GrandmasterP

http://www.messagefrommasters.com/Beloved_Osho_Books/Tao/When_the_Shoe_Fits.pdf Free pdf of 'When the Shoe Fits' here.

http://www.laughteryoga.co.uk/ Anyone tried this or similar? Looks like fun.

..... The magic is in his pauses.

Some gurus do wear rouge.

Move on. There are plenty more fishies in the sea.

Maybe all these so called Chinese Xtians are actually Falun Gong sorts in disguise and just blagging it.

.... You've no need to read em bro, but if the worst comes to the worst they could always be moved or removed. Some of us have time to waste you know. ;-)

Not many hermits left either by all accounts and those that are on getting on in years. Read a book about em back in summer, most interesting.

When the Shoe Fits is a brilliant popular intro to Taoism for western-mindset readers, funny in parts too. http://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Shoe-Fits-Commentaries-Stories/dp/1842930850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355231878&sr=8-1 I'm not anti-guru at all, good luck to anyone getting a living by it, and there are plenty of gurus out there to choose from. Check out guru list and league tables here... http://www3.telus.net/public/sarlo/Ratings.htm Yep.... Guruing for a living has to beat the old 9 to 5 treadmill. What gets me about most of this modern crop is that, apart from Tony Parsons and he's an old Osho sannyasin and that HaHa Yoga guy; they all take themselves so seriously. Back in the day we knew how to have fun.

Cool I don't think Osho was locked up as part of some conspiracy to silence him over lineage whistle blowing. It was more the illegal gun running, armoury stockpiling and attempting to usurp the democratic process of a small town in Oregon that did the trick. He walked because a large financial deal was done with the authorities and he agreed to leave the USA and not attempt to return. Mate of mine was there at 'the Ranch' or Rajneeshpuram as they tried to officially incorporate it as a township. Those were crazy days and they were lucky it didn't all go 'David Koresh'. That's the problem with gurus and utopias. It always ends in tears and sometimes much worse. Osho is a brand name and a regular business now. The fact that the guy was a shyster and a con man doesn't detract from what wisdom he did come out with. All gurus are the same, the ones who believe they are genuine are simply self deluded as are their disciples. Nobody really knows jack sh*t for sure, and that's a fact. Osho was just the first to admit it, hence he was and remains the 'Guru's Guru'

There was some Xtian cove on BBC radio over the weekend blethering on about the 'underground church' in China. He claimed that there are millions of the blighters meeting in secret because they don't agree with the state sanctioned versions of Xtianity. Obviously he represented some charidee or other collecting funds to aid these 'martyrs'. Not that any evidence of anyone being martyred was actually presented and he was vague about specifics. Gave me an idea. Please get your cards and chequebooks out and send large donations to ......... The Terrified Taoists of Tibet Fund. Millions of Taoists meet in secret in Tibet under fear of marauding fundamentalist Buddhists and the Chinese authorities both. Something must be done. This is something. We must do it..... If enough rubes (sorry I mean concerned people) each donate 1,000 dollars today your money will ensure that we can set up swish offices in Washington, employ our relatives as lobbyists on fine salaries and live in the manner to which we would like to become accustomed as we raise the profile of these Terrified Taoist martyrs. No receipts given, cash always accepted. Give early. give often. Terrified Taoists in Tibet need YOUR support.

Apparently not, even though his free book is called 'Vedanta.. Seven Steps to Samadhi'...hence I posted it on there. Wiser heads prevailed and the thread has been moved here into General Discussion. Every now and again in autumn trains round these woodland parts are delayed with station announcements declaring that this is due to "the wrong sort of leaves blocking the line" Osho's must similarly be the 'wrong' kind of Vedanta . The book is rather good.

Andalusian Horses are prettier.

As long as you weren't driving at the time then it's fine.

