C T

Thank you for the refreshing kick up the behind, rene... Can't believe I actually missed it. wow Please accept my apologies, Admin & co., esp Michael.

Dear Admin & team... Can someone please acknowledge what exactly is going on with the report that I made pertaining to whats been highlighted here? Surely by now some movement have occurred. Even if 'no action necessary' was concluded, which won't be too surprising, at least have the courtesy to remain efficiently informative instead of keeping mum. Like i said, the longer you guys keep quiet, the more speculations will surface. Why must the apparent silence be a contributing factor to such an unhelpful thing?

Nor was it made clear by the poster that making allusions to bodhicitta in that particular reference is merely a subjective view, one based on approximations and confined within the limits of mere opinion, and in no way reflect the vast scope of Mahayana, and Buddhism in general, relating to the concept of bodhicitta. Said poster appears to have demonstrated a nonchalant stance towards such a vital core concept by failing first to acknowledge that what was written was his personal take, and not necessarily one that corresponds to profound Buddhist commentaries and treatises expounding on the concept (of bodhicitta). I will continue to appreciate the contributions made here by everyone, but will at the same time vigilantly continue to make readers aware of the presence of subjective views on Buddhist concepts and notions, especially if these are misguidedly presented as authoritative representations of Buddhism. (for eg. the bolded statement header). Perhaps the poster is aware of his limited understanding, and have simply overlooked the importance of acknowledging that in this particular instance. Furthermore, I would also encourage readers to be aware that my notes in this thread are also based on my limited knowledge and understandings of certain concepts, and do not indicate, nor have the intention to indicate otherwise, and readers will remember to use their discernment with due care whenever coming across these inclusions, though they will be fairly limited. The main objective of this thread when it was initiated was to serve as a sort of storehouse of wise encouragements and reflections by Buddhist teachers, in the main, that other Buddhist practitioners share with me, or some which I happen to come across myself. They are essentially not meant to be used as points of comparison, contention, and especially not for debates with other philosophies or systems. Thank you for your continued patience and respect.

This way of consideration is consistent with the contemplation of what constitutes Right View in Buddhist practice. Some questions do not need answers. All that is deemed of temporary importance are the considerations being reflected upon, not if they have some closure or finality. Getting used to such an approach is one way that will gradually allow the contemplator, after making progress, to exert less effort, leading eventually to a complete relaxation, in noting and acknowledging the presence of a mind fixated on any one thing, even if this one thing turns out to be a desire not to fixate on anything. Fixations are by nature movements of the mind that create tension in a person. These can manifest on gross, subtle, and subtlest levels. It will be futile to try and scrutinise the modes and levels of manifestation, according to teachers like Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche. Instead, the contemplator is encouraged to only cultivate the habit of relaxing into all manifestations, regardless, by continually observing the mind and objects of mind, and eventually penetrating into mind's very essence.

Not particularly attached to good outcomes, nor particular repulsed by bad ones. Do I desire only respectful dialogue? Never actually considered it, but it sounds quite extreme, so I would have to say 'No'. All the same, thank you for being curious. I hope your curiosity always remain as one of the causes that bring you delight in things big and small. Like your teacup, for example...

Thank you. Interpretations are matters guided by subjective preferences, and also by chance encounters where outcomes are predicated on whims, moods and situational transactions. In this particular instance of the OP, fortunately none of these factors need to be accounted for.

Im only interested in honesty, sincerity and integrity. Rights and wrongs and their interpretations are the bane of existence.

In the 12 Nidanas, desire/craving (skt. Tanha) comes before clinging/attachment (skt. Upadana) Upadana > Bhava (becoming) > Jati, the last nidana (which is sometimes described as beings bound to ignorance at birth, and leaving the world while in a state of bewilderment and relentless confusion at death). Confusion and bewilderment is the volitional force that eventually ripens to create the next link, which is Avijja/Avidya (Ignorance), which is the first link. It is placed there because it is the single factor responsible for the perpetuation of all the other links, until such time one of the links weaken and breaks off.

That's the premise, yes.

Desire feeds itself thru both yearning for things it cannot have, or yet to have, and also aversion for things it already has, or have experienced, but which is deemed insufficient or unsatisfactory. The Chinese have a saying that the heart of desire, though residing within the limits of a human being, craves incessantly for reasonable and unreasonable things, the latter very much like a python that dreams of swallowing an elephant. There is no lasting benefit to exert effort in the analysis of the whys and wherefores of the wave-like nature of desire, nor the objects that shadow it unfailingly, but simply to cast an eye of wisdom over it to see its unhealthy tendency to cause delusion and then for the same delusion to create habits that then propagate cravings and aversions, thereby creating an endless loop, and this will continue to feed itself until such time one determinedly and consciously, or accidentally in some cases, severs any part of the loop.

I wasn't expecting too much. Simply a courteous acknowledgement that the report had been received, like what was the norm in the past, would have been nice. The time lapse potentially allows for speculations to arise. Therefore delays aren't usually helpful in such instances. It really isn't that complex - in fact, it clearly appears to be a straightforward violation, one which can be nullified easily if Jonesboy can offer a satisfactory set of reasonings to account for punctuating his retort (post) with what appears to be a stance of impatient petulance, and in doing so, appears to have contradicted the very commodity he so zealously promotes/defends.

To be fair, i have to say it was a nice gesture from Jonesboy to acknowledge the uniformity of my posts on TDB. cheers for that.

