GrandmasterP
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Everything posted by GrandmasterP
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Clambering up the Cold Mountain path, The Cold Mountain trail goes on and on: The long gorge choked with scree and boulders, The wide creek, the mist-blurred grass. The moss is slippery, though there's been no rain. The pine sings, but there's no wind. Who can leap the world's ties And sit with me among the white clouds. (Han-shan Cold Mountain Poems). Cultivation ( never easy) as a route to enlightenment maybe?
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How does one 'choose' a religion, spiritual path, etc?
GrandmasterP replied to qvrmy11vz's topic in General Discussion
To some extent we've won by being born or reborn human for starters. It's a longer haul from say being born or reborn as a sea slug or a politician. There has to be a degree of past merit for us to be human, this time around. Hence I like to think that everyone sets off on a more or less equal footing as far as cultivation goes. For sure it will come easier to those with lots of merit 'in the bank' but not to the extent that anyone should ever think, as one of our chums has done elsewhere on here today... ( quote) ... " I am a useless piece of shit" ( unquote) ...hence there seems to be no point in bothering trying for improvement. There's always a point cos, having been born a human being, to some extent; we're already in front of the game. -
I'd say not. Depends how you view enlightenment I suppose. If enlightenment is viewed as one of the states resulting from the alteration to brain chemistry then maybe yes. I don't 'think' that's what enlightenment is hence I don't 'think' that enlightenment can stem from a drug induced state. However I don't know for sure.
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Socrates was sitting outside the gates of the ancient city of Athens, a traveller approached him and expressed an interest in moving to the city. As part of the conversation the traveller asked, What are the people like here? In response Socrates asked, How do the find the people in your own town? The man responded, I'll be glad to get away from them they're all backstabbers and thieves! With a look of sympathy and regret Socrates told the man that Athens would be a poor choice for a relocation because he'd find that everyone was exactly the same there. Later the same day, another man approached Socrates and similarly asked about the virtues of moving to Athens. Again, Socrates asked the man, What's it like where you live now? The man responded, If I move away I'll be leaving many friends. Everyone in my town goes out of their way to help one another cooperation, kindness and respect are part of the culture there. Socrates smiled and said, 'Welcome to Athens you'll find that everyone's just the same here.
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How does one 'choose' a religion, spiritual path, etc?
GrandmasterP replied to qvrmy11vz's topic in General Discussion
You are a Dharma warrior. -
Automatic Writing Practice:Anyone want to ask God a question?
GrandmasterP replied to Horus's topic in General Discussion
Gratias vobis ago Caesar. :-)- 86 replies
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Ya gotta play the cards you've been dealt bro.
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Clairvoyance vs Immediate Knowledge
GrandmasterP replied to deci belle's topic in General Discussion
+1 Those two are almost exactly the same thing. In that sentence. -
Any Gurdjieff Enthusiasts Out There?
GrandmasterP replied to lloydbaker's topic in Esoteric and Occult Discussion
It's about £15-10 plus postage and packaging in the UK..... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beelzebubs-Tales-His-Grandson-Everything/dp/0140194738/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398858323&sr=1-1&keywords=all+and+everything -
" In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." ( Shunryu Suzuki). I'd give 'hat lad's '...." Let go and let God" a miss TT- but beyond that, just keep cultivating. Pointlessly. All strength to ya. :-)
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How does one 'choose' a religion, spiritual path, etc?
GrandmasterP replied to qvrmy11vz's topic in General Discussion
Aye, in some lives we doubt karma. That's our karma. This time around. -
You've met many?I'm 62 and have maybe met two transcendently spiritual people since I started looking back in my late teens. One of those is dead but when he was alive he was a car nut, kept up to date with world events and loved chilling out with people. A super excellent stand up comedian too he was a truly funny guy. The other guy who is the short side of his ninth decade, still with us and is a Bodhisatva is a keen organic gardener, expert and busy calligrapher who also loves being around people shooting the breeze. Neither of those guys made or make a big deal about 'spirituality'. There's Marblehead on here as well but I've never met him, he's a Roshi but would never admit to it. Factoring out the 'playing mommy for money' shysters, those twonks who bang on about how 'spiritual' they are tend generally to be either narcissists, depressives or a combination of those two.
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Any Gurdjieff Enthusiasts Out There?
