple' then throws the apple over to the dog, who devours apple in 3 seconds flat.) Why did you do that? Now we wont know if the apple was all you made it out to be.. Does it matter? 'Course it matters. If it did not, i would not have bothered asking you all those questions about the apple, now, would i? Yep, i guess it mattered all right. But it dont make no difference now. It aint here no more. The dog got it. Its all your fault, throwing such a lovely, juicy apple to the dog. I could have enjoyed that apple.. damn. Bet it was sweet too.. Yeah, bet it was.. Yeah.. ....... Was the apple real? Was it real while it was being debated over, or did it become 'real' in their minds only after the dog had eaten it? And did the apple become any less real after being eaten by the pooch? Or was it still very real in the minds of these two apple debaters? Where did the apple go after it had been eaten? Did the apple disappear then? Or did it simply transform into another reality? For these two jokers, the quality of that 'real' apple is as good as an illusion. It would have been otherwise had they just bitten into it, without any fuss. ....... Note - If you want to taste the apple (of Reality), you simply just bite it. Talking aint tasting..

My view is that there ought to be a continuing kind of compromise in order that both 'sides' can enrich one another. If teachers of the various Eastern traditions were not in favor of compromise, in my view, they would not have made all the effort to bring the teachings to the western shore. While it is true that the West did go seeking the 'mountain' instead of the other way round, the 'mountain' did not shut the West out by being aloof and partial. On the contrary, seekers were welcomed with open arms (literally in some cases). Many of these teachers went the distance to ensure they could deliver the 'message' in the most effective manner possible. Just one stark example: Most of the gurus, monks, lamas, masters etc, in efforts to accommodate western students, either learnt English, or ensured always the presence of translators to facilitate better assimilation of the teachings. Naturally, the teachers themselves were not without benefit by mastering another language, but in this context, i think it shows how much willingness they had to reach out to the West. If these said teachers had kept strictly to tradition, and had taken the position that it was the West who initiated the search, they could easily have chosen to remain in their respective domain, stubbornly maintaining the stance that if a student is serious enough to want to learn, then a good test of this would be for the student to first and foremost learn the native language of the respective tradition. It is fortunate this was not the case. While the West benefitted tremendously from the generosity of the sacrifices the teachers made to pass on the teachings, the teachers and the traditions they each represent were not without rewards either. By extending the hand of mutual understanding and respect, most of the Eastern schools who set themselves up in the West flourished, and were able to reap the fruits of their hard work in no time. This was possible partly because the timing was perfect, but mainly due to a great readiness on the part of Western students to adopt a new paradigm shift with regards to Eastern philosophy and spirituality. For this mutual benefit to continue, i think it is vital for both sides to continue working on how best to further strengthen co-operation, trust, and the willingness to remain focussed on the core objectives of how to effectively adapt Eastern Wisdom to the Western psyche for the higher good of all concerned. The efforts has to be on-going. Only then can the fusion be said to have achieved a truly significant passage into the West, and with it, the sweet bounty that both the East and the West can mutually harvest.

..and looks like everyone here has an umbrella save for you, Pandita....... ayoyo! Mind those cheroots in your shorts and shirt pockets dont get wet haha.. Why dont you humor us by revealing how you managed to evade customs with such a big haul of 'em the last time you left Mumbai? Must have hidden them up somewhere fit and snug eh? Why dont you 'let it all out' here, Pandita ayoyo? I assure you you'd feel that much lighter after! And we all could do with a good laugh , seeing its that time of the year again.. As they say over in Ireland, once an eejit always an eejit!

There once lived a baboon-a who goes by the name of Pandit-a Day and night she does nothing but spite at times, well, looks as if she's gonna bite.. How she ended up here from beyond the weir is anybody's guess. In her slinky red dress, albeit a touch unpressed, she mouths off without much rest - only fooling herself in the wee process.. She thinks she is well-liked by the Chinese; But didn't know she was only tolerated for smelling alot like a burger with cheeese! If there is one thing 'bout her, this white Baboon-a, who goes by the name of Pandit-a, the Chinese silently abhor, are her words, spewing forth like those of an itchy whore.. (An orientalia poem)

...how true!