Dzogchen could be defined as a way to relax completely. This can be clearly understood from the terms used to denote the state of contemplation, such as "leave it just as it is" (cog bzhag), "cutting loose one's tension" (khregs chod), beyond effort" (rtsol bral), and so on. Some scholars have classified Dzogchen as a "direct path," comparing it to teachings such as Zen, where this expression is often used. In Dzogchen texts, however, the phrases "direct path" and "nongradual path" (cig car) are never used, because the concept of a "direct path" implies necessarily that there must be, on the one hand, a place from which one departs, and on the other, a place where one arrives. But in Dzogchen there is a single principle of the state of knowledge, and if one possesses this state one discovers that right from the beginning one is already there where one wants to arrive. For this reason the state is said to be "self-perfected" (lhun grub). ~ Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche ~

If we continue to meditate on the Buddhist path we will eventually have all kinds of experiences that we may never have had before, such as bliss, clarity, nonconceptuality, and clairvoyance. But we must understand that they are only a byproduct of our meditation, and that they are not the ultimate goal. If we become attached to these experiences they will only distract us from the path and we will not progress towards liberation and enlightenment. ~ Chamtrul Rinpoche ~

Haha good to know you got the drift, but really, im not sure if implementing sharia law here will be a much loved solution

What i mean is that, with access to privy information, the potential for manipulation comes alive.

I think the implications are a little more serious than merely the discovery of a network (not so much a secret group since they are quite open about the whole thing) taking shape here. Nothing really wrong with that, but when some members of the network, who are also part of the moderating team, openly demonstrate their preferences, then it might lead to problematic situations, as mildly indicated in a few posts on this thread.

So, in your opinion, Jeff is the boss here, the admin are his followers, and both sides are enamoured/obsessed by him? Hmm.. remarkably interesting

"That coincidence with the self known as satisfaction, where thirst knows itself as thirst at the same time that the drinking satisfies it, when by the very fact of its fulfilment it loses its character as lack while making itself be thirst in and through the satisfaction." ~ JP Sartre Sartre goes on to state that desire is represented as a 'lack of being', and is an invocation that is sustained by nothing except a conduit or various passages, which the mind creates, to see it through to its imaginary repletion of that which will fulfil/annul the lack. However, the vacuity of desire is self-referential: Desire desires itself, inseparable from the craving that ensues, and resists its annihilation through fulfilment. It desires the repletion of the in-itself without losing itself as for-itself. There is never authentic satisfaction, no real making full at all. Simply an appearance, an illusion, reflected as fullness.

Just read this post, and wish to emphatically answer just the one bolded question, "It/They can be". I guess it makes no difference now and also a bit late to continue posting here, since Admin have already decided this thread is Mutt. Although im not exactly familiar with usage of that term in the context of the life-span of this thread. I think it has the same connotation as "Flogging a dead donkey". Actually, some of your responses to my posts indicate to me the practices have not improved you to any significant degree. Or maybe you have trained to an extent whereby you now have multiple levels or ways to demonstrate that light too have various shades. Thats very astute of you, Jonesboy! Well done! Oh yes, do you know that your grammar still lacks fluency? but this is just a trivial thing. I apologise for pointing it out, but will never go as far as saying that you have dumbass English. That'll be going way too far because overall your English is comparatively good, just the odd error now and then. For example: "is such demonstrations dangerous?" That is the reason why i wrote, "It/They...." Btw, do you drive? I have noticed brakes are generally reliable, but still, its better to get them periodically inspected for obvious reasons -- they can fail. One failure and its one too many, right? Still, everyday, somewhere in the world, brakes continue to fail. Sad, but unavoidable. Is driving dangerous? It can be. Are online energy demonstrations dangerous? Well, no more dangerous than driving a car, I suppose.

The “self” is established, albeit only notionally, on the basis of transient forms, feelings, perceptions, thought formations, and sense impressions, and thus it is not absolute, but is merely relational and conditioned. ~ Paramito Ladakh ~

I really cant. What's 'it' supposed to be? level 0? Guess not, since its not really a level.

Once again, your comprehension skills (or lack thereof) shows. To reiterate, for brevity's sake, what I wrote was, "would seem fanboy-ish..." (in case you are unclear, this implies 'what appears to be' and not 'what is') "...anti-movement people have been shouted down by Jonesboy repeatedly to cease their ignorant rants." "Are you so disempowered...?" (this was a question, btw) I hope that clarified it for you.

Thats great, and would make better reading, imo

There is a familiar pattern developing here. Im going to put it to you, Siva, that consistent with the reception attributed to Bindi's posts, whereby it was made clear by Jonesboy that she is solely responsible for her own lack of benefit from her interactions with LU, would it not be a logical assumption then to say that the benefits you have derived are entirely your own responsibility, and therefore, would seem fanboy-ish, even foolish, to openly declare your new-found sense of wellness to be wholly attributable to LU? Are you so disempowered that you are not able to at least claim some of the credit? If indeed you can, and you should, claim some of the responsibility for your improved state, then i will put forward the suggestion that there is no necessity to over-emphasise and endorse how effective the 'system' is, just as all the rest of the anti-movement people have been shouted down by Jonesboy repeatedly to cease their ignorant rants. Demands for calm should be uniformly meted out, under such circumstances, so as to avoid future fan-boy behaviour and one-sided demonstrations. This can only help to promote objectivity on the proposed effectiveness of the methods employed by Jeff & co. Seasoned practitioners who are interested can make their own informed decisions on how to evaluate the (non)system (to me, its not really system, reasons already explained) and formulate questions accordingly.