TzuJanLi

Hi joe: The system is broke and you know it, but.. you are so addicted to the getting a disproportionate share of the "pie", that you will rationalize a right to do so.. you misconstrue simple truisms to create the illusion that there is a justification for the failed model of capitalism we are currently suffering from.. there is no valid justification for a system that distributes its resources/wealth to people at the highest (0.5%) end of the economic scale at a factor exceeding 50 times the average pay of the bottom 30% of citizens.. the bogus argument about too much tax and too many regulations on the "job creators", is nothing more than asking those that already have their hard-earned wealth and resources extracted from them by a corrupt political/power-broker relationship, to make them even wealthier and more powerful.. there are no actual examples of trickle-down economics that work.. with the lowest corporate tax rates in three decades and loopholes only available to the most wealthy 'people' (remember corporations are 'people too'), where are all of the jobs, while the gap between the lower 95% and the upper 5% is growing wider? I agree that there are regulations that are counter-productive, but that's not what i hear the complaints about.. the complaints are not about fixing the counter-productive regulations, it's about removing the regulations that hurt profiteering.. the complaints by "job creators" aren't concerned with safety, health, and fairness, the issue is about money.. what good is more money if the air and water aren't clean, or if education is gutted for a more profitable model? regulations are necessary in an economic environment where profit is more important than safety, health, and fairness.. The fact is that the US Capitalist model only actually benefits the top, and i'll be generous, 5% of the working population,, the other 95% are vehicles used by the top 5% to generate their excessive and wasteful lifestyles.. i do not consider profits 'theft', i consider excessive profits and profits gained by diminishing the conditions of others as unethical and unjust, hence the need for regulation.. I have no complaints regarding governments as employers, particularly when the private sector power-brokers are willing to hold the economy hostage until they get what they want, less taxes and less government oversight of the corruption.. i have no problem with regulated economies, IF the regulations are fair and transparent, and it is possible to incentivize creativity, hard work, and investment, without creating such disparity that social unrest and revolution are the result.. it is a person's nature to be lazy, or creative, or altruistic, or greedy, regardless of the scope of the scale.. The fatal flaw of Capitalism is its ability to market its benefits to people who don't understand the function of 'marketing'.. there is too much lawyer-speak that is designed to be an illusion that entices poor judgment.. i favor truth in labeling and truth in advertising.. i favor that money borrowed through consumer loans and memorialized by legal contracts, be automatically deducted from the borrower's earnings at a rate that can never exceed 25% of the principal, and the general interest limit set at 15% simple interest allowing for loans exceeding 10 years (mortgages, etc..) to be rewarded with an additional 10%.. of course, lower interest rates will be what attracts borrowers, incentivizing competitive lending and keeping interest rates low.. risk is minimized by the automatic deductions.. on and on, there are better and more equitable ways of managing commerce and business.. Society is being 'managed' for the benefit of the 'managers', the One Percent as some would say.. and that 'One Percent' will violently resist change that more fairly distributes the fruits of people's labors, and more fairly adapt to relaity.. Be well..

Greetings.. I believe in equal rights for women, no one should be discriminated against based on gender.. There are sufficient resources and infrastructure to assure that no one should lack basic and sufficient food, but.. we really need to look at our ability to adapt and grow locally as much as possible, and to climatize our diets for the regions we live in.. the current model for suburban sprawl is extremely inefficient, disproportionately burdening municipal and social services.. expansive areas single family dwellings are recent additions to our culture, and a huge burden on resources.. in independent 'single family unit' further isolates people from each other and promotes a self-centered perspective.. migration toward community centers that provide the majority of the community's needs as easily accessible community operated clusters, can begin to re-establish the what has been eroding since the industrial revolution.. interactive cooperative communal units.. where people work together for everyone's benefit.. Technology has reduced the amount of work necessary to maintain a functional supply chain of goods and services, but the economic model hasn't adapted to the change, and.. the economic model punishes those that have been replaced by technology, or whose amount of work puts them below the threshold for benefits like retirement and healthcare.. this is a most opportune time for the public/private sectors to integrate a community retrofitting program designed for using the talents available.. the time and resources are available, it is the misplaced value-system that is the obstacle.. the current monetary and economic system is antiquated, and will result in social chaos if it is not completely overhauled, but.. the last greedy few will wring the last ounce of profit from a declining economy, in the belief that the coming storm will treat them differently than they have treated those they have plundered, it will not.. i am hopeful people will make intelligent changes to insure against anarchy and a century of of warring states restructuring a new social structure, but.. i see no evidence of the power-brokers changing their ways voluntarily, and the alternative is frightening.. The US economy, and the whole world economy, that is based on unbalanced and antiquated value-systems, will change drastically, and soon.. we can no longer pit person against person to struggle for a greater 'share of the pie', when the 'pie' is artificially regulated to insure that the struggle continues to make the pie-maker rich, with no regard for the well-being of those that struggle.. 'pie-makers' can rationalize all manner of false reasoning for their purpose, but.. the fact is, 'pie-making' and the current economic model is done, and.. there is a better way, a more fair and equitable way, but.. power-brokers and 'pie-makers' will fight for their right to screw everybody else, it is their nature.. i do believe in a fair scale of rewards for people's efforts, but there is nothing fair in the world economic and labor market.. joe will suggest that you get what you earn, which is code for you can steal what you can get away with, which is why the model will change drastically, or fail.. Be well..

