Harmonious Emptiness

The Dhammapada, translated by Max Müller and Max Fausböll, [1881], at sacred-texts.com p. 56 CHAPTER XVI. PLEASURE. 209. He who gives himself to vanity, and does not give himself to meditation, forgetting the real aim (of life) and grasping at pleasure, will in time envy him who has exerted himself in meditation. 210. Let no man ever look for what is pleasant, or what is unpleasant. Not to see what is pleasant is pain, and it is pain to see what is unpleasant. 211. Let, therefore, no man love anything; loss of the beloved is evil. Those who love nothing and hate nothing, have no fetters. 212. From pleasure comes grief, from pleasure comes fear; he who is free from pleasure knows neither grief nor fear. 213. From affection comes grief, from affection comes fear; he who is free from affection knows neither grief nor fear. 214. From lust comes grief, from lust comes fear; he who is free from lust knows neither grief nor fear. 215. From love comes grief, from love comes fear; he who is free from love knows neither grief nor fear. 216. From greed comes grief, from greed comes fear; he who is free from greed knows neither grief nor fear. 217. He who possesses virtue and intelligence, who is just, speaks the truth, and does what is his own business, him the world will hold dear. 218. He in whom a desire for the Ineffable (Nirvâna) has sprung up, who is satisfied in his mind, and whose thoughts are not bewildered by love, he is called ûrdhvamsrotas (carried upwards by the stream). 219. Kinsmen, friends, and lovers salute a man who has been long away, and returns safe from afar. 220. In like manner his good works receive him who has done good, and has gone from this world to the other;--as kinsmen receive a friend on his return.

In comparison to "Western society" all traditional aboriginal communities can exemplify the meaning of wei wu wei as progress and action through non-aggression. Without respecting the true nature of things, consequences arise. Mining companies now have to hire environmental experts who will determine some of these consequences, but, as the was said in the first video above, there is 1000s of years of knowledge that is not being used. To just push forward and ignore these links we have will fail as it will overlook the importance of harmony in progress. This is also why the knowledge of "the old ways" ought to be as accessible and influential as the knowledge of "the modern world." There will always be further knowledge not understood by the masses, as is the case with everything, but their influence ought to be meaningful, even measurable in corporations (the basis of political powers). The United States constitution, taking influence from the Iroquois "Great Law of Peace", has been pretty much the only step in this direction, with the exception of the modern pharmacopia. http://theunitedstatesconstitution.blogspot.com/2006/12/native-american-source-for-declaration.html http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2004/September/20040924120101AKllennoCcM9.930056e-02.html

Thanks for your help

If you want to support a musician, see them live. They make 10 times what they would from you buying their cd as 95% of the cd goes to the record company.

So then why do you not provide evidence of these "false statements" since you have already made so many accusations already... I would like to know what they are. So far all you have answered is "They were made by otp in regards to mentioning his self promotion."

You did state his name previously, and you're accusing him of being someone else just because he may have set up a website for that person. How many ascetic Taoists shamans spend time learning how to set up websites? Probably not very many. He stated his opinion about religion, you disagree, that doesn't make it false information. He stated that people would normally show more respect for a Shaman, and you turned this into some kind of unsportsmanlike conduct when in fact he was stating a very true fact about the minimum respect normally shown to someone believed to be a shaman. If this is not the "false statments" you were referring to then what "false statements" are you referring to that justifies your attack on someone? who by the way has shown some rarely seen knowledge on Taoist shamanism on this site and you have managed to bully out of here with persistent accusations. So again, what "false statements" are you referring to when you justify your behavoir, please?

Um, no, actually I see that his stated opinion differed dramatically from your own opinion so you outed his identity in an attempt to discredit him. That is low

Hey, seriously, so what if he registered the website and promotes the teachings of it?? Like tons of other people here don't do the same? Why is he not allowed to be anonymous while talking about it? He's not selling anything, aside from maybe a viewpoint which happens all the time here. I agree that you really ought to get off his case. What virtue is there in outing him? It only makes him susceptible to people who might want to barge in on a recluse he may or may not have access to which would be disruptive. What have you done by showing who he might be? nothing. saved anyone from getting scammed? no. Some people, especially people practicing esoteric arts, know the value of remaining anonymous and not making a big name and scene for themselves since it can lead to disrupting their progress. So, are you going to continue peeking into people's mail and airing their laundry on the forum, or can people do their thing without wanna be spooks snooping throught their IP adresses and telling everyone personal information about them? I have a mind for reporting your behaviour as that is VERY intrusive, dangerous, and uncalled for especially in this instance..

Lecithin is most important for joints and their protection as it is more or less what surrounds the joints. You might find bone meal tablets online so you don't have to drink the powder. Also be sure to take vitamin D magnesium, and vitamin C to absorb the calcium, and stay away from white starches, sugar, and stress as they all deplete calcium. Pay attention to having a good 2:1 calcium phosphorus balance and maybe avoid corn as it is 1:12. Mushrooms are also really high in phosphorus. If you can get fresh dandelion leaves at the grocery store, I suggest snacking on those constantly as they provide tons of nutrients and calcium. Vitamin C is incredible for tissue healing so you should take plenty. I forget what the maximum usable amount in the body is, but a mild overdose will just cause stomach upset. Read more about vitamin C and tissue regeneration from Dr. Weil. Check all this out for yourself online, too, and maybe double check it with your doctor since I'm not a health professional.

very strange.. from my own computer I see my new avatar, but from a different one I'm seeing the old avatar. I've double checked on both computers too. ?

