Vmarco

It is impossible the "think" in the Now. Those who believe that they can think in the Absolute Now, are just as deluded as those who think getting wrapped up in fantasy or imaging is neurotic.

There is no Now, Present, or Instant in time. Sentient consciousness, that is, hearing, seeing, tasting, touching, smelling and thinking cannot perceive the Now, Present, or Instant, because sentient consciousness, which itself arise through time, can only perceive the motion of time. May all sentient beings be liberated from their sentience, and perceive the Tao. "the ego is a monkey catapulting through the jungle; totally fascinated by the realm of the senses....if anyone threaten it, it actually fears for its life. Let this monkey go. Let the senses go.....the only way to understand [the Tao] is to directly experience it." Lao Tzu

Interesting post of some behind the scenes activities here,...thanks. By definition, I don't engage in ad hominem, it's bad form,....nor does it matter to me if it's banned or not. My preference would be not,...as it is helpful to me to see the mentality of those I'm interacting with,...sort of what level on Maslow's Heirarchy they are speaking from. Those who regularly use ad hominem, would be pretty low on Maslows scale. No relationship is perfect per say,...the perfection arises in the welcome of the imperfections. A bodhisatta simply welcomes,...bodhi waits only on welcome. So,...you're a "Mod". As I don't have complaints, don't really know who the "mods" are,...but bet you're a good one. And by the way,...my thanks to the "mods" for giving me lots of slack. It is probably difficult for many to see that I love people,...and only dislike beliefs. Regardless of people think,...people are not their beliefs.

ad hominem is quite simple,....attacking an opponents character, rather than answering or discussing their argument. ad hominem occurs very frequently on TTB. My personal view is that those who use ad hominem are closed-minded, hollow-hearted, bully-types who are so deeply indoctrinated by fear, that they lash out against everything that shines light on that fear. Trent Reznor has a song that is sort of a test as to whether you're a person who uses ad hominem: right where it belongs See the animal in his cage that you built Are you sure what side you're on? Better not look him too closely in the eye Are you sure what side of the glass you are on? See the safety of the life you have built Everything where it belongs Feel the hollowness inside of your heart And it's all right where it belongs What if everything around you Isn't quite as it seems What if all the world you think know Is an elaborate dream? And if you look at your reflection Is that all you want it to be? What if you could look right through the cracks would you find yourself - find yourself afraid to see? What if all the world's inside of your head Just creations of your own? Your devils and your gods all the living and the dead And you're really all alone? You can live in this illusion You can choose to believe You keep looking but you can't find the woods While you're hiding in the trees What if everything around you Isn't quite as it seems What if all the world you used to know Is an elaborate dream? And if you look at your reflection Is that all you want to be? What if you could look right through the cracks Would you find yourself - find yourself afraid to see?

In a way, I'm likely guilty of that myself. Not as in out-right disrespect, which is often prevalent, but I do respond in a reflective way,...mirroring back in tone, that tone which was given. One could say, re-giving for what is given. My personal motive for doing so is largely my study of verbal communication without the non-verbal nuances. In social life, I tend to respond to people's non-verbal vibrations, which usually is reciprotated to in an empathetic way. On forums such as this, I respond to the tone of the poster I'm addressing,...and as you mentioned, since many here post in a dissing, one-up-man-ship, or gotch ya sort of way, I suppose my responses, taken out of chronicle order, appear rather arrogant,...which is not my intention. I was pondering on getting a course on argumentation,...like: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=2158 to see how that approach works.

IMO, religious or spiritual content is always relevant with gender identity,...even more so, on a Taoist forum with Buddhist undertones. When Avalokitesvara (a male) realized the embodiment of great compassion through seeing as a bodhisattva, he became Kuan Yin (a female). Bodhi is a female noun meaning wisdom. A bodhisattva is always feminine. Real compassion, as the Heart sutra implies, only arises through an understanding of the feminine. According to prediction and metaphor, the future Buddha, Maitreya, will be a male born into a Red Hat family, and in one day, become a realized Buddha as a female; like the monk Avalokiteshvara became Kuan Yin. Doesn't matter how this transformation of Avalokiteshvara took place; and although many still view him as male, the natural qualities of a Bodhisattva are feminine. Some suggest that Maitreya will be the final incarnation of Kuan Yin. Kuan Yin is the the Dhyani Bodhisattva who emanates from the Buddha Amitabha, or "infinite light;" and vibrates during the present Kalpa spanning the period between the Mahaparinirvana of Sakyamuni Buddha and the birth of Manusi (mortal) Maitreya Buddha,...the Future Buddha. Is it any wonder, from a spiritual point of view, that the topic of transgender has become popular today? "The difference between the wise Buddhist and the sectarian Buddhist is like that between the vastness of space and the narrowness of a vase." Kongtrul Rinpoche

