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I'm of the opinion that Breath is that which connects a practitioner (and sentiency for that matter) to the even and reassuring expansion & contraction of the eternal cosmic rhythm. Hard to imagine anything more ethereal than that. Outward aesthetic expressions (calligraphy, poetry etc) I'd see as interludes to bring one back into materiality without totally losing touch with said rhythm. Personally, I like tea rituals and chasing sunsets, but have never considered these as anything resembling etheric pursuits. Something to think about definitely.

Courtyard to The Way-In Rooms? as a moniker to the inner journey. just a passing thought.

This feels like a way-ty topic. Speaking for myself, Im good with any outcome once the reformatting is done. As long as the affinity with TDB lingers, I too shall linger on. Affinity's nature is likened to water... it seeks no contention... makes allowances, and yields to any empty spaces. Endlessly, for the years i've been here, again and again, I see gaps appearing from those sincerely seeking answers, followed almost instantly by some very authentic, genuine and compassionate responses, that, like water, simply flows forth to fill those gaps. Those who respond are the luminaries of that moment, the light bearers whose light only shines in particular darknesses, who demonstrate the meaning of affinity without any pretentiousness on their part, and who claim not that their light shines in all darkened places. And when their work is done, without so much as a squeak, they fade into the background in the most unassuming manner. Waiting. But sometimes they leave. Perhaps a journey beckoned. Yet, they depart gratified in the knowledge they've shared their light with others. Thats the only meaningful reward sought. No pomp, no gaiety, no fanfare, no claims to greatness, no expectations. Juice or no juice, the interpenetrating nature of such forums, to a large enough degree, hinges on affinity. Thousands have come and gone, and perhaps thousands more will line up to hop on the TDB carousel, on the next available vacancy. Most leave when the ride comes to an end, delighted having had their dose of a little entertainment, a pleasant diversion from an otherwise mundane existence. Like any fair ground, there are always a few who choose to stick around for a bit longer. Maybe the place felt comfy, familiar, convivial, even welcoming. Maybe they find familiarity with some of the others who also chose to hang around. But, without exception, at the back of the minds of all those who linger on, there's a sort of awareness and resignation of understanding that its only a temporary, transitory arrangement. With this in mind, one can come and go with ease. Dont overburden with the concern of accumulating an abundance of juice. It can be a detriment when its time to leave. A Way-ty one.

Calling immortals... step forward please! Put to rest all the doubts once and for all

"When we extend tolerance to those who are openly intolerant, intolerance is free to spread. As paradoxical as it may seem, defending tolerance requires not tolerating the intolerant. Unlimited tolerance, therefore, can lead to the extinction of tolerance itself." ~ Sir Karl Popper ~

But meditation, in its true sense, is about surrendering rigidity by cultivating disciplined adaptability, which means not being transfixed by any particular contrast in perception, yet not so loose as to get bedazzled by the sounds, sights, feelings, and anything else that seeps past the sense doors. To know that one can be knocked down and displaced by a fly can be the highest form of meditation because it requires a type of intimacy with the situation thats unfolding right in that moment, and if one fully acquaints oneself with the experience, there can arise a raw awareness cradled by nothing else except that initial contact when the fly and the meditator meets for the very first time and become each other in awareness, long before the in sickness and in health thing comes up. This opportunity for pure knowing occurs prior to the intellect or ego taking over and spinning judgemental views about anything relative to that moment. If not for the fly, one remains at best hopeful of gaining exposure to such moments where non-referential awareness is given room to manifest. Each day is pregnant with similar opportunities to relax into those moments of nondescript awareness where no intellectual understanding need to take precedence. But then, sadly, most people miss such moments. Their awareness potential, dulled and suffocated by the illusory layers of ingrained habits that are largely governed by the thinking mind, can only avail of a limited scope for fulfilment.

There's a noticeable lack of conviction somewhere in those words, my friend. The reason for saying this is pretty obvious - those 2 threads in question were left to fester for a loooong time. I agree on the point about self-moderation, but that wasn't seen to have been encouraged by those who were responsible for oversight. Im not blaming you guys as I realise the immense challenges that lay in store on a daily basis, not to mention the fact that you were all volunteers who signed on to a mostly thankless task, but thats quite besides the point. Anyway, I think this is getting to be like beating a dead horse, so best let it lie. Spiritual aspirations have little to do with having common courtesy, something that is sort of an unwritten rule for those who value a bit of self-respect. Thanks all the same for all you & your team have done over the years to facilitate the running of TDB. This wasn't a fault-finding attempt on my part, so please do not misunderstand.

