konchog uma

vermont and washington have GMO labeling initiatives underway for 2014 vote

it will happen eventually. CA prop 37 was only defeated by 53% to 47% despite the pro movement being outfunded enormously by monsanto, dow, etc

they aren't going to be able to get away with that indefinitely. Eventually USA will label GMO foods... like the rest of the civilized world lol

having nothing is a great place from which to start an adventure or take a quantum leap into a new phase of your life. And not just because you have nothing to lose, but that does play a large part.

i too have been where you describe yourself to be, everything is transitory and moves in cycles, including human suffering.

i hope you can keep your mind open to the possibilities of life, because nobody is ever without possibilities. Even if something radical happens, like you have to put your clothes in a pack and strap on a sleeping bag and head to more fertile ground by hitchhiking or other means, that is a hard path, but can be very educational and exhilarating. Many people have hit the west coast of america in the same condition and made their way from there via social services and the help of others. (Take a tarp, its better than a tent for rain.)

When doors in life close, opportunity is not far away. I do hope you can stay open to the lessons and opportunities which are presenting themselves, and that you can weather this storm with as much dignity as possible.

blessings to you

TI rigpa itself is not clear light. According to Glenn Mullin they are different (i asked him in person, i dont have a quote)... related but different, kind of like sambhogakaya and clear light.

since your capacity to argue is much greater than mine, i will let you have the last word, and go on believing whatever you want to believe.

"Clear light is defined in most texts as the unity of emptiness and clarity. It is the pure, empty awareness that is the base of the individual. "Clear" refers to emptiness, the mother, the base, kunzhi. "Light" refers to clarity, the son, rigpa, pure innate awareness. Clear light is direct realization of the unity of rigpa and the base, of awareness and emptiness."

-Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

You seem to have a dependancy on teachers or authority figures.

a love of accurate information would be the correct way to say it.

it looks like you went through a lot of trouble (or at least plugged "clear light sambhogakaya" into a search engine or two) for not much reward... none of those quotes really says that the clear light is another name for the sambhogakaya. There are some instances of them being used in the same sentence, but nothing except wikipedia saying that they are the same. I'm not convinced, and as my teachers and authority figures have told me otherwise, i think i will depend on them for accuracy instead of looking to the internet for it.

ankle biting? please... is that when someone tries to point out accurate information in the face of error, and calls to light another users ignonance? or just when someone disagrees with you personally? why don't you save the personal attacks for people who are moved by such things, and instead, just provide the requested evidence that clear light and sambhogakaya are one and the same thing?

Truth is where you find it.

unless you're using wikipedia lol

the only thing clear light has to do with luminosity is as metaphor for nondual awareness which cuts through the darkness of ignorance.

TI youre welcome to believe wikipedia lol, and think whatever you want about clear light. There was one sentence about clear light being sambhogakaya on wikipedia, and the rest of your argument was predicated on that false assumption, failing to make that connection in the words of actual teachers, just saying how sambhogakaya includes a spectrum of manifestations, some of them visible.

I would rather just let you believe whatever you want. Clear light isn't sambhogakaya according to what i have learned from teachers, and if it is to you based on what you learned on wikipedia, more power to you!!

thanks for noticing.

most people on the subway

keep their gaze lowered.

whats the third?

if you can provide evidence that clear light has anything to do with luminosity that would be more appropriate.

clear light is not samboghakaya.

 

Thats why if you read buddhist forums and questions about direct introduction, tantra, clear light, mahamudra, dzogchen, etc, there usually aren't a lot of replies, except some idle speculation by practitioners who don't know any better, and the senior practitioners who point out that that topic is not for public talk.

with the notable exception of DC of course lol

How can you assess the competency of your guru if they tell you that everything that they teach you is to remain secret?

obviously by practicing the yogas they teach you and evaluating whether or not they have an awakening effect. Whether you can talk to others about what youre doing (or think youre doing) is irrelevant to the competency of the guru. Whether or not you can talk about your practices publicly has no bearing whatever on whether the practices are effective. I would trust a vajrayana guru who told me not to talk about my practice to others over one who said it was fine to blab tantra this tantra that everywhere. Secrecy maintains the space, the container, which helps subdue ego and creates effective practice.

When one has broken samaya, it can disrupt their steadiness in meditation and cause other problems for them. For a more complete explanation, i recommend Dakpo Tashi Nyamgal's Clarifying the Natural State. It is hard for westerners to understand, but there are pragmatic reasons for samaya.

All things are impermanent and prisons in their own right. Not only the golden chains and hot sports cars, but accomplishments and experiences as well.

liberating accomplishments can liberate, as can experiences. But talking to others about accomplishments and experiences is rarely liberating. One might even think they are helping others, but they could be taken in the wrong way, or give an incomplete explanation which is not helpful. It can even be harmful. You were saying on this very forum about how clear light had to do with visions of luminosity, which it simply doesn't, and false claims like that can be misleading to beginners who don't know any better but to listen to those who seem to offer the "fruits of practice" but aren't actual teachers, only students with no sense of samaya. Thats why its advised to leave the teaching to the teachers, and as a student, to just focus on practice, not on talking about practice. Thats why if you read buddhist forums and questions about direct introduction, tantra, clear light, mahamudra, dzogchen, etc, there usually aren't a lot of replies, except some idle speculation by practitioners who don't know any better, and the senior practitioners who point out that that topic is not for public talk.

