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When you say "cannot" it indicates control more than you'd like to admit. Non-distraction is an insight. It dawns first as glimpses into the natural state, growing stronger with practice. Its like a spiritual muscle that needs nourishment and exercise. Just as tasting something, or listening to music are not predicated on the need for control, cultivating non-distraction is not dissimilar.

Some people find silence deafening. The bells & whistles have a dual purpose: One, it aims to cut thru discursive mind, and Two, it strengthens non-distraction. To the unfamiliar, noise is noise. If they go beneath the outer displays, they will understand the purpose of expedience, and remain open to it with a judgement-free prevalence of open minded curiosity.

At its core, Buddhist tantra aims to disband all rigidly held notions of self, based on the understanding that this rigidity is the cause of the arising of dualistic mind. Its not a belief system (Tantra) but a dynamic practice that evolves and takes one deeper into inquiry against a backdrop of examination of experience. Therefore, i'd maintain the view that, with a bit of sincerity, flexibility and adjustment, Tantrayana enhances the individual practitioner's path, regardless of religious adherences. Ultimately, all is mind is a finality - the fruition of such a realization, the zenith of Buddhist praxis, is the culmination in the dissolution of habit-bound thoughts through developing boundless awareness of the self-perfected state. All background beliefs will eventually have to be surrendered, layer by layer, notion by notion, as the realization gradually crystallises. Its inevitable, therefore, that at some point, even the idea of enlightenment will eventually have to be let go of, and with that comes the dissolution of the wisdom-limiting fetters, all of which are intricately bound to self-identification. When such identification dies, the ultimate living Dharma, free of all labels, trappings and names, and the clinging to self-defeating philosophical memes, all these will gradually need to be deconstructed in order to set up the realization of what "cutting thru & leaping over" actually implies. At that stage of arrival at completion, even the subtle recollection of wonderful Buddhadharma can become a distraction. Effortless awareness is the pinnacle of the path... its attainment is free to anyone willing to let go of cherishing preferences in order for the meaning of equanimity, this seed at the heart of effortless awareness, to be fully penetrated.

I apologise for the meaningless reply about Sanders. Predictive texts on the phone are a laugh really at times. I couldn't edit immediately as I had to start work. Have tidied up the post just now.

Well.... Uncle Bernice ain't the president, right... And if he was he'll be scrutinized as much if not more. But as Stosh said, Trump's the real mcCoy, the numero uno lol... doubt the US will ever see another like him (thank goodness).

I personally found it hilarious and also ironic. It's not like his own backyard bears testament to good governance. He's aiming to drive a proverbial stake thru the heart of your great nation, and, lo and behold.. There's schemers and real traitors that's gladly helping to sharpen the instrument. Flabbergasting ✌️

Any practice that aids in knocking down walls, allowing for clearer perception to arise of the always-perfect, unseparated, stateless state helps in stabilizing the viewless View (sounds corny, I know, but thats what it is basically lol). Intention & motivation is key. Keep it up! I guess the only slight difference between your understanding and that prescribed in the actual practice of guru yoga ala Vajrayana is only one of premise, wherein the latter attempts to make known to the initiate that any conceptual formulas that suggest approaches to praxis from a dualistic perspective, out of which mentations that involve "merging" are derivatives, is a mistaken premise. While both encourage processes of purification, there are subtle differences in application. The standpoint of Vajrayana has always been the assertion of fundamental non-duality, which is symbolised by the tutelary buddha Samantabhadra (the primordial Buddha) with consort Samantabhadri (the primordial Mother Buddha) in perpetual yab yum, since beginningless time.

Apparently, Trump is spending his summer vacation slinging out racist tweets (again) as noted by some anonymous fb user: Responding to a piece in NY Mag How his supporters can remain faithful and continue to justify on his behalf such crass, unpatriotic and incessant verbal spews is, if nothing else, a fascinating thing to observe and reflect upon.

I've always considered the early steps of Buddhist tantrism to be a prep stage where an initiate gets to enact a role and act out "scenes" as described in the liturgies so as to familiarise with, and tease out, one's innate completeness, part of which involves the recognition that "we" (the initiate) have never been separated from our true nature (symbolised by the various yidam/khandro yab yum icons). I believe the approach is to train in seeing the already perfected union, and then allow that to manifest and stabilise over the course of 5 million accumulations for the purpose of purifying even the subtlest habits that, for a length of many lifetimes, have tricked us into believing the various imperfections most of us think are what keeps us intolerable and therefore unworthy of buddhahood/enlightenment. So, maybe the consideration for tantric practice is one of training in recognition that we have always been "merged" from beginningless time (aka self perfected) rather than forming potentially tricky assumptions (mentations?) of having to put in the work to cleanse our "spirit" in readiness for some sort of Buddhist rapture! Maybe for this reason guru yoga practice (in relation to Vajrayanatantra) with visualizations conclude with the exhortation to dissolve any apparent separative notions while at the same time attempts are made to gain increasing recognition of one's innate blemish-free essence, already always conjoined with the nature of one's guru, yidam and khandro. The idea of merging sounds to me like an encouragement that perpetuates distortionary notions that keep alive this delusion of separation, whereas the aim of Mantrayana remains as always to dissolve/cut deeply rooted habits believed to be obstacles that will only be supplanted with the practice of merit accumulation, which together with the visualization practices work synergistically to enhance realization. apologies for the windy reply