Greetings.. Hi 3bob: TTC 43, line 3.. "That which has no form can enter where there is no space" (literally, 'not have enter not space').. TTC is arranged in Chapters to communicate messages.. surely, we could take anything out of context and speculate as to its meaning.. how would you interpret Chapter 43 in its entirety? Would you consider replacing "contains/containing" with 'is'? It seem to make more sense, to me.. Be well..

Greetings.. There's the rub.. the "measuring stick" is a sliding scale with the elite and powerful sliding it to their advantage.. these are the same people that extract wealth from the economy without a balanced return.. Is a Wall Street CEO or a hedge fund manager worth 300 times the work and effort of carpenter, brick-mason, or common laborer? these are the questions of our times, how much wealth/resource is reasonable? we need an earnings scale that incentivizes the "job creators" to actually create jobs.. So, i suggest an earnings scale that sets the upper end of the scale at no greater than 50 times the average earnings of the bottom 30% of the Nation's citizens.. yes, that includes the unemployed.. the more that the lower 30% of the citizens earn, all of them, then the more the highest earners can earn.. this incentivizes creating real work for living wages for everyone.. oh yeah, resources will be priced in the same proportions, such that no one who actually works for a living can be classed into poverty or the 'working poor' except by their own mismanagement of their earnings.. this will adjust the disparity between the earners, but.. It just irks me that that those that those that have set-up a system to extract a disproportionate share of the resources get 'irked' when others suggest equitable social structures.. Be well..

Greetings.. Hi Marblehead: And even then, those with inclinations towards Buddhism will prattle on and on, disagreeing with those that are not so inclined, and even among themselves they will disagree with each other's beliefs.. what has become apparent is that they adore the sound of their own voices in discordance with everyone else, each supposing their own interpretation to be better than anyone else's.. and, they are prone to infect almost every discussion with their self-righteous prattle about some ancient Hindu rich kid who ran away from home because his parents lied to him, and he decided to end suffering by pretending it doesn't exist.. for people who drone on and on about non-duality they are ass deep is such rigid structure as to find it impossible to detach from it.. they are so bound to the illusion of Buddha's 'enlightenment' and subsequent well-marketed ravings, that any reference to non-duality is laughable.. the most appropriate understanding that non-dual believers need, is that "you can't get there from here".. understand that, and you will find contentment is what you 'are'.. but look at the pages of Buddhist wordplay trying to out-Buddha each other, and trying to convince others that that game is cool.. Secular Humanists are so much closer to understanding the 'isness' of existence than this redundant Buddhist yammering.. Be well..

Greetings.. Non-duality is a term that allows people to talk about it and sound as if they were mystics or sages, or as if the they were on some path to enlightenment.. the result of claiming the term's validity is to create conflict (see this thread). Non-duality is only meaningful to creatures that have the intellect to contrive such a concept, and.. ironically, it is the condition of separation or, of independently functioning versions of Wholeness, that is necessary for the concept of non-duality to be compared with for its apparent meaning.. if there were no 'duality', the term 'non-duality' wouldn't make sense, and.. since duality is an existent condition, the fundamental condition for existence, the term 'non-duality' is negated, except for parlor tricks with wordplay.. the fundamental condition for existence is the relationship between that which 'is'('is-ness'), and the absence of that which 'is' ('is-notness').. to suggest that non-duality is something within which is-ness and is-notness is contained is a belief about a concept, supported by wordplay.. Be well..

