GrandmasterP

Consciousness for sure exists and without it we'd be pretty much useless at functioning. Cultivation 'tames' consciousness though The US TV anchorman and news chap Dan Harris in his excellent ( new to the UK) book ' 10% Happier' on the benefits of meditation ... "The voice in my head can be a total pill. I'd venture to guess that yours can too. Most of us are so entranced by the non-stop conversations we're having with ourselves that we aren't even aware we have a voice in our head... Our inner chatter isn't all bad of course. Sometimes it's creative, generous or funny. But if we don't pay close attention - which very few of us are taught how to do - it can be a malevolent puppeteer... In my experience, meditation makes you 10% happier....., ..... not a bad return on investment." (Preface: page xiv) It's one of the most honest and 'down to earth' books on cultivation that I've ever read. More here..... http://www.amazon.co.uk/10-Happier-Reduced-Self-help-Actually/dp/1444799045/ref=pd_rhf_pe_p_img_1

+1 That apple secreted in his room riff made me chuckle. We've all 'been there'.

Yeah pretty much so. Over time. It's a subjective call and some responders seem to be gluttons for punishment but eventually the uber- snippy are generally ignored and decamp to pastures new. Unfed Trolls starve.

Their "multi-choice" quiz is somewhat biased in favour of pantheism though.

I'll bet they don't get much heated debate if they have a forum though. Think about it.. Someone posts... " I reckon God's a giant purple turtle. Amongst other things of course." All the pantheists on the forum are obliged to respond along the lines of... " Yep, could well be." No pantheist could ever dissent from any other pantheist. Everyone's potentially right all of the time.

+1 manitou Within (wo)man is the soul or the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related, the eternal Tao ( or whatever one chooses to call it).

I like 'pan'. ( In India it's a Betel Nut and Lime chew). Retired vicar of my acquaintance has it thusly... " Some of my colleagues were amillennialists, some were premillenialists and others were postmillenialists. I've always been a panmillenialist in the belief and along the lines that it'll all pan out eventually." Hence 'neo-pantheism' sounds like a jolly good thing for those who like both pantheism and 'the new'.

I don't think that he does it deliberately. Time will tell. Posters who seek to goad a reaction by 'snipey' posting never stick around because, eventually; no one talks to them.

You're being rude again Jack. I know it's not your first language but do try to be civil in English or the unintended ( I'm sure) slights simply detract from the interesting points you seek to make. Religious Buddhism is a fact. You'll find some very religious Buddhists out there. Saying it 'aint right' does not detract from the fact that for many Buddhists ( as in all faith paths) their faith path is their 'religion' and consequently more of a barrier against than a bridge towards development and growth. Religious folks on any path are easy to spot. They all belong to the LAMIAR lineage. ("Look at ME- I am RIGHT").

Hello again whitebeach.

http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.co.uk/ Enjoy! ( bit cultic IMO but it seems to suit some)

I'm not in the business of granting recognitions Jack and I've not really seen much of 'Thusness' work albeit his 'disciples' seem keen when they pop up on here from time to time. Nobody's a teacher unless they have students to teach, hence; in a way it is the students who confer recognition. I'm not 'knocking' lineage here, we've chatted about that issue before. At best lineage assures a community of practice. However the flip side of lineage is the endless and pointless " my lineage is better than your lineage" type of posts that make up far too much of the content on some fora. IMO such position-taking is both unnecessary and uncalled for.

If it's Zen Forum International (ZFI) then they have an 'ask a teacher' sub forum and whilst punters can post questions on that thread only those teachers recognised by ZIF have reply privileges. Here's what it says..... ASK A TEACHER A place exclusively to ask a Zen teacher a question. Questions for this forum are approved before posting and so will not appear immediately. Moderator: Teacher. ................. ZFI's a self-referential forum, I don't know how they accredit and accept teachers for the forum. It is very different to TTB. I pop in there now and again but IMO , whilst they are all nice folks for sure it has something of a 'clerical' flavour to me. There's a quasi 'priestly' caste who expound and it's the place of other forum members to listen to what those 'clerics' have to say. That I can get in any Christian church of a Sunday. Thing is though it is their forum so they can run it how they choose. There are plenty of other Zen sites to join albeit there's nothing out there IMO to touch TTB for freedom of expression and light touch, equitable moderation.

