GrandmasterP

+1 No criticism of MH was intended to be implied. He's a throughly good guy.

Yes. You are right.

+1 deci belle. Thing is - as soon as we impose limits via language we're 'measuring' and measuring just doesn't work. "Whereof we cannot speak, thereof we must remain silent."

Yep 'working model' is a good way to put it. We 'do' stuff. Some stuff we 'do' can't be communicated in words that mean anything to someone else. I know QiGong keeps me supple. When I've not been able to cultivate due to being ill I've been as stiff as a board for ages until I get back to 'match fitness'. That's not a belief, it's a stone fact. Thenother stuff that I 'believe' Qi can and is doing when I am cultivating well and regularly. No way can I communicate that to anybody in words that would not lead most listeners to politiely back away from me. Hence ai don't bother trying apart from on here or on DW. At least on here people are doing something similar alongbheir own cultivation lines so we have commonality 'a bit'.

Nice is a nice N word. If that word MH refers to is what I hope it isn't then that N word isn't a nice word at all. No more from me on that topic.

Never knew that. Tai Chi ruler is excellent.

It was a hard morning. We've had the Ofsted in. Plus I'm old. No more links. ( if I remember). :-)

What did I do? Oh yeah... Link. Sorreeeee. Totally agree with you on Christian mindset, if not actual belief in Christianity; influencing some occidentals approach to Buddhism. On DW it tends to be the occidental 'converts' to Buddhism who are the most enthusiastic scrappers in the " My Lama can beat your Lama" sorta threads. The people who are simply brought up Buddhist and take it for granted, they just rock on and chat about stuff without much or any rancour. ' Converts' are always the most zealous and I do realise that I am using a Chritian type metaphor when I say 'converts' to Buddhism. In Buddhist terms you can't really convert from something - to- Buddhism as there's nothing to 'convert' either from or 'to'. Nor anyone there to be 'converted' in the first place.

Yep. Chanting works irrespective of what is chanted. It's a pretty good cultivation for quieting a 'monkey mind' is repetition. Doesn't have to be out loud but that's said to be more effective than silent repetition. The HK mantra is quite a long one. I prefer something shorter but each to their own. Nembutsu does it for me.

That's a lot of cultivation. 4-hours is a pretty big chunk out of anyone's day let alone more than 4- hours. All told, every day I do about half an hour and a couple of hours on class nights. All respect to anyone doing more.

5-minute Buddhist here. Covers the bases pretty well.... http://www.tricycle.com/sites/default/files/images/blog/Page%20of%205-Minute-Buddhist.pdf

Or might it be.... Magic Stepping Stones. Rocks can be wise.

Love the stepping stones analogy. I can't post pictures ( or emoticons) on this poor tablet but have a picture ( think it's a Hokusai woodblock print) of a guy crossing a raging river on stepping stones. He is standing on a stepping stone with stepping stones behind him that he has already crossed by. However there is no stepping stone shown in front of him just the raging torrent. The text down the side of the picture translates as something like...... " When he steps forward then the next stepping stone will appear."

Yep. I hopefully see now where we maybe diverged there.It wasn't Buddhisms per se . I'm quite interested in SOME of those hence I've been on DW longer than I've been around TTB. It's 'Dharmic Traditions' which I take to be the variegated nuances of the manifold Buddhist sects. That can fair make ones head spin on DW. Someone on here referred to someone who seems to believe that westerners can't understand Dharmic Traditions. That's possibly true albeit a pretty sweeping and maybe somewhat suspect statement. ( How could one know about 'all' westerners and why 'westerners'?) We can each of us choose to focus on a Buddhism that interests us and maybe learn a bit about it. Understand ' Dharmic Traditions' though... That is a huge call there are so many of such variety. I don't care to even begin and engage with a task so vast. PL especially western PL clubs, bring it on. Those interest me and we have a big one locally. S. Suzuki Zens... Yes please. Fascinating stuff, they re- exported Zen to Japan when Zen was out of fashion in Japan and something different evolved as a result. Vietnamese Buddhism ( which is PL + Zen) that I have looked at albeit only Thich Nhat Hanh. As for the rest. Nada. Far too much and too many. Any better for ya?