I see... thanks. Are you discounting the connection then? In many parts of Asia, the correlation between all sorts of crime and drug use is well documented.

My point meant to highlight healthy debate based off respect of individual views more than anything else, Dawei. As you may have noticed, not everyone's on the same page with whats being discussed here, but definitely one notes a stark abstinence of much of the unpleasant language frequently employed by those who're no longer active (in protest, you said?) + the 2 who thankfully got dislodged. The above, by the way, wasn't a celebratory note, but Im glad all the same, but not for the slightly skewed reason you stated above regarding the exit of voices echoing extreme right sentiments. Did you really not notice the chronic and incessant need from "those on that side" to gang up and attempt to overwhelm every single post perceived as criticism of the trump? As if that wasn't satisfaction enough, showing little regard for manners, they'd resort to ridicule, belittlement, rudeness and personal attack even. This is all so childish and totally unnecessary, and, forgive me for saying this again, but you & other mods could have done more to lead the discussions in such a way as to ensure a certain amount of fairness was maintained for both sides, something that wasn't obvious at all, in fact. The issue actually goes some way over that of the left/right polarity - it was downright concerted attempts to disempower others who try to put in a word to highlight the weaknesses of this presidency. These intermittent objections to trumpism were often met with jeers and boos. It was a dangerous development for TDB to have had to encounter, and thats why I mentioned the timeliness factor when intervention took effect.

Another angle that has yet to be mentioned - https://nypost.com/2019/08/07/the-link-between-pot-and-mass-shootings-may-be-closer-than-we-think/?fbclid=IwAR1H3k_0IJjNFd8WsX7hmaQdcKJjWviebu0-HD7nVlQgyM0EM39-XMSeKxM

Im taking a minute here to pause and reflect on the stark difference in the tone of discourse as evidenced in the latter parts of this thread, and throughout the now defunct nightmarish Talk Trump Talk ones. Its clear not everyone's singing Kumbaya here, as some had scoffingly remarked in the recent past. Their cringeworthy reality was obviously skewed. This leaves little doubt in my mind that some of those who were booted out needed that at precisely the right time (for them). Thank goodness for Manjusri's wisdom sword being unsheathed and used in a timely manner. Already, a few of the treasured members of old have made their return, and this augurs well for the site. It may not all be apparent now, but it already feels healthier and lighter, just like after, crass as it may sound, a satisfying detox purge. (i wanted to use "dump" but couldn't type it except as an after-word).

Most tend to smack out of noble intent, not cruelty nor some perverted pleasure (hopefully). That was my point - to keep one's motivation in check at all times. I apologise if any condescension is felt by the things said. I too am no Zen master, and best i can do sometimes is to approximate an understanding, which then misses the sweet spot. (sigh)

The sweet spot can sometimes manifest as an exact location where someone needs a good whack to wake them up. Zen masters have no hesitation, why should we? Hesitate to wake up, I mean.

If a teacher does wrong, and is repeatedly enabled by those he/she abused to continue in that vein, and at some point, someone calls him or her out, supported by valid cognitions of right and wrong, then thats not succumbing to hateful speech. Likewise, it will be difficult to remain at "center" when attempting to be reasoned & empathetic while confused about the real nature of something or someone. It is possible to identify evilness without ever being hateful of the conduit by which evil manifests. In fact, its imperative that one remains fully conscious of such manifestations, yet remain unaffected by those emotional attachments that leads to the displacement of one's center. There's such a thing as righteous anger; intention is the benchmark for how it channels. Anger can used as a salve to bring relief from suffering, but if it consumes one's being along the way and turns one into a monster, then the intent wasn't right to begin with.

