C T

Thats me done here as views expressed are not topic-related.

And you believe that by not naming the member your words are justified? Usually its not hard to know who ate all the choc brownies, even without the name being thrown around. I did reflect on it, and felt that sometimes we need to do whats necessary, with a clear intent, in order to cut karmic cords.

Strong words. Your perception and subsequent expression here of a member whom you reckoned did wrong by attacking another, and then calling it out based on your subjective opinion is also a form of aggression, no? Granted, you did not dedicate an entire thread to the task, but thats really besides the point.

Nice duckies. Im curious.... do you talk to them? If so, do you relate with them the same as you do fellow humans? I mean, do you denigrate them sometimes? Call them weenies, morons, immature idiots etc?

Soothing chamomile? Tea for the new millennium A hipster's tipple

The action of Dao spontaneous activity no doer in sight

Sometimes we need to extricate ourselves from karmic loops, and a practical way to do that would be to clear the conscience. That can be considered Right Action where such action is in harmony with intent. Connections with teachers mainly depend on affinity and timing. If the affinity and timing are aligned, good teachers cannot avoid meeting difficult students. Likewise, good students meet flawed teachers due to their complex karmic connections. As observed, many times a faultless student can contribute and impact on a mediocre teacher's betterment. Affinity need not mean that everything must come up rosy. Affinity understood means arriving at the insight to know and accept that rose bushes must have thorns. Its the push and pull of opposites that creates the ideal ground for wholeness to manifest. Its what gives it meaning too, i think.

Which age has broken shattered into smithereens this notion of Dao

The turd polisher how mundane, yet how tantric this empty bird cage

not you Joe

Its fun when seen for what it is, bad choreography and all not withstanding

im projecting lol

Im more interested to know what people use for door stops nowadays. You'd be amazed at the creativity. Old cameras. Did you know old cameras make handy door stops? Expedience. Thats what it boils down to mate. Making hay while the sun shines springs to mind.

You cant be faulted for not paying attention to whats going on when Trump himself seems to share that state of concentration deficit frequently lol

as usual, cowering before the despots. Sinister going-ons.

Reading the above sounds so familiar... almost like Darryl Anka channelling Bashar... you're not Anka by any chance, are you?

So I just got back home from work. My dog is laying on the back patio covered in dirt with a rabbit in his mouth. The rabbit's not bloody, just dirty. Now, my neighbor's kids raise these Blue Ribbon WINNER Rabbits. I instantly knew it was one of their rabbits. So I took the rabbit away from my dog, I rushed inside, washed all the dirt off it before my neighbors could come home. It was stiff but I heard some ANIMALS play dead when they are AFRAID, I couldn't remember which animals because I was NERVOUS. I took it and placed it back in one of the cages, then I ZOOMED back home. NOT 30 minutes later I hear my neighbors screaming. so I go out and ask them what's wrong? They tell me their rabbit died three days ago and they buried it but now it's back in the cage!!! (random fb joke)

That is the question now we know we know nothing marching to the grave

As per the thread title, I know firsthand that Tantra (especially) loves to pry open, dredge out and challenge practitioners' beliefs and make a mockery of them often. Regarding the notion of self though, I think investigative insight will yield greater clarity when beliefs are replaced by experiential knowing (prajna). (ref. above comment by Cheshire Cat "....to believe in the self or not isn't that important after all." )

Hmm.... need to think about the notion of hunger as desire... but from a wider scope i do get your drift. I've always considered hunger as a natural function of physicality. Perhaps obsessive cravings for sense gratification pose a greater probability as an obstacle to mindfulness (as a condition of remaining in equanimous poise beyond extremes).

Yes, that's possible. The over-reliance and persistent habit of assigning labels (names) simultaneously produces and compounds actions that can only be carried out, and in the taking of such actions, sets in motion a process that will continue to bear latent seeds (as emotions and thoughts) that will further sustain the birth of similar, or what will appear as similar actions in a seeming cyclical pattern. Within the restrictive confines of those habits that desire to create labels is where concepts of self and other continuously bounce off each other like in an arcade game of virtual Pong (that mesmerised the kids of the 70s, remember?)

~ Jianzhi Sengcan ~ To return to the root is to find the meaning,but to pursue appearances is to miss the source. At the moment of inner enlightenment, there is a going beyond appearance and emptiness. The changes that appear to occur in the empty world we call real only because of our ignorance. Do not search for the truth; only cease to cherish opinions.

Assume it all begins at A. Curiosity sets in One sees lots of things manifesting within A That curiosity prompts ideas that these manifestations are not-A since each appear to have its own separate identity Fragmentation sets in Restlessness follows One seeks to return to A Lots of hard work, frustrations, seeming breakthroughs felt A dawning of satisfaction and sense of achievement that all the hard work paid off And one has at long last attained freedom Suddenly one startles from that dream realizes, with much laughter (and tears) No matter how much one tries One could never be separated from A

I think relative to this thread, clarity refers to the onset of pure perception viz establishing a continuum of awareness whereby forms are recognised as none other than manifestations from one's own universal mind () and by definition perfect in its own nature. This is an attractive state, often appearing in the dream states (leaving fuzzy recollections) and most people actually have strong inklings what it is, which is wonderful. The thing with this almost-recognition comes the desire to generate assumptions by way of over-reliance and deference to intellectualism, and this gives birth to and simultaneously compounds actions that support grasping and aversion, which is how duality comes to be. Learning how to sustain pure perception is likened to masters exhorting students to not get distracted. Its this curiosity inherent in sentiency that follows the self-born knowing of primordial purity (which is like a seed in all things) that beings experience the mirage of separation. The more complex the biology the greater the degree of curiosity. Though the persistent encouragement from some tantric masters to indulge with fervour the body, speech and mind while maintaining a continuum of "pure" awareness is said to be a key to liberation, this is sooo easy to type out, but oh so difficult to cultivate In this context, "pure" = one taste (from which spells the end of curiosity lol)