Greetings.. May the 'Spirit of Christmas', true compassion for Life, bring gifts of Life, health, and hope to all of our brothers and sisters.. Wishing ALL people well...

Greetings.. Hi MH: That's the difference! you enjoy "discussing", but.. far too many people are here to advance their particular agendas, and there is no usefulness in their agenda for discussions that do not add support to their agenda.. Be well..

Greetings.. For the love of simplicity, stop the word vomit!! the only thing that 'has' to happen, is for each of us to to choose our perspectives of the Life that we are.. and, you have to choose to participate in your physical experience, stop participating and soon enough the physical experience will conclude, including the 'word vomit'.. Be well..

Greetings.. That's the thing, though.. non-duality suggests there is no one or no thing to 'give up' or cultivate.. to speak it, is to discredit it.. to simply be authentic and and sincerely curious about Life is the best we can do.. the conceptual mind-chatter about non-duality is its own worst ambassador.. Be well..

Hi MH: Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield, Stephen Stills, "Super Session", Season of the Witch.. Brilliant.. checkout 'Don Peyote' as a good 'trance' artist.. The act of talking about non-duality is what defeats the concept.. it establishes the certainty of duality, but.. chase after gurus and mystics, theories and beliefs, but Life is right here right now and it is nowhere else.. Be well..

Greetings.. Hi MH: There is no change in a non-dual state.. from what to what, it's all the One whatever it is people believe non-duality is.. there's no 'action', or if there is it is a function of duality.. Be well..

Greetings.. I have little or no interest in the regurgitated concepts of others, or even of how you feel about them.. i am deeply interested in authenticity, and while how you 'feel' about the concepts of others may be an authentic feeling, it doesn't relate to an authentic experience of 'your' relationship with Life.. it is a response influenced by your affinity for other people's experiences, i.e.: "as Eckhart Tolle said", and "Shantideva corretly said:", and "For as Avalokitesvhara said", and "Esther Hicks nailed it".. Parrots weary me.. i have an extensive library of religious, and philosophical texts, if i want to be entertained by their experiences again, i will go to the texts.. Your belief that my patience "is a tell that you have little interests in others", contradicts any validity you might claim toward understanding the meaning of "those genuinely interested" or a "real truth looker".. So no, it is when you give up looking at what is happening and rely on others to define what you believe is 'true', that you to abandon your authenticity and your validity.. I do not know what 'truth' is, and i do not look for it.. i simply 'look' at what is happening with unconditional sincerity and uninhibited gusto.. there is only Life living itself through me, through we and us.. your post indicates you are still searching, unable to liberate yourself from the safety of using the beliefs others as your own.. Be well..

Greetings.. When you can let all that noise go, perhaps you can hear the silence.. you speak to hear yourself sound wise. I don't know what Tao means, or what it is.. but the journey is very cool.. Some say yes, some say no.. i am very happy to just keep looking, i am patient. Be well..

Greetings.. LOL.. no, that's just the blustery cacophony of voices hoping to be believed about that which cannot be believed.. almost as if it is a challenge, "the Tao which can be spoken is not the true Tao": "Oh yeah, well wait till you hear ME".. Be well..

Greetings.. If you're talking about non-duality, you really don't have the whole understanding.. once understood, no words are accurate or adequate, there is only the example lived.. and, stories about lives lived well.. the intellectual babble is distracting and counter-productive to anyone seeking.. tell one story that illustrates real clarity in Life, 'that' can help someone understand how many can be One, and how One can be many, all for the joy of simply existing.. more valuable than all of the 'you hafta do this or you hafta to that' babble.. be the example of how it works in real-Life, rather than in the imaginary mind-scape of competing concepts.. Be well..

Greetings.. The term, non-duality, is irrefutable evidence that it is not a valid understanding.. it is part of a process for communicating between different perspectives, between real and actual people.. it is the bane of any sincere interest in understanding existence, using enticing wordplay that distracts from being present for what is poorly described as 'non-duality'.. Be well..

Greetings.. Yep, group "ass fingering" is superior by far........... Be well..

Greetings.. You are what you have chosen to be, and you will be what you choose to be.. deeds are the evidence of your choices, look at your Life, what have you chosen to be, what will you choose to be.. you are one choice away from 'everything'.. Be well..