Byeee :-)

Ahhh happy days. the old scallywag was as guilty as hell, had he not been rich enough to have bought his way out of jail he'd have done hard time. Gurus eh? Can't live with em, not allowed to shoot em. :-)

Used as it often wrongly is; in a spiritual context, lineage as you are using the word actually implies a religious faith. Spirituality always begins and ends within and at our still point of cultivation, hence lineage has no bearing on it beyond whatever value the believer chooses to ascribe to it. All else is history sometimes combined with self delusion. Derrida calls it 'nostalgia'... "That wistful longing for something one never truly possessed". Lineage in that religious sense then is a commodity, sometimes bought for cash but more often paid for with desperate belief and that, sometimes-imagined via self-loathing. Lineage in MA describes an apprenticeship system developed usually with a family and handed on , evolving over time a bit like copyright, nothing more and always with tangible and viaible practical applications as in if it does not work and actually kick erse then the students all leave and go elsewhere. MA lineages are what lineages always were until shysters began flogging eastern religious ways to western punters But of course you don't believe any of that, do you not; old chum? HTH :-)

Endogenous and Exogenous we calls em in the trade. Endogenous motivation trumps exogenous every time.. As in You can take a horse to water but (if it isn't thirsty) , you can't make it drink. That said, sometimes the exogenous crap drowns out the endogenous , ask sinansencer, he's the guru of that, the lad knows of what he speaks. So... Regular cultivation trains and develops the endogenous in order that we become better able to quell negative exogenous stimuli in order to flourish... And Once the endogenous is trained, fit and raring to go there's a spin off side effect of one being able to better control the exogenous-negatives; whatever those might be. In MA terms you get to kick more erses. In spirituality terms you become more grounded so that negative vibes and folk simply dissolve and cease to be the problem to you that they were before. The planks over on some of the other faith forums out there such as Dharma Wheel are all looking outwards to gurus or faith systems or 'buy one get another one a bit more expensive' proprietary systems to do this for them. But that can't work because they are simply treating with an exogenous, 'bought off the shelf' form and not actually cultivating endogenously for themselves. They are doing what they are being told to do, and whilst whatever it is they bought may have worked for the guy selling it, it probably won't really work for them. Some of them will convince themselves it is working and there are status rewards on offer for those who buy into proprietary systems and guru groups, that's how the system sellers, guru wallahs and clergy types continue to prosper. They grow dependant disciples. It's a lucrative business that has been around as long as daft sods have needed something to believe in that appears to hold their psychological hand, cos they are a bit sad and lost. All these belief and practice-system salesmen guys are just playing at being mommy for money. What works for us must of necessity work 'in' us, all the rest is cod guru bollocks and bought in crap at mega dollars a parcel plus postage and packing. It's so simple is endogenous cultivation that it's hidden in plain sight and any time you suggest it to the fanboys (always men for some reason) they and their well heeled gurus and belief dealers attempt to have off with one's head with their howls of outrage. This stuff is free. Find a cultivation that works for you be it yoga or QiGong or whatever suits and cultivate it, every day . Job done, easy peezey and doesn't cost a penny.

If you wish to critically engage with Vedanta rather than wallow in fanboy musings as so many do who simply must have something to believe in prior to whatever engagement with life they might attempt, then I'd suggest the Vedanta and the West series, this one's a good entry point.... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vedanta-Philosophy-Western-Condition-West/dp/1258055279/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355138726&sr=1-2 Enjoy.

Well it is now apparently. Free book in the OP chums Well worth a glance.

Bumper sticker popular a few years back.... "Do not drive faster than your Guardian Angel can fly"

I know a retired dentist Kibbutznik from Kfar Blum who says much the same things. Is that you Stephen? Tell me to tomorrow, I'm off to bed. Night all.

I do hope so, it is about Vedanta after all.

Mmmmmmmm Scotch Pine could be tricky. Very fragile in the canopy is your Scotch Pine. Good to cultivate under though, very friendly tree.

Faster than prunes through a short grandmother. (Terry Pratchett)