Welcome back Deci and what a super and thought provoking post. Kudos! Zazen posture can be taught. Once someone has been taught how to sit then it's up to them 'to' sit and take it from there. In that sense, whoever teaches zazen posture and cultivation is a zen teacher. In Jack's world a place akin to Papal Infallibility... The only Zen teacher worth the candle is a lineaged teacher. In that world one comes down to choice and there are several lineages on offer. Soto Rinzai Online ( Jundo Cohen) Ch'an Korean Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (Ms Kennett's sitters). There's a fuller menu over on the Dharma Wheel website ' East Asian' sub forums or via Sweeping Zen forum or Dark Zen or that place you reference. There's Brad Warner, Zen International Forum. ( Guo Gu - ' Pope' Jimmy Yu- the Ch'an dude seems to have made that last site his own). Horses for courses is Zen lineage and folks will take to whichever flavour they like the taste of. Ultimately it's all of it BS, likened to "one continuous mistake" (Dogen). Lineage or no lineage. Once you've learnt how to - then.... Just sit. Job jobbed.

Our Scots Pine has been 'noisy' all afternoon. The cones pop open in the sun and it shoots out a seed. Tiny little 'pops' every now and again. Hope you track down that elusive bird song manitou.

She shoots - she scores. GOAL.

Nice TaiChi kite flying sequence here using a 'no wind' indoor kite.

The kite festivals generally feature a 'build and fly your own kite' workshop. For a small fee they get all the materials and instruction but those are bery basic kites. The smaller model of the low or no wind kite costs around £40 which isn't very much consideringbthe carbon fibre struts and hi tech fabrics. It would probably cost as much if not more to source the materials oneself then there's the time and 'tuning'. Factory built kites are consistent hence so is the tuning. Home made you either get it wrong or have to endlessly tinker with tuning. The commercial manufactures have an 'economy of scale' that the one off kite builder doesn't have access to.

+1 That's why I like Taoism albeit I'm not ' A' Taoist ( what is that anyhoo?). If Tao is 'everything', that sorta sums things up religions-wise IMO. All the other stuff is just BS, fancy labels, silly hats plus 'gatekeeping lucrative sinecures'.

Yep. Kite flying is great fun. I used to kite surf but too old n slow for anything beyond body boarding nowadays so it's been good to discover low wind kites. Never tried it 'as ' cultivation but for sure you are 'cultivating' sometimes when flying... Sometimes. Never at or beyond those times that the kite crashes though or decides on freedom, breaks the string and then high tails it far out to sea never to be seen again.

" No (wo)man is an island."

Our new puppy is causing some mirth hereabouts today. Shoelaces , she loves chewing them. Stand still for a moment then look down... There she is, enjoying shoelace.

You might be able to find that bird song via links here.... http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/california_towhee/sounds

Yep, 'Phosphene' is one of the labels sometimes attached to the phenomenon under discussion. It's a bit scientistic for my taste is 'Phosphene' and always puts me in mind of gas-warfare for some reason. " Shimmering Light" is a far nicer descriptor IMO.

Super point. Prayer is a slightly unfashionable word in 'our' neck of the woods but we've chatted elsewhere on TTB about it. Cultivating with benevolent intention for someone else seems ( to me) akin to what someone on a different path to us might well term 'prayer'. How different is a Pure Land Buddhist cultivating Nembutsu with intention that all sentient beings might become Buddhas - from a Christian praying for the wellbeing of others? OK dogmatically they may be poles apart, but in the heart of each, Buddhist or Christian I reckon that something very similar is manifest.