xenolith

Well said. I also ask, why would you (Marblehead) facilitate turning a stream-pisser into a stream-shitter?...when you might...by virtue of your expression of compassion...turn the said into a stream-water giver by exercising your heart? Your heart is a puppy dog. Compassion is expressed by letting your puppy dog play...It doesn't care about your judgements about the worthiness of where or with whom it plays...it just wants to do what it wants to do...play...in the same way does your heart want to do what it wants to do...Love...LET IT...as you would let your puppy play. This is how compassion manifests itself...you allowing your heart to Love. In so doing you bring joy to yourself, others and to the Tao.

Yes. That action of yours may cause him to become a non-stream pisser, to act not will surely not. And you will have exercised your heart's desire...never choose not to...hard sometimes to so choose...but the heart grows cold and hard when one chooses not

We all drink from the same same stream. We contribute to it through our interactions with others...therefore give the finest water that you can. Knowledge of the sweetness of the stream...herein resides the wisdom of compassion. Exercising the heart's desire to Love...therein resides the meaning of compassion.

Bodhisattvas know.

Ownership of your self. All things spring from that.

That gaping fool Rush Limbaugh has opined that "compassion is no substitute for justice". Indeed not, it is far superior, say I...and I am a thoroughbred Libra...value justice, equity, fairness...in large part due to the deprivation of these in my own Life...but above all I value compassion. Forgiveness is the essence of compassion...and compassion is the essence of the Boddhisattva, not uncoincidentally. Thank you Kate. It is my heart that has been compelling me toward this action for the last 5 years. Am leaning toward taking a camping trip to a state far from the one where I live...have some fun! and mail a postcard with no return address to "this person" from some small roadside post office. BTW, it was in a letter from her 15 years ago in which she confessed to me her actions and motivations that I learned most of the background behind the huge scar on my abdomen...subsequent records research and inquiry of my father filled in the rest of the story. Oddly, to me anyway, she never asked for forgiveness in that letter, but I perceived it to be a cathartic vehicle for relief of her conscience...which makes me think that she indeed is in possession of a functional conscience and therefore likely still suffers in the absence of knowledge of my forgiveness. Thank you all for the kind offerings of your perspectives on this. Love, xeno

Thanks Aaron. That's essentially been my determination thus far...based primarily on my belief that what she did to me is "unforgivable"...but the fact is, for the reasons that you've very well articulated and as a result of simply my nature, I have forgiven her. Given that reality and my compassion for all, including even the evil, I don't want anyone, including even the evil, to suffer for any reason that I can prevent, including thinking that they are unforgiven when in fact they are forgiven. I'm 45 years old now. I've been contemplating this for about 5 years now and more and more as my compassion grows. Very perplexed at the conundrum I am. My Love of the last 25 years, who has always advised me well beyond my own wisdom tells me to not communicate with my mother (it's been 22 years since I have...best years of my Life too!)...I trust my Love to be right, but my desire to alleviate suffering if I can advises me to tell my mother that I've forgiven her. What I've settled on so far, in my ~5 years of considering this, is that in the post-human experience I'll tell her. Maybe that is best. Thank you friends, Warmly, xeno

Friends, You're misunderstanding me. Please understand, I've moved on from the hurt done to me. I've transformed (with SIGNIFICANT help from my Love) the damaged person that my mother left me into a loving, self-realized person full of compassion...there's no need to worry about me. What I'm asking for help with is: should I tell my mother that I've forgiven her? Thank you, xeno

When nine years old my mother doped my grape juice with vodka in order to make me pass out so that she could draw puss from an infected wound on my knee and inject it into a vein in my arm so that I would become sick and need to go to the emergency room at the hospital so that she could have some "alone time" with her lesbian lover, my 3rd grade catholic school teacher. I was in the hospital for 6 weeks before "emergency" exploratory abdominal surgery was done to elininate a "staff infection the size of a grapefruit". Thirty years later, hospital records showed that during those 6 weeks I was administered a myriad of experimental drugs and that the "staff infection the size of a grapefruit" was a fabrication by the doctors that wanted an excuse to cut me open in order to harvest biopsies of my organs in order to ascertain the effect of the experiemntal drugs on human tissue. The surgery lasted 16 hours, my heart stopped for 73 seconds somewhere along the line...I am lucky to have survived it. My mom authorized the testing and surgery (pre HMO days) so that she could have additional "alone time" with her lesbian lover/my 3rd grade catholic school teacher. Seven years later as a sophomore in high school, while going for a midnight snack I would accidentally discover my mom and that same woman, now my catholic high school math teacher, having sex in the family room. From the next day forward, I was never taught another day of math in high school...for 2.5 years during every math class I went to the principal's office and discussed politics, greek mythology, norse mythology, current events, whatever with her. I was graduated from this prestigious college prepatory high school with a a 3.85 GPA and a 1480 SAT (then out of 1600)...but couldn't get into a single college for the lack of high school math. Suffice it to say, my Life has been made more difficult than it needed to be by my mom. I've forgiven her in my heart but I've not told her so. Out of compassion for her I want to tell her. My biggest hurdle to doing so is that I really am happier without her in my Life...I truly believe that she is evil...and don't want her in my Life, but I don't want her to suffer in any way because of me...I think knowing that I have forgiven her might alleviate suffering on her part, but I don't want her in my Life and I don't want to have to tell her that...for the reason of not wanting to cause her suffering...HELP!!! Please advise friendly bums. And please don't steal my story for your publication benefit...I am writing my story...working title is 'Momster:Surviving Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome'. Much thanks friends, xeno