If you seriously reduce everything down, religion is the cancer,...while banking, business, media, etc are merely symptoms. Show Christianity for the meme it is, and Islam and Judeaism will crumble behind it,...thus bringing an end the disease of theism, and bring on a birthing of Human Beingness. As Buddhism and Taoism are by nature, not religions,...those who currently approach Buddhism and Taoism as belief systems, will begin to advance what Buddhism and Taoism actually point to,...a consciousness beyond sentient thinking.

Interesting, but considering the youtube of post #1, that monk wasn't too keen on similarites. I would so enjoy living among kindred spirits ,...people honest enough to recognize that all beliefs are lies. There is nothing wrong with having beliefs,...but just know it is a lie. I do look foward to living in Asia,...and the similiarities. IMO, most people in the West, mired in their ugly belief systems, have little comprehension of the stupifying aburdity that is the dissymponic continuum of the West,...especially the exploitive Christian West.

Yes.

I don't present myself to society-at-large as a arrogant truth sayer,...and am rather superficial with ordinary folks,...as they are with with. Any hints of honesty however, I pursue it easily. In fact, Ez or Eza has been a nickname of mine for years,...because the people I engage with usually find me Ez to be with. Because you and CowTow have a myriad of prejudiced views (your word) does not mean that others are like you. I generally focus on the underlying core essence of people,...their basic goodness,...which is often obscure from them due to their dishonesty in not seeing things the way the are. Although you appear to be still dangling with self-fulfilling prophesies,...struggling through an imaginary reality that you consider real,...accumulating lies to make things more palatable, like a Sagittarius always feel they are evolving towards some better mundane situation,...for me, I don't have a bad time, even when the illusion of bad times stink around me. "A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real"... The Teachings of Buddha, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai Nevertheless, I do habitually exhibit a profound consideration for Others,...and have no desire to activate Others into snubbing, spurning, or shunning,...which where I'm going, Westerners can unconsciously do. To suggest that a desire to not activate Others into snubbing, spurning, or shunning, somehow manifests a self-prophesy to be snubbed, spurned or shunned, is ludicrous New Age neurosis. As far as my posts,...in consideration of those I respond to, I try to respond in a similiar tone,...thus reply to abrasive posts with a fragrance of abrasiveness.

I'd suggest that there are really people on this forum who belief that Hitler was an atheist commie.

The Short Path is not much interested in Nirvana, because Nirvana is just as impermanent as Samsara,...merely the pleasent side of duality. Nirvana may be a sort of liberation from suffering, but not THE liberation. The Mahayana view, as I understand it (as I fundamentally disagree with Yellow and Black hats), hold "others" in high esteem because that is how Buddha realized enlightentment,...not for himself, but as a consequence of a desire to understand the root cause of suffering,...which he uncovered to be, not seeing things as they are. I will be relocating to a Theravada Country soon, and as such, look forward to more posts on this discussion,...not only for the truth, but for what people, especially Theravadans, believe to be the truth. From the little I understand, I'm going to have to be very careful not to discuss Buddhism in Theravadan Countries, as they get quite upset about anything which goes beyond their orthodox view,...although this upsetness is not displayed emotionally, but through displays of snubbing, spurning, shunning.

Yes,...that is likely absolutely correct,...empirical evidence is derived from sensory experience. "the ego is a monkey catapulting through the jungle; totally fascinated by the realm of the senses....if anyone threaten it, it actually fears for its life. Let this monkey go. Let the senses go." Lao-tzu Lao Tzu said, "the only way to understand [the Tao] is to directly experience it." It is impossible to have a direct experience through the 6 senses,...all experience born of the 6 senses can only be experienced through the conditions of the 6 senses. All empiricism is false.

This kid needs to run for Congress,...and I hope he has a hundred friends that can run too.