Greetings.. This might be helpful: http://www.facebook.com/rleerob or: http://www.eliyah.com/cgi-bin/fellowship/fellowship.cgi?category=1&item=2181413497 So, no.. not interested, Randy.. but, nice 'grill'.. Be well..

Greetings.. There is a 'way'! Be well..

Greetings.. Hi joe: You don't have to "wait for more ad hominem remarks", read what you posted, read the parts i bolded, do you know what "ad hominem" means? Look, you've become irrelevant in this discussion.. you have not in any way produced a plan, method, or idea that might fix the problem.. in fact, you haven't even identified the problem, others including myself have clearly articulated the problem and you consistently resist admitting the truth.. you and your kind have taken from the efforts of hard working Americans, shipped their jobs overseas, and hired the government to protect your corrupt extortion of America's resources while you dismantle the services that those hard working Americans already paid for.. and, that's not an 'ad hominem' attack, that's fact.. if the government had not been raiding Social Security to fund it's poorly regulated policies and wars, that system would much more solvent, i.e.: "As of December 31, 2010, the U.S. government owes $2.6 trillion to the Social Security Trust Fund. This equates to $8,500 for every man, woman, and child living in the United States or $22,269 per household".. this is the effect of conservative policies, who take what they want.. You misrepresent what i have posted according to your personal prejudices and bias for profiteering from the oppression of your brothers and sisters.. yes, i am suggesting a radical overhaul of the system, an overhaul that more fairly distributes the resources of Life, such that no one suffers needlessly, and still there are rewards for willingness and effort to contribute to the advancement of the Human Experience.. you resist changing the system that is observably broken and failing because it benefits you regardless of its effects on others, including suffering.. you seem to think that borders and national identity are excuses to ignore the plight of humanity, without realizing that you represent what the world dislikes about America.. So, here's the deal.. people will do whatever is necessary to survive, if the system creates conditions that threaten a person's ability to survive, or a parent's ability to feed and shelter their children, there WILL be a reckoning.. so, either change the system through intelligent and common-sense peaceful means to more fairly distribute resources, or face the unpleasant consequences.. in closing, i will no longer reply to your posts as long as you misrepresent what i am posting.. as i said, you have become irrelevant in this discussion, you contribute nothing but hateful rhetoric.. Be well..

Greetings.. LOL.. Well, my attorney tells me i've been 'on the list' since giving an anti-war speech in 1968, which somehow ended-up on the nightly news , and.. oddly enough found me with a draft notice that that following January.. of course, my friends expected me to go to Canada 'for the cause', but.. i figured the trade-off for having the freedom to make such a speech, was not abandoning the country that allowed 'free speech', so.. here we are again, some 43 years later, with the ethical dilemma of working within a rigged and broken system, or.. building a new one based on the Principles of the American Dream.. The USMC Vets will understand the meaning of The Crucible.. where 'trial by fire' and the 'heat' of perseverance transforms a person's belief in themselves, into the person they have intended to become.. as a nation of people with a birthright of "Inalienable Rights", we, US, and America are entering 'The Crucible' of our future, where we will reclaim "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness", as Principles that guide our 'way' into the future.. Principles which guide the cleansing of a corrupt and self-serving political system.. it is noteworthy, that politicians are elected, so begin by breaking the incumbent inclination to build networks of influence and deal-making.. a politician has one job, to represent his or her constituency as provided for by the rule of Law, and in accordance with the Constitution.. obstructionist politics, excessive re-election campaigning (more than the 6 months prior to actual elections for incumbents), and voting contrary to the expressed will of the the 'people' is not part of that job.. it is the elected representative's obligation to insure, as Abraham Lincoln so well stated, "that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".. the first obligation is that there be such a government, then that it shall not perish.. So: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility" find it necessary to enforce justice upon those whose oppressive policies impose suffering unnecessarily upon those whom they represent, while increasing their own security at the expense of the governed and without their consent.. and, those elected representatives who have formed corrupt or illegal alliances that influence the just and honorable representation of the governed, along with their allies or co-conspirators, shall be guilty of treason if such illegal or corrupt alliances be substantiated in a court of law at the appropriate jurisdiction of representation. I sense that a 'declaration of intentions' such as these is a reasonable policy, considering the carnage that the current political system has wrecked upon the US.. without any religious inferences, to be elected to represent the people of a free nation, is a sacred honor.. one which shall not be bought or sold, but earned and respected.. Be well..

Greetings.. Sign my sweet ass up, brothers and sisters!!.. BE WELL!!