Im saying they misrepresented your patience to mean consent for acting with increasing boldness, and losing their sense of self moderation, something thats encouraged here, in the process. I did not imply you enjoyed trash talk, unlike "them". lol Freedom of speech has inbuilt responsibilities that matured minds use like a treasure to be cherished and as a means to dignify others, while those that got banned may not have had proper schooling in such responsibilities as it seems they insist on bastardizing the privilege. I dont know, but thats what I observed from their lack of communicative discipline. I could be wrong.

The report might interest you, and help answer some of your questions. https://www.cfr.org/report/economic-logic-illegal-immigration

Could it be they were emboldened by restrained moderation for their lack of manners? Its good the voice of breitbart on TDB has been rested pending reviews, as per admin's announcement.

Since the core purpose of Buddhism, and specific to your query, Tantric Buddhism, is to lead a practitioner to become more aware of his or her own true nature, being a Christian or Muslim, in theory, ought not to be an impediment. In fact, imo, it will only serve to strengthen the individual's faith, on condition said individual approaches the path with an open mind & heart. There are no prerequisites for conversion in Tantric Buddhism. It does not demand servitude nor subservience to a supposed greater power outside of oneself.

There are dollars to be made from illegal immigration. Taxable dollars that feed the economy. Its no wonder one of the first things Trump made the DOJ do after he assumed office was to reverse the ruling on the curtailment of detention centres operated by private corpos (reports indicate these firms lobbied for his election).

I suppose it didn't help matters much when admin chimed in with his personal political preferences. Some may've misunderstood that to mean consent, began to form wild assumptions, lost sight of decorum, and likely felt emboldened as time passed to raise their voices in an effort to prove their rightness.

The most controversial source of excess spending, though, is rent-seeking by health-care firms. This is when companies extract outsize profits relative to the capital they deploy and risks they take. Schumpeter has estimated the scale of gouging across the health-care system. Although it does not explain the vast bulk of America’s overspending, the sums are big by any other standard, with health-care firms making excess profits of $65bn a year. Surprisingly, the worst offenders are not pharmaceutical firms but an army of corporate health-care middlemen. (The Economist - March '18)

In considering within the confines of TDB, I'd say there are many willing individuals who, freed of arrogance, possess both the time and capability to support their views and opinions independently.

Some corporations would rather outsource/move operations overseas to save a few bucks. Their only moral obligation is to shareholders, not so much concerned with obligations to provide livelihood to domestic workers. Case in point: The fashion industry in the US generates an annual turnover of approx $45 billion, increasing yearly. I'd be interested to know what percentage of this turnover is shored within US-led local factories, and how much of it flows out to places like India, Pakistan, Vietnam, etc.

I thought your comment was quite specific in referencing the impossibility of reason among forum members when it comes to political discourse, and not a general absence of. This explains why I think TDB's different from all your other experiences. Without mental awareness, it can be challenging to hold a correct opinion confidently.

But the fact remains that these incentives were shoddily placed, henceforth abuse became rife.

When you stick it out here long enough, you will see many, many instances where voices of reason prevail. TDB stands unique in this regard, and thats why it has stood strong the test of time. Having strong opinions and views need not be reason to shout and bully. When these views are not held confidently, holders resort to unmannerly conduct. This applies quite universally.

I think the reasons for the current migrant crisis goes back some way, and largely self-inflicted, so to focus the discussion or debate on (blame?) illegal vs legal labour is kinda missing the point. The bigger picture might include needing to understand why domestic labour, although more than plenty to fill the various sector demands, have not been properly incentivised. Instead, it got so out of hand that a significant percentage of available and healthy domestic labour would rather live off social assistance than taking jobs they don't fancy. With this vacuum created, can anyone be foolish enough to assume labour-intensive sectors, driven by profit and maybe greed, will abide strictly to hiring only legalised workers? The wage discrepancy between new world and old world countries is so drastic that it will ensure the crisis will only worsen with time. Instead of addressing the malpractices within capitalistic America, the focus went all awry, and became a political contention, stinking up by dividing further an already divided country.

Enlarge that enough, and it about sums up the full agenda of the current US administration, imo.

In the Buddhist texts, citta is used overlappingly with manas and viññaña.