As I'm not at all familiar with the Bhumi's,...thus my first stop was Wiki: The First bhūmi, called the "Very Joyous", is attained with the first direct perception of emptiness and is simultaneous with entry into the third of the five paths to awakening, the path of seeing.....Despite having directly Perceived emptiness, bodhisattvas on the first level are primarily motivated by faith. For me, I knew I was Kagyu as young as 8, just from investigating the spontaneous things coming from my mouth. Not suprizingly, Tilopa's Mahamudra was my first external guidance. For dozens of years, I've not only pondered daily from various translations, but did my own translation of those 28 verses. Through Mahamudra instruction, I was impelled to let go of hope, fear, and faith. At 19 I uncovered that I have every right to sow, but none to reap what I've sown,...a very non-american point of view. Thus reading that this First Bhumi, from perhaps a 3rd Century perspective, said "motivated by faith" it doesn't resonate with my own experience in unfolding. My basic assumptions regarding bodhisattvas arose from the Heart Sutra, which is the essence of how a bodhisattva sees. When I first read it, from my background in Mahamudra, it rang clear and simple. Afterwards however, reading various commentaries, like Thich Nhat Hanh's first commentary, I realized that very few had a clue what the Heart Sutra is about,...until last year, when prajnaparamita scholar Karl Brunnholzl published The Heart Attack Sutra. Although he has a few misunderstandings,...the overall book is more than 90% correct.

Yes,...but when reduced, there are only 6 Dharma Gates. The Shurangama Sutra says, "As soon as one sense-organ returns to the source, All the six are liberated." Why is that not being taught?

To me, both Hinayana (used, just to upset prideful Theravadans, LOL), and Mahayana are both dead Ways. Over the following Centuries, various entities, developed Lineages, Traditions, etc to interpret Buddhism; and all closed or canonized their "Way." How many of these Ways that actually produced enlightened folks? For the most part, only a third Way and fourth Way (Vajrayana Buddhists sects) have been successful. A Way that refuses to embrace new expression when not producing results is a dead Way" As I understand them,...in simplicity,...Theravadans seek a better life for their next incarnation,...Mahayana seek nirvana for their next incarnation,...Vajrayana welcomes full awakening in this lifetime,...Kagyu (Tilopa's Fourth Stream) focuses very little on attaining good karma, but is an all out pursuit, whatever it takes, to awaken to truth realization, today. The third and fourth Ways are associated with 84 (or a significant number of) Awakened Ones. In the 13th Century, at the time of the Islamic invasions, which nearly annihilated Buddhism, much of the Vajrayana texts went terma, and thus ceased a great stepping stone from the Long Paths to the Short Path. http://wisdomsgoldenrod.org/notebooks/23 The competitive nature of "my dog is bigger and your dog" does little to contribute to the elevation of sentient beings. I'm not advocating that the Short Path is better or worse,...but there should be a mindfulness of it among the Long Paths. Any debate over which Long Path is better, is equally as ridiculous. Competition is not only a distraction to spirituality, but has an inherently hostile, us verses them mentality that is contrary to the true nature of basic human beingness. Competition is about as natural and needed as the Abrahamic religions. Just as there is no such thing as healthy delusion or a healthy religion, there is no healthy competition. Competition does not build character, it reinforces low self-esteem. Competiion encourages animosity, envy, hostility, hate, war, and illiberalism. The synonyms of competition include contention, rivalry, conflict, strife, struggle and combativeness. Social psychologist Alfie Kohn pointed out in his impressive 'No Contest - The Case Against Competition' a multitude of negative effects of competition, many of them subtle. Kohn articulates that competition arises from four myths. First, the "survival of the fittest", which really manifests a purpetual struggle in society. Second, that competition builds character. Yet it has been shown that only those with low self-esttem require competitive activities. People with high self-esteem has no need to externally prove anything or beat others. Thirdly, that competition is fun. Competition reduces spontaneous play to superiority/humiliation dynamic. Fourthly is the fallacy that competition increases productivity. However, study after study shows that cooperation, not competition, leads to higher levels of achievement. "That most of us consistently fail to consider the alternatives to competition is a testament to the effectiveness of our socialization." Alfie Kohn

Perhaps by reformulating the proposition,...for example, you suggest that knowing that the senses are illusory does not make what is perceived as reality any less real. Let's break that down abit,...if you really understood that the senses are illusory, why would you perceive the illusion as reality? "A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real"... The Teachings of Buddha, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai Instead of embracing the passion of the 6 senses,...what about simply embracing honesty,...filtering everything through honesty. Of course, in the beginning, it will all be about recognizing what is false. Yet that has been shown by the "greats" in Buddhism and Taoism to be the process. Charles F. Haanel said, "The mind cannot comprehend an entirely new idea until a corresponding vibratory brain cell has been prepared to receive it." Thus, by identifying the false as the false as honestly as we can, we eventually uncover what is not false,...but we cannot see truth if we are seeing the false as reality.

