gatito

Yes, being compassionate is being impersonal (ie fair to all parties, including ourselves - or another way of putting it is being "loving")

I'm saying (among other things ) that debating the supposed "morality" of becoming a vegetarian is an excercise in futility.

There are certainly some circumstances in life where the compassionate response might be considered violent, although, is going ape**** being compassionate?

I've also noticed that some people seem have a awareness that there's no evidence to suggest that there's more than one Consciousness and they therefore naturally do their best to avoid causing suffering to other beings. Those who haven't been graced with a glimpse into the true nature of reality see themseves and other beings as entirely separate individuals, so there's seems to be no imperative to relate to that Consciousness in others. This doesn't make them bad people, nor does it make the other group good people. There is no moral judgement inherent in this observation any more than there would be a moral judgement inherent in observing that blind people tend to bump into things and deaf people don't hear what others are saying.

I've been thinking about how I can continue to come here and make this as much as possible like real-life meetings with like-minded friends. I see some scope for the use of our Friends Lists in that respect - if I manage it appropriately. I'd welcome everyone's thoughts on this. I have a few of my own which I'll share in due course.

Firstly, apologies for bringing this thread back on-topic Secondly, Taomeow makes a very valid point here:- So in the interests of providing a reliable source for anyone considering going veggie, here's a link to The Vegetarian Society: - https://www.vegsoc.org/info (www.vegsoc.org/info)

Unfortunately, this sort of excision leaves the thread completely unintelligible. Therefore immediately following this excision I deleted all my posts preceding the quote above in this public area, while leaving the posts that were removed intact and after some reflection, I've now decided to replace all my blank posts here with this covering note. If you're reading this as a guest and you want to read the posts that were excised, you will need to join the Taobums forum and login in order to to follow the link and read them, so that you can make up your own mind about to whom the criteria of "swear(ing) a lot while putting down teachers and paths, or just plain talk about random other stuff" apply. I also started this thread here in an attempt to deal with this problem of "splitting and pitting" (as it is refered to here) : - http://thetaobums.com/topic/32826-pittingsplitting/ ://thetaobums.com/topic/32826-pittingsplitting/ Finally, there quite a detailed discussion about Neoadvaita by James Swartz here, which probably covers all the major points: - http://www.shiningworld.com/top/images/stories/pub-pdfs/Articles/%284%29%20Neo-Advaita.pdf ://www.shiningworld.com/top/images/stories/pub-pdfs/Articles/(4) Neo-Advaita.pdf

@ Taomeow I'm a bit confused about your position here. Are you saying that the learner is telling lies and/or is deluded?

There are three main reasons for being a veggie (and categories thereof) : - 1. Health 2. Moral conviction 3. Spiritual conviction Which category of veggie was Adolf? (I'll give you a clue - it wasn't 2. or 3. )

If you go veggie, you may find it impossible to resist.....

Sounds like something with which Adolf could have said....

Two points: - Perhaps there's simply a language issue here? For example, some people may use of the terms Gods, Immortals, Angels, Devas etc. to mean the same type of entity (ignoring any hierarchy)? Regarding anapanasati: Alan Wallace is an interesting read but I feel that he does tend to limit the mediator with his rather dogmatic concepts regarding their ability to progress. For that reason and for a couple of others, I would recommend that you use Shaila Cathrine's Focused and Fearless as a basis while employing Alan Wallace as an adjunct for his excellent instructions about the centrality of relaxation and the use of the supine meditation posture. Don't limit yourself with the dogma surrounding any technique, system or religion - you could be graced by nirvikalpa samadhi the first time that you sit down and then it's game-over. The whole thing is just grace anyway - make yourself available to it.

Interestingly, what Isimsiz Biri has described is broadly (and I reiterate broadly) consistent with what I was told 30ish years ago as an initiate of Surat Shabd. What I'm unclear about is how he distinguishes between benevolent and malevolent discarnate entities Edit: - Its also just occurred to me to add that its's broadly (and again please note broadly) consistent with Hinduism, Christianity (and - dare I say it - Buddhism)

Your question has been answered by BKA You do indeed need to watch your ass with this stuff - make sure that you do your due diligence and once you've done that, do it again a few times just to be sure.

Probably the best piece of advice that you'll ever receive on TTBs Sorry maki I thought that you'd get quite a lot of replies back from this question and that it would turn into a very interesting discussion, which would then have been taking place in two different locations with ensuing confusion. I think that your best bet will be to leave it in General Discussion for a while and see what pops-up - if that doesn't work out then try some other spots - (but bear in mind CTs excellent advice ) In answer to your question: one possibility is Surat Shabd Yoga - although it's not the point of the practice and you may not come across any in your travels. Incidentally, why do you want the advice of discarnate entities?

DUPLICATE THREAD - Reporting with request for merging Look here for thread which already has a reply:- http://thetaobums.com/topic/32461-search-for-an-special-type-of-meditation/ My suggestion would be to move to General for maximum visibility

You could also lock the CA section so that there is no discussion and let the author have sole editing rights - if the board's settings allow that. If anyone wants to discuss, that could happen in the author's PPF or in general discussion.

The Self is that which is reading these words. It is self-evident that It exists and that It knows. What appears to be lost is that It is also bliss. It is already limitless - and eternal. Can anyone find an edge or limit or boundary to that which is reading these words?

The easy way is to eat a mix of vegetables, pulses and grains in every meal. Visit Food for Thought (a restaurant in London between Covent Garden tube and Seven Dials) to get a feel for real vegetarian food. They publish a cookery book as well.

Great! It will be very interesting to see which of the Bums are Live-Bums and which are only Cyber-Bums Coming back to the Valve Handbook: I think that there is now an excellent group of Mods in place - coupled with excellent leadership and that any changes in staff should take into account the recruitment principles set out in the handbook. The Taobums stands or falls on the basis of its admin and moderator skillset. Also, it should be borne in mind that it takes a minimum of 6 months to bed-in to a new job (or to integrate any other major change), so I really hope that the current set-up will have the chance to stabillise and mature now. Three mods mentored by an active admin would sem to me to be an ideal set-up and I very much hope (and expect) that it will work out. Best Wishes to you all g

Thoughts are just objects appearing to one of the seven (yes - seven) senses.and if achieving a state of not-thinking was the key to enlightenment, then everyone who has had a deep sleep woud be enlightened.

My hat's also off to you Trunk

Well, I'm sort-of back....in Guest mode I abandoned the Friends List as a tool for moderating my discussions and I guess I'll see what happens next - if anything And thanks for all the suggestions and thoughts - I'm left with the idea that TTB would do much better if there were spin-off Meetup Groups around the world for people to meet physically

Mind is just the current thought Therefore there is no such thing as still mind (or, indeed, mind ) How can there then be either one mind or 7 billion (i.e the question is based on a false axiom) The monk was wrong, as neither the flag nor the wind were the current thought (i.e. the moving flag is mediated by vision and the wind by tactile sensation and perhaps by hearing) Had the monk said that Consciousness was moving, he would have been closer to the truth, but still....not quite there...

It also strikes me, quite forcefully, that Trunk is a natural for the co-admin role and that, since he took over, the board has a much nicer vibe. I very much hope that he'll stay put in this post.