Vajrahridaya, Is there a shorter version of your screen-name that you prefer? Thank you for your answer to my earlier question. I didn't understand many of the buddhist references, but I understood the gist of it. Curious to know to what degree you ascribe importance of your mentors in your spiritual evolution. Know elsewhere you've espoused the value of teachers...in particular, what is the nature of your relationship, at the time of your parting with each, or now, as the case may be. Would also appreciate any offerings regarding your perception of the nature of the relationship between deprivation and spiritual awakening. Not trying to make this thread about you, indeed, this part of it is about me. Kindly, gratefully, xeno

"...various xxx...various yyy..." does not contain meaningful information. I know TTB is just an internet forum, but its also a place where people excercise genuine inquisitiveness among similarly inclined other people and as such, there is some expectation of substance to answers to questions. Kindly, please share some specificity about these experiences, realms and texts. Thank you. xeno

What experience?

Hi Marblehead, Not aware of the changes that you refer to...moderators? Agree that there is still much positivity here...but from my perspective, much less than there once was...referring to a time before you became a member...positive of the absence of a positive correlation! Positively, xeno

...on a beach, hoping our flopping brings us to the ocean...fin flicks from fellow fish who know a seaward vector are what this place is about. Strange times most places...strange here too. Saddened. Not surprised. This forum is a dark shadow of the bright, friendly place of joyful, helpful exchange that it once was. Friendliness is what has most been lost...we don't flick each other toward the sea as much as we flick each other up the beach...so sad. Remember what Albert Schweitzer said: "The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others"...IOW, flick others toward the sea of their realization. You've always tried to do so here in my opinion Stig. Thank you. Please keep showing us what you know in the manner that you have...mod or not. With much respect, mostly Love, xeno

Am a serve others Daoist.

Fair enough, I've called you essentially the same. I wonder which of us has presented truer. Irrespective, the fact is that what I perceived as your boorishness was sufficient to cause my leaving this forum. I'm now interested in re-engaging this forum, my capacity for compassion renewed. I wish not to encounter what I perceive as your boorishness any further. Please don't present it further. The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others - Albert Schweitzer Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities - Albert Einstein I hope you will see this encounter as motivation to choose to demonstrate yourself to this forum more in accordance with the supposition of the former Albert and less with the antogonist of the latter. Respectfully, humbly, and with surety of your closeness to a higher manner, xeno

Vaj lacks compassion, let not you deprive him.

lifeforce my friend, know: "Life is elsewhere" - Milan Kundera ...and be well upon your path. For lack of recognition of Milan's truth The Tao Bums is a pool of fools. Well parted are ye. Wisely will we also be.

Qi is energy like bike is transportation. If you're peddling it is...if you're not it isn't. p.s. peddle.

It practices that note.

Hi Little 1. Wonderful question. Missed it the first time. My experience informs me that qi is a motive force...meaning that it's able to do two things: (1) be generated from the movement of masses relative to each other...in the same manner that electrical and magnetic fields are generated...in male human beings' practice of internal alchemy qi is generated by movement of seminal fluid molecules relative to each other...and (2) carry the force of the field thus generated to other locations within the body. My experience further informs me that this motive force does indeed act like a field, once generated within the gonad palace it eminates up the path of least electro-chemical resistance...utilizing the neural pathways of the spinal column...until it reaches the electro-chemically rich environment of the cranium upon which massive cerebral-neural stimulation ocurrs (CCA) and where the most conducive outlet for neutrilization of the activated charge release along myriad neural cerebral pathways is via the vagus nerve...thereby engaging (stimulating) the gonad palace...the original source of the motive force (qi)...a self propogating system of gonad-cerebral-neural stimulation is thereby produced...dick tug = brain tug. Better be a SKF adept though cuz there's an outlet for removal of seminal fluids from the gonad-cerebral-neural stimulation qui field producing process that adherance to is such a deeply genetically programmed biological imperitive that to suggest obtaining mastery of its avoidance is practicably unimaginable to most, let alone achievable...but understand: no fluid to move, no field, no qi. _/\_

Had come to the same conclusion as Smile...slow to post was I.

The very lucky are subjected to abhorent activities by those who should be trusted in their formative years...and have the strength to be not destroyed by it...they understand, neccessarily, that which you describe early in Life...(at least) thirty or forty years ahead are they towards taking matters into their own hands... Yes, very lucky indeed.