I grew up in the Vajrayana vehicle,...specifically the Red Hats. Thus, was exposed to the Short Path at an early age. http://wisdomsgoldenrod.org/notebooks/23

Surely! A Buddha does not "see" by way of sentience,...whereas sentient beings do. In other words,...don't seek Buddha, or Emptiness, but seek and find all the barriers your sentience has built against it.

I'm in no way qualified to discussed the bhumis, and happily so. From what I've just read, the first bhumi is the realization of emptiness, but the person is still motivated by faith. What kind of nonsense is that? Once emptiness is realized, all faith instantly dissolves. There is no need for faith. A bodhisattva, that is, a bodhisattva that "sees" like a bodhisattva according to the prajnaparamitas, sees faith as empty. Why would an authentic bodhisattva, that is, one who sees like a bodhisattva according to the prajnaparamita, which is one who realizes emptiness, still cling to faith,...which is a empty as one can get.

Are not bhumis intellectual ideas to sustain some tradition, like a belt system in martial arts? One either realizes emptiness or not. One either perceives the world as it is, or one does not. The idea of, "oh, I'm a first level bhumi,..I realize part of the truth" is Lineage BS IMO. How does one realize part of the truth? Which part of what they realize is the truth? As Jed McKenna said, "One millionth of 1% false is completely false" The bhumis, from what I've seen of them, are a Mahayana invention to signify some ridiculous ranking among deeply asleep monks. I suppose Nagarjuna had a 3rd century reason for using them,...teachers are so coddling. The prajnaparamita on the hand, implies that one is either aware of emptiness, or one is not. Who cares how relatively close one is? If you're traveling at 160K mps, and another is traveling at 152k mps,...light is going by them both at 186k mps. Who cares what bhumi level someone says you're on? Of course, if you are running a big lamastary, then these levels seem important,...and if you look, no one can be at a higher level than head guys. No one is allowed to see the Suchness of 186k mps.

No,...that would not exclude any Bodhisattvas according to the Heart Sutra, and whole of the prajnaparamita,...Avalokitesvara is quite specific on how a Bodhisattva sees,...if you don't see that way, you're not a Bodhisattva. If one follows the Mādhyamika orthydoxy, then perhaps they are Mādhyamikas. But what is Mādhyamika? If one is a follower of Thich Nhat Hanh Mādhyamika, then forget about waking up in this lifetime. If Mādhyamika is pointing to all phenomena as empty of essence, as Nagarjuna implied, then those who can "see" that are likewise Bodhisattvas. If one comprehends the highest realization of Mādhyamika, they simultaneously realize prajnaparamita. Nothing is sufficient except the perfection of insight,..to see things as they are.

That link wouldn't open for me. However, I did read recently that a study said that "One in four Americans believes God influences which team wins a sports game." I'm a bit surprised that number is only 25%. Americans who believe in the god meme is said to surpass 86% "I could not in good conscience, vote for someone who honestly thinks that the other 95% of us (who believe in god) suffer from some sort of mass delusion." Palmer Joss (actor Matthew McConaughey) in the 1997 film 'Contact'.

To be more clear,...the Elohim said "let there be light",...that is, yang. The word ELOHIM (plural, meaning gods) appear 2570 times in the OT. The singular version El (appears 226 times) and Eloah (57 times, 41 of which in Job). Modern scholars say its etymology has not thus far been satisfactory explained. However, the christian faithful claim that ELOHIM is really singular because it is near singular verbs. Here's a few examples for you to judge: Gen 1:26 "And ELOHIM said, let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness" Gen 3:22 " And ELOHIM said, behold, the man is become as one of US". Gen 11:7 "let US go down and confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech". The first time a singular god is mentioned in the Bible is in Exo 2.