GrandmasterP replied to lloydbaker's topic in Esoteric and Occult Discussion
Gurdjieff must have had something going for him to attract the laydees because he was no looker. That said these guru wallahs do seem to attract a certain type of person and lurve/lustiness do tend to raise its head in mixed ( or single gender) residential communities. Leonard Cohen's Roshi ( born 1907) kept amorously busy well into his century and he's still alive now. His monastery ( Mount Baldy) is within commuting distance of LA though. -
"There was no point (sitting silently) freezing your nadgers off on top of some mountain while communing with the Infinite unless you could rely on a lot of impressionable young women to come along occasionally and say ‘Gosh’." (Terry Pratchett: Maskerade).
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How the Buddha Became Enlightened.
GrandmasterP replied to Tibetan_Ice's topic in Buddhist Discussion
Less reading more sitting. Trust me. I'm a doctor. :-) -
Just done the mowing, down to every five days now. The Japanese Maple in the front garden is in full flower. Clever little tree. The leaves are just coming on so very small. It puts out pendulous bunches of tiny red flowers under the small leaves. The flowers get the sun because the leaves are still small and the bees are all over the flowers. Truly amazing is nature. That tree is different every week. Soon it will be in full leaf they go from almost silver, through a vivid lime green to dark green then at the back end it turns bright red, then finally copper coloured. Then the leaves fall off ready to start over again next spring. My neighbour across the field is programmed to the sound of our mower. As soon as I put our mower away, guaranteed, hers starts up. Every time.
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Famous Qigong and internal martial arts teachers, you need to seriously up your game!
GrandmasterP replied to BaguaKicksAss's topic in General Discussion
"After you have practiced for a while, you will realize that it is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress. Even though you try very hard, the progress you make is always little by little. It is not like going out in a shower in which you know when you get wet. In a fog, you do not know you are getting wet, but as you keep walking you get wet little by little. If your mind has ideas of progress, you may say, Oh, this pace is terrible! But actually it is not. When you get wet in a fog it is very difficult to dry yourself. So there is no need to worry about progress." ( S. Suzuki: Zen Mind, Beginners Mind). -
"God" the always present landlord?
GrandmasterP replied to 3bob's topic in Esoteric and Occult Discussion
"Though all to ruin fell the world And were dissolved and backward hurled, Unmade into the old abyss, Yet were its making good, for this The dusk, the dawn, the earth, the sea That Luthien for a time should be." -
Automatic Writing Practice:Anyone want to ask God a question?
GrandmasterP replied to Horus's topic in General Discussion
Caesar... Ratio vivendi in rebus ad vitam pertinentibus adhibenda est. Verum et falsum?- 86 replies
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Likewise here. All good wishes to your mum, your perceptive friend and to you.
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Psychological Issues and Spiritual Practices: Shouldn't Practices Trump Therapy/Medication?
GrandmasterP replied to Satya's topic in General Discussion
+1 Jetsun. 'Healing' doesn't necessarily mean 'Curing'.- 33 replies
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As an entertainer I meant. Singing was it or something else? Just being nosy really. :-)
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An aspiring Taoist asked to enter a temple and attach himself to a priest for training. "Very well," said the Priest , "but all students here observe the vow of silence. You will be allowed to speak only once in every twelve years. After the first twelve years, the student said, "The bed is too hard." After another twelve years, he said, "The food sucks." Twelve more years later, after thirty-six years of hard work and meditation, he said, "I quit." "Good," said the Priest, "all you have been doing is complain."
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Clairvoyance vs Immediate Knowledge
GrandmasterP replied to deci belle's topic in General Discussion
We had 'talk like a pirate' afternoon in the staffroom today. Captain Pugwash v Long John Silver, Old Blind Pugh, Jack Sparrow et al Arrrrrrr.... haaarrrrrrrr me hearties. One has to quote a favourite BS passage of philosophy in the manner of the designated pirate. I was Old Blind Pugh explaining Foucaldian Agency in four sentences. The loser is the one who dries up and has to 'walk the plank' ( buy a bun for everyone else). "Young Jim Hawkins" ( Senior Lecturer Curriculum Studies) lost. My bun was Chelsea and a foine bun she was to me hearties. It passes an hour. -
How does one 'choose' a religion, spiritual path, etc?
GrandmasterP replied to qvrmy11vz's topic in General Discussion
TaiChi/QiGong, Yoga or Martial Arts venues are a good place to meet like minded folks. Not so easy to start a group from scratch though. Unitarians and Quakers towards being pretty cool about renting space cheaply to meditation gigs and the like. There's even a Unitarian Zen sangha in Boston.