Fū Yue

'Karma is supposed to be... ' Right. How would you know what karma is supposed to be? Based on past experiences and positive or negative impressions and reactions? Look at the way your mind works, everything in the past is used as basis for future experience, the present a conglomeration of positive and negative chain reactions passed off as though it were a coherent whole, and this you call your self, this you use as a template for your world, this you use as a template for your view, for the recognition of various senses and so on. This entire perception you carry around with you, moment after moment, and where is the continuity? This conglomeration of positive and negative experiences, thus clung to and defined as self, and the gradual unraveling of these conditions which are thus clung to and defined as time, this is karma. It is only your belief that you are to be found anywhere inside of this body. What makes you think it's the truth? If the body stubs its toe, there is pain, where are you? Body goes to the store, where do you go? Aren't you the one clutching on to this 'fleshy container' for dear life?

Also, what is an 'afterlife' in the first place? What does that even mean, how can there be anything after life? Life is a continuous process! if you want to see the afterlife, just take a look at the moment which just passed you by. There is the sum total of all of your good and bad experiences, there is your reincarnation, there is your destiny. You totally disappear from 'existence' every night, then 'you' come back somehow (?!) and act as though you are just picking up where you left off (which is where, exactly?).

you don't have to believe in karma for it to be real. It's just cause and effect, which is self-evident, I mean... your belief that the afterlife you experience when your time in this form is over being exactly as you believe it to be... that's cause and effect. You posting this based on inspiration from sinfest's thread, that's cause and effect. That's karma. It's as simple as that.

Doesn't sound like magic, sounds like good ol' fashioned human stupidity doing what it does best - foolishly acting without regard for the consequences, and the consequences of that action. You don't need clairvoyance to realize that people tend to be dumb as hell when tensions are high and the future looks uncertain.

If you listen closely, you can hear it singing and if you trace the ends of any thought to it's beginning you will only find a musical harmony in the incessant buzzing of endless bees making nectar of their movement through the notes in every song

Samsara is the round of death and rebirth itself. The illusion of transmigration. Reincarnation is said to occur only due to our ignorance of actual reality. We keep telling ourselves the same after school special until we learn the very important lesson. The truth is always looking us straight in the face every day, all the time, and we constantly skirt the issue. Case in point, the idea that the physical is somehow seperate from the energetic - but you're literally a huge column of pure light, where are the 'tendons'? Where is the 'flesh'? When we take 'existence' for granted, when we 'objectify' ourselves and others, we see such an 'objective' world. In actual reality, this sphere is a hall of mirrors, a crystal palace of incredible brilliance, and those who reincarnate do so only because they cover their eyes from the truth... lest the magnificence burn them to a crisp. But then, I am no authority. See for yourself the truth.

She's probably gone enough. Just so you know, she was the relationship itself, that was the thought form. So it's not a matter of 'killing it' or 'letting it live', do the thoughts of this moment kill the thoughts of the next moment? Does the rain die when it becomes steam? Energy simply shifts its shape, appearing as this or that, there is no will behind it, it is the will. When one ceases (creating the conditions of) the story, the story ceases to be (as such).

It's not an independent existence, you are the source of it, and when your attachment to it has been finally dissolved it will be re-consumed by your mind and the energy will be released. Break down the pre-conceived notions you have, of this thing's independent existence, it's 'reality', recycle your experiences with it, allow it all to return to a very bright, hot light, and be done with it, then. Every memory of it goes up in flames the moment the mind is directed towards it, every vision of form disintegrates into formlessness. Allow the mind to deal with it in it's own greatly creative ways, trust in the ingenuity of ordinary awareness. Grasping on to phenomena makes them seem as though possessing inherent form, intensity gives phenomena color, vibrancy, a sense of 'life', ignorance makes them seem seperate from yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM2CBgYfE9A

'Fitting in' is a myth. The very idea assumes we need to do something to get along with each other, which is not really the case. If you can accept people as they are, you will find yourself accepted in turn. Judgement can be felt among us humans, and most do not appreciate it, it makes them act in unnatural ways in an attempt to 'measure up', but really they just want to relax and be themselves. You're human aren't you? So you already fit right in, no need to do anything else. Take an interest in the life of others, let them tell you about themselves, enjoy their company - but don't try to 'fit in' with them, there's no need. almost all people, of all cultures, enjoy the simplest things, humor, music, art; some good stories, kindness, courtesy... it's not difficult to strike some common ground. It's the intent that counts, really, the attempt to genuinely reach out that people respond to and respect. In this over complicated society, full of all of these ridiculous and complicated social mind games, a calm, non-judgmental attitude is like a breath of fresh air. When you are inwardly focused, inwardly steady, inwardly satisfied, people will respond outwardly to this.