Imo, the funny thing about people looking at others with disapproval is that it usually has a lot to do with their own need for acceptance. Some people see someone different and automatically need to show their disapproval so that they prove their own conformity and secure acceptance into whatever group.

It's a useful tool but don't be distracted by the finger pointing to the moon focusing on a single point in the floor is something prescribed in some zen dojos, whereas sitting meditation in Taoism would be more with the eyes closed, though sometimes also open so that they don't get 'lost in fantasies' SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA: "During meditation when you feel as if there is no body, when your eyelids become closed and do not open in spite of your exertion, when electric-like currents flow up and down the nerves, know that Kundalini has awakened."

Try lifting something heavy and you might notice that you do RAD naturally

I tried to change my profile picture, but I don't see the change. It shows me in edit that the picture has been changed, and the picture appears at the top right of the screen, but I don't see it when I go to my profile. Any suggestions?

just remember that there should also be sense of clarity or lightness to the mind, so avoid falling into "stupor" if that's what it feels like. Becoming totally focused on something external might help you relax everything, but the focus would be better locked on a feeling in the dan tien or abdominals. My worry would only be if you felt you were dulling your mind rather than clarifying and strengthening it, but if it's working for you then I'd say go with it at least as a stepping stone to see where it goes, and to develop attention, then put that attention on the dan tien or abdominal area.

The Way involving yin and yang, meditation is coupled with gong fu. doing things 100% is also meditation..

One thing that's been said here recently (maybe someone has the link) which is very helpful for beginning meditators is about 2 polarized states - one being fight or flight, the other being resting and recuperating. In the first state the body puts off recuperation to handle the task(s) at hand, while in the second state the body nourishes itself, circulates blood, minerals, vitamins, even energy through blockages. You can still be thinking about things during the latter state without disrupting it necessarily. I find that suspending thoughts or going beyond the thoughts in the latter state helps to notice the things that are going on in the body.. muscles relaxing, circulation opening up with the relaxation, etc.. The odd thought does not necessarily stop this process. An itch that tenses you up might be better to scratch if you can't override it, allowing the focus to leave the itch or for the itch to work itself out.. It's important to be relaxed for the benefits of meditation to occur. Sometimes the attention might stray and so a thought might be necessary to bring it back to the meditation cushion. You might have a something that you want to work out, like emotional pain or fears.. meditation allows you digest them. It's like when you think about something before you go to sleep and then your dreams give you a resolution. If you have something on your mind when you start to meditate, when you do the things mentioned above, your heart-mind works out the solution without even thinking about it, and by the end of the meditation you feel more balanced with it, like someone you don't know and then you get to know them and feel more at ease for example. These things don't feel like foreign substances in your body any more.. Then after you might feel a rosy glow from your face and skin. That's a good sign, but don't get distracted by signs. It's all a part of life. That's something that meditation should be, and also what it should teach us....

I'm thinking there's a bit of a disconnect between people who post mainly in one or the other forum. Maybe a direct link to click on to switch between the forums would help? it would also be very convenient

The I Ching can be very helpful in times like these. It may not tell you do, but it might provide some other things to consider in finding your answer. Do you have a copy? If you want, I'll check it out for you... take 3 pennies and roll them together 6 times. write down, for each roll, how many were heads and how many were tails and let us know.. if you dare, uahhahahahahhahah no really, I don't know of any possible harm this could do. It's supposedly more correct to have someone else roll them for you, but since nobody knows you here there's probably better accuracy for you do it yourself. Just be sure that you are reasonably well grounded when you roll them, and thinking about the broad issue. If you're not grounded when asking, you might find the advice will not speak directly to the question. The I Ching is generally just useful advice for any situation, but it can often seem incredibly specific if you're listening "from the gut."

I just mean that it seems like a lot of people in GD stay out of TD and vice versa. If there was a link in each forum that could be clicked to switch over to the other one, that might be helpful, and very convenient at the same time

census time again?

yeah, it does also serve to keep people employed, and the economy turning. The cars are also a lot more affordable than other makes (Honda, Nissan, VW).

Hm, also reminds me of a traditional (Peruvian if I remember correctly) culture who would collectively build the houses so that they would not last very long. This way they would always have the community bonding exercise of building each other's houses. This isn't really a far stretch of the way software and technology works in the western world, though without the altruistic motivations....

Seems like the only time it becomes an issue is if it's used to degrade someone, and even then it has to be pretty direct and someone has to report it

Reminded me of this interview with slam poet Saul Williams talking about how the black community loves to play with language rather than using the same old words in the same old way all the time: about 3:15 into the video