"It is not secret because there is something to hide, but in order to protect the practitioner from the pitfalls and downfalls that ego can bring to the practice. In particular, practitioners tend to fall prey to “spiritual materialism,” where their practice becomes just another fashion statement intended to adorn their egos and make them feel important, or have them feel that they’re part of a ‘cool’ social tribe, rather than to tame and transform their minds. When practiced in this way, the Vajrayana path becomes worse than useless.

Also, the Vajrayana teachings are "hidden" in the sense that their meaning is not apparent to someone who has not received the appropriate teachings. It’s like a foreign language. Because some of the imagery and symbolism can seem strange or even violent to the uninitiated, it’s generally recommended to keep it hidden so that it doesn’t put off newer practitioners, who might develop wrong views about the Buddhist path in general and the Vajrayana path in particular."

-Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

"Generally, when the idea of ego is presented, the immediate reaction on the part of the audience is to regard it as a villain, an enemy. You feel you must destroy this ego, this me, which is a masochistic and suicidal approach. People tend to think this way because, usually when we speak of spirituality, we tend to think that we are fighting the bad; we are good, spirituality is the ultimate good, the epitome of good, and the other side is bad. But true spirituality is not a battle; it is the ultimate practice of nonviolence. We are not regarding any part of us as being a villain, an enemy, but we are trying to use everything as a part of the natural process of life. As soon as a notion of polarity between good and bad develops, then we are caught in spiritual materialism, which is working to achieve happiness in a simple-minded sense, on the way to egohood. So the dualistic wall is not something we have to destroy or eliminate or exorcise. But having seen the emotions as they are, we have more material with which to work creatively. This makes it quite clear that the notion of samsara is dependent upon the notion of nirvana, and the notion of nirvana is dependent upon the notion of samsara; they are interdependent. If there were no confusion, there would be no wisdom."

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

from The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation

i dont think it sounds like "love".. more like infatuation or a crush

agree with oldgreen, and strongly reiterate let it go

its a sign that you need to reconnect with your partner, fresh it up a little, take a trip, get more open or honest, i dunno i dont know you two just throwing some typical ideas out there. Seems like its time to renew your appreciation for her tho

no kids and never been in a 9 year relationship but its happened to me that someone else (especially young foreign women wtf) will seem much more attractive than the woman i go home to. seems pretty normal.

why not just be honest? if you cant be honest with your partner, which is understandable, but regrettable, then be honest with G. If you can't do that, at least be honest with yourself. Or keep being honest, as the case may be. Let it pass. It'll pass

great movie

thanks for posting this, my meditation teacher (buddhist/dzogchen) got a huge laugh out of russian yoga

Happy Birthday!

haw...

 

 

First rule of having a "not talkin' about my own power" ability!!

the self-reference is part of the joke

im glad somebody got it

I had a girlfriend who was scorpio and we used to melt into eachother, it was very intense and frightened both of us. I have not experienced anything like it with another lover. I hope that someday I do because I realize now that it was a very special connection.

my last 3 girlfriends are scorpios

hmmm

More Scorpio talk!

Cat also spoke of internal alchemists having pluto conjunct sun in their charts.

Pluto is a small planet, but one has to go waaaaayy waaaaayy out to meet it.

When one can do that, it's oceanic intensity...

interesting.. my pluto is 12 degrees from my sun, both libra... not quite conjunct but close

i think not being able to talk about something is just your own insecurity, and not some special virtue. You don't have to attach ego to having a conversation about the supernatural, and i am not bragging.

you're welcome to think what you want about it, and to express your opinions as loudly as you want.

im not insecure about siddhis and i never claimed special virtue or mentioned ego. i have my own reasons for not talking about that stuff, and thats my business. people either understand or they dont... you aren't the first

so much i could say especially about causing harm to others! aaaa

but i have the paranormal power not to talk about my paranormal powers

i'm also a libra/scorpio cusp and my girlfriend is a scorpio and yes its supernatural at all times

wow, that has got to be the punkest thing ever.

keep it down before G.T. Dave's starts putting borax in their kombucha guys

i am not making fun of you - i drink only super-filtered water - and am in the middle of a cilantro and chlorella heavy metal cleanse at present.. just so we're clear. i think its great. its just funny too.

im not saying its right, or that G.Hancock is wrong, but wtf did he think was going to happen if he gave a talk like that?

TED isn't the platform for those thoughts. Its great to be passionate about what you believe in (like the healing power of sacred plants) but its also good to have discretion. Things like entheogens are self-secret.. you can tell someone all about them and how great they are, but if they aren't ready to hear you they will demonize you and make you into a drug-addled lunatic in the media or wherever they can.

I'm glad ayuahasca helped him kick pot... he's a good mind, and being stoned 24/7 is a waste of time and money.

drew: thanks for the link, interesting article. i listened to the beginning of the JRE clip and was surprised that TED sucks so much. And i would expect them to suck considering their exposure level.

am working on lucid dreaming, but really that's nothing compared to attaining the supreme power of avoiding internet arguments