Fear Black Dynamite Kung fu boldly disrupted I thought I told you

Wow, I deleted my comment because I looked back in general discussion and saw that this was the Sinfest thread and not SunLover's crazy-ramblings thread - so I just assumed I misfired, haha. Then I come back in here and I look up and see that he actually DID post that in this thread... I wonder what he was thinking.

LOL

Welcome back to the bums.

Nirvana is liberation. Enlightenment is freedom.

Best way not to get lost in thoughts during meditation? Let go of the convention of thinking during meditation. Don't rely on thinking as an object of meditation. Develop the other senses instead, strengthen the sense of smell, the sense of touch, the sense of hearing, et cetera. Redirect all of the awareness and attention you put into the brain back into the body. Then center everything in stillness and watch the silence. You need to develop internal stillness if you want to really be able to discern the origin of certain thoughts. Also, if your fox companion is powerful enough to pull you into spirit journeys through your psycho physical landscapes, chances are it can hear your thoughts and understand them. You probably don't have to 'train' him to do anything. He's probably 'training' you.

I would take that second to last paragraph out of your post, sinan.

Nothing in this world is literal, everything you see is an approximation, even your own body. It cannot even be said that what we see outside is truly 'real', let alone the stories we tell each other. If these mythologies are 'literal', nothing changes. Because mayhaps we created these beings in a huge convoluted scheme to create the world's first hoverboard, and our fate is to eventually become the kings of the galactic hamsters. Perhaps we are just trees dreaming of being humans, and under the guidance of the Cosmic Owl we create scenarios such as our modern time in huge scale gardening projects. Or, perhaps it is just a metaphor. What a slippery slope, these stories we tell ourselves. When does it end? Just another branch in the mind's endless daydreams, of which this world is just a one. If you're looking for some evil force to blame, you will find infinite numbers of them. If you're looking for the goodness in the world, you will find an infinite amount.

The naga are said to be serpents governing moving bodies of water. I wouldnt read too much into these things if I were you, without the proper context everyone will just become confused, and in that confusion be toyed with by their own 'reptilian' fear cortex (i.e. most conspiracy theorists).

No, white wolf running on air, you are the dragons. really, we all are.

If we think of the limits of our consciousness as the limit of our ability to listen or hear, then this habitual self defines the world by the 'shape' of the sounds around us, and it holds on to the edges of this form for dear life. Thus, becoming absorbed into silence is like falling backward into an infinite void - the familiar hum of locality is drowned out by the awe of unknown space, our many hands lose grasp of the ends and the beginnings of the things around us and, if we give in to it all the way, we fall through.

The Buddha provided a remedy for this as well. Practices for emancipating consciousness from objects of inquiry, inducing the death experience while living, and transferring and ejecting consciousness. Personally, I have experienced death a number of times in this life alone. Knowledge is universal, and if you can truly internalize your practice, you will be able to recognize and successfully navigate the transitional state without relying on words or concepts.

Christ said the kingdom of God is within us. Christ said we are the light. Christ said turn a stone and you will find me. People said we are unclean. People said we go to hell. People said if you don't follow tradition, you're damned. Christ said not to follow tradition, follow God. Christ said hell is nothing more than being without God. Christ said we are the sons of the father, just like him. Christ said we can become exalted, just like him. What Christ was pointing to is the same as what every other sage was pointing to. Go beyond the dogma of the people and you will find the same Center. Don't trade one doctrine for another, go beyond doctrine, recognize the truth in all things without becoming trapped in familiar motions and notions. Don't just believe, know. The Yogic 'system' was not of belief, but a path of knowing, a practice for actualizing God rather than simply 'believing' it to be so. When your god/dess is literally seated in front of you, there is no room for flimsy belief. “Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” - Buddha One of the most important things that the Buddha stressed was that the reality of what he says must be recognized as true for it to bear any fruits. In order to recognize it as true one must apply the principles to day-to-day life. Buddha gave us a practice, people made it a religion. Do the practice. True faith comes from recognition of truth in action. Here's a great resource for Buddhist practice. Theyve got lots of sutras and books on there for free.

sometimes, what I like to do for grounding during sitting when my mind is greatly afflicted or agitated is visualize my body as possessing all of the elements of fresh earth, having a fragrant odor and feeling pleasurably soft and malleable like a great field ready for working. The mind is seen as slowly descending into the ground underneath the feet, and one's own legs are made to feel that descent. You go down as far as you like, having the mind drink in nutrients from deep within the earth as a flower would, taking in the moisture and becoming settled in stillness. Having achieved balance, this mind slowly returns up to the navel, and calmly disappears into the sea of energies you have collected, which then saturate the whole body with restful feelings.

Light may leave playful hints of heart's past times, but of the future there is no lamp, and the good man leaves no trail of travel, long gone are our lotus feet, before we ever meet, north, west; south, east, in every direction - it is a wonderful tantric feast, dreams consumed, seas devoured whole, yet behold! the brilliance is all that remains.