It's a toughie and no mistake. Thoughts are not things as such but we all have lots of them bounding around north of our necks as a rule. Mindfulness finds a quiet space focused in the breathing 'in between' thoughts. Thoughts can then be observed and 'let go'. Thoughts are still there ( where would they go?) so if we take thoughts as 'mind' ( tricky one I know) the person in that mindful state is not without mind ( mindless?) but in a better ( mindful) place where thoughts no longer dictate to swamp the 'now'. That's not any attempt at a 'right' answer BTW. Not sure that there is one. Just me thinking out loud here.

"But if I don't know what a mouse is, I have no grounds to claim that my pocket does not contain a mouse." Whilst one may not comprehend infinity ( who can?) one has no grounds to claim that one's pocket may not contain the infinite. There may, for example ; be a grain of sand or dust in one's pocket. To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour. ( Blake).

"Put out the light, and then put out the light: If I quench thee, thou flaming minister." (Othello at 5.2 in lines 9 & 10)

This is our definition of Mindfulness for the ( entirely secular) MBSR classes we teach at our centre, other equally valid definitions are available though..... "Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to the present moment, using techniques like meditation, breathing and yoga. It helps us become more aware of our thoughts and feelings so that instead of being overwhelmed by them, we are better able to manage them. Practising mindfulness can give people more insight into their emotions, boost their attention and concentration and improve relationships. Its proven to help with stress, anxiety, depression and addictive behaviours, and can even have a positive effect on physical problems like hypertension, heart disease and chronic pain." The cultivation encourages people to observe and let go of thoughts, by returning to their breathing so that they are less likely to be overwhelmed by thoughts and cares.

Far too many sects n sutras to get my poor old head around is all. Buddhisms are as Buddhisms does and there are simply so many varieties out there. Hence my comment. Wasn't aware of saying what 'it's not', one would need to know about all its manifestations. Simply saying how I see it, hence my admitted and wilful ignorance of most Buddhisms. Zen and PL I've looked at a bit but the Tibetans and Theravadans ... Nope. Hope that helps.

It varies. We had a dry summer last year and had to water outside a lot. Usually though we get plenty of rain. We have quite a big greenhouse plus Mrs GMP always has over a hundred big planter pots on the go through the season. It's my job to water those and it can take above two hours to do them all. I tend to stagger it though doing a bit each day so everything that needs it gets a good soaking at least once a week. Those Trumpet Vines came with a warning ' Do not over water'. I suspect they like dry- ish feet.

I once stayed at their main place in Vrindaban in India simply because they had the nicest guest house with vacancies. It was a beautiful complex and the people were really friendly. Mainly Americans but some Indians and Europeans. No Brits that I came across. Their main cultivation is endless repetition of the Hare Krishna mantra but the temple services were really something to see. The guys blowing conch shells at the altar were knee deep in flowers that devotees were throwing a them. Heck of a sight and one that I'll never forget. It had a nice 'vibe' about it is all I can say. Not my cuppa tea but for those that like that life then good luck to them.

Lucky non-westerners. Poor westerner. I'm with you MH, next to no clue about 'Dharmic Tradition' and probably care less than most. Far too many sects n sutras for my simple tastes. Dharma Wheel can be a fun site with useful links and info for the perplexed but I have less than a clue what the Dharma experts over there are talking about 90% of the time. There was the guy on his first day at medical school to train as a Doctor. The Prof had run through what the class was to study for the next five years and handed each student a super thick medical text book. This guy flicks through the huge book with a look of dismay then rips out the page on anatomy of the foot and walks out of the lefture theatre saying to the Prof. " Sod this for hard work! I've decided to become a podiatrist."

Nor foster judgementalism either. Now we can all maybe go and 'wash our bowls'. :-)

So do I, now; Brian. Super definitions. Many thanks.

Then sympathise with Rongzomfan you must Simple Jack. " Whatever one resists, persists."