3bob

Who did the Buddha honor upon his enlightenment, Earth soul. What does Taoism honor, Earth soul. What do you honor Deci, your own sickness.

Ok, we have no business about a whole gamut of stuff, but we do have business about the whole gamut of Dharma which will resolve any mess if truly followed and not by the power of our will and interpretation alone but ultimately by the power of quintessential Spirit. Isn't the greater solution in finding common ground where identity is Spirit first and foremost while all the rest is secondary...

Well thanks Manitou, paths are many, oneness draws them all, souls are many, oneness draws them all, and no thing draws oneness.

hopefully you won't mind but I'd add that yes, the real Self already is (with use of that term causing some to maybe jerk) but the matrix of soul or soul matrix for the real Self to manifest is evolving to a state of enlightenment to fully synchronize with what already is. (thus the Self not remaining just or only potential in transcendent state)

such learning also applies to wrestling with demons, for in doing so one can learn lots of their moves. (if they survive)

Well I'm sure you know the sword cuts both ways... Also: Can a bigot stop being one with their mind, yes Can a suicide bomber stop being one with their mind, yes Can a dangerous fanatic of any stripe stop being one with their mind, yes for none of the above (in the tiny amount of examples) were born that way. As for your absolute like statements about homosexual identity (and many other forms of identity) I think some of that may not be so absolute...although it may be default-wired (so to speak) as you imply for many. Btw, very young kids don't really have much of a sexual identity either way do they (?) and they to were born that way.

A true guru is a friend to all (with nice pointing in that direction although that particular word is very limited), such is revealed even if a true guru has to be stern or whatever at times, thus why is true guru friends to all because Spirit is friends to all of which there is no other. For those tired of negative sounding connotations from so called "advanced teachings" related to being a human being I'd suggest you check out the Upanishads. Om

not sure about the full meaning of "any impossible to change conditions" when it comes to the mind since mind is a changeable program. (for better or for worse)

Songtsan, I would tend to assume that you know wrathful deities only exist in relative worlds to protect dharmas in effect for such, thus being minor to intermediate compared to the "bad ass" who kills death. (?)

Not bad dude, and I'd say your instincts are correct regardless of anyone else trying to dismiss them with fancy sounding blah, blah, blah...

Seeing delusion as delusion is more delusion - if or when one compares it with the saying of, "samsara correctly seen is nirvana" (paraphrased more or less per Buddhist lines) Btw, I'd say mixing Buddhism and Taoism has some problems but I'm no expert on such nor am I interested in self-proclaiming experts on such, (which Manitou is not) so have at it folks and hopefully humpty-dumpty can be put back together again after he falls along with inner light shinning forth.

CT. This sounds to simplistic because of all the possible aspects and frameworks. Gandhi had a lot to say about fighting and fought a great deal himself, the difference was how he fought... I don't have any quotes on hand right now but maybe later. Anyhow I'd say it takes a great deal of spiritual cultivation to fight correctly as so many masters and saints have.

Wow... I haven't kept track of a lot of the stuff in particular like some have, although I've seen some of it and can see why there are not many ladies here who I tend to think are generally more kind and sociable compared to a lot of us guys. And to the gals that have stuck it out here thanks for your often good and balanced influences! Om

it would also help if the term guru was used more truthfully instead of its westernized co-opting which is often way off the mark. As for forgiveness, what bar does the Spirit set for that? (as in a major change in a person along with repentance that is real thus not not just an idealistically given forgiveness)

take a look and read about Osho's dead girlfriend and all the other people he F%$^& up and then tell me how interesting that fallen s.o.b. is...

There are several worlds (so to speak) that get can get sadder than that! (besides in a past life the lad may have been a "some such".

I'd say non-duality is big enough to contain duality, (since duality and or the Ten thousand isn't of or connected to a separate root or a root of illusion that can stand on its own) It might also be said that the "One" is big enough to contain all time, all space, all energy, all types of forms, and all beings and the Tao is big enough to contain the One... but these are only words

This guy can do things even Yoda couldn't do:

This link tells of one way to turn a power-point slide show into a stand alone executable file at low cost. (there is another way I came across but it was a lot more complicated, does anyone else have a write up on the steps needed to do via windows itself?) http://www.ehow.com/how_6588111_convert-powerpoint-exe.html

"neti, neti" meaning is more like: not this description, not that description, or not this thing and not that thing... as for the duality of yang and yin - I'd say they are joined at the hip so to speak, thus no illusion when seen correctly.

neti, neti,

Songtsan The Truth is bad-ass (so to speak and as you most likely already know) so I suggest forgetting any limits you are apparently putting on it and take it any way you can find it! (since when can us beggars be choosy?) Btw, any Mahasiddha worth two-cents has Truth which includes Love, or has been fully tested by Truth and Love - and such can easily and correctly as needed cut an ego in half and quarters, etc.. Thus if our burning desire is for Truth it will find a way to teach us. (per related laws) I'd say that some glorious idea about mahasiddha will bring a letdown when or if a real one comes hidden in non-glorious form that is not good enough or exciting enough for us. Glory belongs to Source, no other can really claim it as their own which is what ego would try to do.

Maybe to far for present science, yet who would have believed 150 years ago that there would be techniques that can reveal to astronomers the make up or elemental compounds in objects in the solar system or many light years away? I don't know about the details in the change in mass so maybe I shouldn't have brought that one up although at the time I came across it it sounded like a possibility.

"...and you think yourself way more 'refined,' 'elevated,' 'experienced,' 'realized,' etc. than me and you think you can handle me...", by Songtsan If you come across someone like that I suggest you run not walk, besides such cultish like relationships won't really work will they? In one sense and as human beings all we have is the dharma and if trying to follow the dharma doesn't bring us the teachings (aka teachers) that we need then try again, and again - for at some point and or at all points dharma/karma will respond although it may not be in the way we had in mind. And in the meantime, well the same still applies does it not?

ok, that's cool, and I see we have some agreement about the mind being a tool... which would seem to be a different connotation than "shining mind" as you used earlier, but I don't know what you would say to that since the correlation I would now make after reading your follow up is that shinning mind alludes to Spirit.? (which would not be mind as tool, along with knowing that mind has no light of its own although it is shinned through when clear and still)