GrandmasterP

Pomeranians make great teachers. :-)

Good call. If we have a trusted teacher then listening to teacher can only pay dividends. I've no brief to defend or castigate Mr and Mrs Old. They have their students as do other teachers and if what they teach works to the benefit of their students then students they will keep. It isn't unusual for teachers to freelance and deliver adopted and adapted materials, even to develop something quite new. If what is taught does not suit them then the students will decamp elsewhere. All teachers expect a churning audience, some people come and then go, some come and then stay. It's all good, everyone's on a journey; teachers and students alike. The only teacher I would ever avoid is one who claimed that her or his way was the ONLY way.

A Buddhist path teacher told me... "If there is a path leading to ill being there is also a path leading to well- being and there is a learned art of handling suffering to create happiness." If we could all be on that 8-fold path all of the time then we'd be the cause of less suffering to ourselves and to,others than ever we are or have been. Setting an intention towards walking that positive path is beneficial and all steps towards and onto the path are good steps.

http://thetaobums.com/topic/32456-lama-lar-short/ Dr Johnson cites Lama Lar for Bon. Short TTB thread on that via that link. Some Bon webcasts this month mentioned on DW.... Here.... http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=83&t=16177&p=227325&hilit=Bon#p227325 More Bon here.... http://www.bonfoundation.org/aboutbon.html Hope that helps.

Yes. You are right ChiForce. :-)

The dualistic mind sta­tions itself between us and what we experience and then acts as an interpreter of experience. Hence sub­jective, conditioned interpretations can be mistaken for direct experience. We do not enter into the experience of things as they are, but instead experience things as we think they are. Doing so, for example if making 'judgement calls' such as "This RIGHT... that WRONG!" we experience only our own minds. None of us can, or should; judge another's direct experience by or against our own direct experience. To attempt such is a recipe for dualism.

Berbers and Tauregs too. Those blue veiled lads in Marrakech would not thank anyone for calling them 'Moors'. Very hospitable folks but best to stay on the right side of 'em. " When in Rome."

Have you tried both? Cultivating after eating and cultivating whilst fasting? There's definitely a difference between those for me. Hope you get an answer. Best wishes to you for all success.

http://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/the-taiji-classics/

Move it there by all means. Seems like a good idea. They are 'book' resources.

It was all quite a long time ago too. Hardly worth getting all het up about here in 2014.

With deepest respect ChiForce ?.. Mindfulness is ' Zen without the Dharma' and it works just as well as does Zen ( with the Dharma). It is the same 'thing'. Religious baggage and window dressing is just that. Baggage and Window Dressing. Much the same goes for New Age paths. If those work for whom they work then those aren't "BS"to those they work for. It serves naught but division, or advertising; to introduce marketing speak into spirituality. " My product is better than that product. So buy my product." Bit dogmatic that. :-)

If I am hungry yes. Otherwise no. Hope that helps.

The curse of DW here on TTB! We need an exorcist. :-) Here's the Olds argument on DW from 2011. http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=3351&start=100 It really is 'Old' too. The lama groupies on DW are the buddhist version of olden days TTB posts along the lines of " My cultivation/ teacher can beat up your cultivation." Thankfully most of that seems to have gone from TTB. Those space panda people carry the flame for sure but I've not seen it on here much if at all since returning. If the Olds books or seminars help some people then that's all good. That some lama or his disciples are miffed that the Olds decided to go freelance underpins the DW sniffiness. It's what underpins all such ' My way is RIGHT but your way is WRONG' nonsense. The 'right' way is what suits and works for each individual. One size does not fit all.

Just finished 'Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind' the compilation of Zen journals and letters of Maura ' Soshin' O' Halloran. Irish American lass who joined a Rinzai Temple in Japan and was on her way to becoming something of a TV celebrity in Japan before being killed tragically young in a bus crash. Gives a good insight into Rinzai-Zen ( koan- sudden enlightenment) temple practice. Very different to the Soto Zen approach.

So does Sarlo..... http://www3.telus.net/public/sarlo/Ratings.htm Ya want a 'spiritual adept'? Something to suit all tastes ( and budgets) over at Sarlo's Guru Rating Service. ;-)

I used to take very dilute 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar in a glass of water ( about one third of an English pint) once a day but as I got older it started to give me reflux. If I took a Rennie antacid tablet or similar that sorted it out but I don't like to take those. Does anyone know what the minimum effective dilution is for apple cider vinegar to still be effective please?

+1 to that especially the suffering bit. Spot on. People do move from one path to another though and I reckon that's healthy. I can think of a western PL cultivator who went across to Tibetan and a New Kadampa who went the other way into western PL. We get regular- denomination churchgoing folks coming to our spiritualist centre. There's maybe more freedom nowadays for people to be a bit more 'fuzzy' in their 'faith path' adherence. Posted elsewhere about the Wild Goose Zen sangha in the UK. That is led by practising Roman Catholic priests who are also zen lineage holders.

Those MMA players pick what works from every style hence they'll always beat a 'purist' on the day IMO. Thing is our purist isn't all that interested in kicking erse or winning s/ he'll likely be into playing the MA as much for the cultivation as the contest aspects. I get MAI mag every month and there's a noticeable difference between the MMA articles and interviews and the purist material. Even the photos are different. The MMA comes across as that bit 'angry' and the pics tend towards the 'fierce' whereas the purist styles material is a lot calmer in tone and content. Agree with you completely on GM Chang.

It's a fair call is ecumenism. We live in a pluralist world , no point in alienating Christians or any other faith path followers if what one is presenting suits all faith paths and none as does Dr J's approach. Thich Nhat Hanh has a useful book reconciling his Zen/ PL Buddhist path with Christianity. The fundie Jesus boosters will have nothing to do with anything beyond their own walls but - for normal folks on any or no faith path - showing where and how 'our' stuff transcends sectarian boundaries has to be good. A Christian or any other faith path person can cultivate as effectively as can an atheist, agnostic or worshipper at the shrine of the crocodile God Great Offler. Religion, all of it; is just window dressing after all. It's what's inside the store that counts not how each store chooses to decorate its windows or dress up its sales assistants.

Quite so. Perhaps GM Chang set the boxer on fire. :-)

Modern westerners who are spiritualists are perfectly at home with ghosts and spirits. Please forgive that apparent pedantry but modern westerners are not homogenous.

Seeking for fulfilment can only reinforce the sense of continuously reaching out for something that has never been lost.

Seeking for fulfilment can only reinforce the sense of continuously reaching out for something that has never been lost.

That 'long dead ego' there. Aspirational perhaps? Touching samadhi via cultivation can be done but then we, of necessity; return to the mundane world of opinion, dissent and engagement. How else could we pay the bills, take out the trash or even engage in fascinating exchanges of our opinions with those of others here on TTB? :-)