We need to be fully conscious that when something is felt to be off, and then, upon further reflection and patient observation, is confirmed to be not right, or something thats seen to be evil, it needs to be subjugated asap at that level of reality, i think its alright to call it for what it is. I can see the fair logic in Apech's post too, but remember, transmuting poison into nectar as a practice is a very personal endeavour... even a "secret" spiritual endeavour, that in some traditions has no compromising or mitigating cause to get that state of practice mixed up with mundane and conventional existence, for a number of obvious reasons (that seasoned practitioners will perhaps know well). As an example, due to confusion, many teachers of ill-intent got away with serial abusive behaviours repeatedly, over long periods, and one of the compelling reasons why they managed to avoid being outed is that students, even senior ones, wasn't entirely sure how to separate the different layers of reality in relation to samaya vows and such.

Guess im just a bit apprehensive about the term. No worries, thanks for clarifying, although im not entirely convinced of the need to label the mind as innocent or otherwise. Truth transcends all finality, since its nature is supposedly as infinite as potential itself. Therefore, it appears (to me) the accuracy of the term to describe one's metaphysical journey as "Truthing", which, to me again, seems more appropriate, than say "To seek the Truth".

Isnt Truth about liberation? Worship has limitations. It usually begins from a limited perspective, and ends the same way. An unwavering contemplative disposition based on personal experience is infinitely more helpful in the quest for Truth. But liberation is an all-inclusive state, so we're all free to partake in any beliefs that fit our inner mappings of truth-seeking.

One of the chief causes, imo, is that these people were convinced that their actions were fully justified (beyond the slightest trace of doubt, otherwise there will still be that hesitation, no matter how slight) which means that in their imaginary world, they already felt respected and listened to, warped as it may sound, but thats how delusion works most of the time, or is this also a wishy washy view? There could be a thousand and one reasons/motives - really, it may be thousands, or just one - that push these people over the edge though. Take for example the meme "Black Lives Matter!" - There could be a number of ways in which people concerned can read into such things when they inadvertently grab public attention. Ordinarily, one either respond empathetically, or feel indifferent, or find some disagreement with such things. This is the "normal" range of response. Perhaps, in the inner workings of the minds of those who resort to violent acts, simple disagreement was fed and allowed to turn into some ugly neurotic story, one that was at the same time gradually empowered by irreverent secondary inputs (could again be so many avenues from whence these inputs are derived, but in today's world, its usually mined online, on forums, conspiracy sites and so on), so what begins as something like a curiosity developed and morphed into an alternate reality where sane considerations of consequences are slowly, piece by piece, taken off the table, to be replaced, piece by piece, by warped and twisted mental absorptions. Unless and until they reach the point of being able to completely eradicate all thought of real-time consequences will the final edit of their dramatic story be complete, and thats the point when action is felt as irrevocably justified. my 2 grains of salt.

I believe you'd need to request admin's help to delete posts here. Due to recent reshuffling of the mod team, I'm not even sure if there's anyone available at this time to assist with this. I suppose you could just leave it here for now. Hopefully someone will show up to do the necessary.

There's a Hindu section where you ought to be able to access valuable advise from a handful of dedicated and genuinely knowledgeable practitioners. Try to share your query in that space - I think you'd likely to have more success there. All the best.

Whats more worrisome than Trump are the substantial (and not diminishing) numbers lying in wait to be triggered by the things that he spews, either at rallies, in tweets, or fox news. Thank goodness only fox news give him the time of day. Providence is not fully lost after all. Imagine if only one of the many mainstream media outlets were pushing back against this heinous black tide that does not even spark the smallest glimmer of benevolent impulse. Just contrast his rally cries to stoke the already volatile emotions of his base, with the cold, teleprompted address he half-heartedly read to the nation after the recent double mass shootings. It seems he is not even able to pretend to care. Holder of the highest office in the US, a position once respected worldwide, now reduced to being butts of jokes to some and a serious worry to many others. Hiding behind a facade thats impervious to empathy and compassion, he wants to make America great again. Worrisome indeed.

Kobu's musings

Hii Rene... welcome back!

Posted a link to RAND Corp above. They claim to be well-resourced in objective research on this subject. An interesting peep into RAND's background http://mentalfloss.com/article/22120/rand-corporation-think-tank-controls-america

Utter stupidity. After what just happened. Speechless. https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2019/08/bold-conservatives-rally-in-eugene-on-saturday-on-same-day-as-pride-event-will-celebrate-donald-trump-guns.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=theoregonian_sf&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR1f4HQ-oAtA-g-yQj0YtOeD1THex_R4T9BPnyawT2Tb0yGtC6P2U7EVoHc "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." ~ Sinclair Lewis