I am not familiar with this AA tradition Taoist81. I was referring to the main schools of Buddhism - should have made that clear. Apologies. Being brought up in a country that's steeped in occult and paranormal activities, i have seen people "immersing" themselves in various fringe practices, outside of the major faiths, without proper guidance, only to find themselves stranded in No Man's Land. They then have to seek helpful intervention from monks and priests from recognized temples and mosques to re-align their astral bodies, and in some cases, this could take months, if not years. Most of these daring seekers would have with them all kinds of protective mantras and amulets (fu), and still they fall into the abyss. So it wasn't a pretty sight. If they had first approached the priests and monks to ask for guidance with respect of said practice, they would be turned away with a firm but kind 'No'. Since they won't get any initiations from the monks and priests, these guys would seek out adepts of the Left Hand paths, like occultists and bomohs, to obtain shaky initiations and protective amulets and what not, and thru sheer folly and lack of common sense, find themselves in all kinds of trouble. I am saddened when i realize how gullible and naive some Westerners are with regards to attempts to tap into unseen powers and forces outside of the physical world, just armed with info garnered from the net, or from books. It just seems so foolish to think that its harmless and 'fun', and part of the spiritual quest - well, its not. There are so many layers of these unseen forces - some are benevolent, while most others could well be malevolent (disguised otherwise), and to neglect the proper advice of authentic gurus and teachers against exposing oneself to these forces without proper grounding would be quite insane. Hence i am so cautious when i hear of someone keen to 'explore' the 'outer limits', and you can well understand where i am coming from. I have friends who have been practicing seriously for 10 to 15 years, and they still would not venture into these fringe cultivations. When asked why, they would simply say its not fundamental to liberation, in their opinion. I am pretty old-school, so i'd be inclined to take the advice of these friends of mine, and pass the word on. All the best.

Here are some pulse-racing 'Heartbeat' statistics: If the average pulse rate is 75 beats per minute, the heart would have beaten 108,000 times in 24 hours. (I wonder if its a coincidence that the number *108* is so frequently used in Buddhism?!!) That means the heart would beat on average 39,420,000 times a year! Over a span of 75 years, the heart would have beaten 2,956,500,000 times!! (Give or take a few thousand). Quite a miracle! Most trad Mahayana practices only require the student to chant certain mantras 500,000 times and do a similar number of prostrations to begin to see the effects of purification. This must look so puny compared to Heart Rhythm meditation.. I am wondering now if the whole foundation of Tibetan Buddhism need a number re-think?

Traditionally speaking, AP is not even a practice in itself. It is one of the fruits culminating from years of formally practicing the basic sadhanas of one's chosen path. I may be mistaken, but I do question if AP serves any practical purpose in terms of spiritual evolvement. I would venture so far as to say that it can be a hazardous gamble if one were to dabble without a qualified teacher or guide. There have been stories of people who get 'lost' while attempting to DIY such feat, so i feel somewhat responsible to highlight the possible consequence of such attempt. Even if you were to formally request a guru or lama to impart the relevant knowledge, i have my doubts that s/he will entertain your request. Of course, with so many self-proclaimed 'teachers' out there today, if you even make a casual search, you will find one or two who will gladly 'teach' you AP - for a fee, naturally. If i were you, i'd be very careful to even consider taking up the offer, however neatly wrapped the package may appear. There is more than enough here, on the physical plane, where one can engage fully with, in a safe and grounded (pun purely incidental) environment, without having to navigate into the 'outer limits', or astral planes. I think its very easy to blast off - its the returning that requires some skilled guidance. I doubt if you will find such here in TTB. Just my thoughts.

Yes. Balance. Equilibrium. Synchronicity = Tao (B<>E<>S<>T)

Boiling in that pan. All one sees is not what is What IS cant be sensed..