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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2018 10:49:45 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2018 23:58:59 GMT
Non-duality tricycle.org/magazine/dharma-door-nonduality/The bodhisattva Padmavyuha declared, “Dualism is produced from obsession with self, but true understanding of self does not result in dualism. Who thus abides in non duality is without ideation, and that absence of ideation is the entrance into nonduality.” The bodhisattva Shrigarbha declared, “Duality is constituted by perceptual manifestation. Nonduality is objectlessness. Therefore, nongrasping and nonrejection is the entrance into nonduality.” The bodhisattva Candrottara declared, “‘Darkness’ and ‘light’ are dualistic, but the absence of both darkness and light is nonduality. Why? At the time of absorption in cessation, there is neither darkness nor light, and likewise with the natures of all things. The entrance into this equanimity is the entrance into nonduality.”
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2018 7:29:44 GMT
Gnosticism and Buddhism "The "Middle" Way has nothing to do with the golden mean of the Greeks, or with finding a middle path of compromise between opposite views. Rather, it recognizes that no system of intellectual inquiry -- such as notions of materialism or idealism, of free will or necessity -- can lead to the ultimate truth. " "For many Gnostics the world is Deficiency, for the Buddhist, it is an illusion, maya , a lower form of reality than the truth. For both, gnosis will expose this world's emptiness and lead to escape. Neither is much concerned with sin in the common Western sense. For the Gnostic, attachment to worldly things carries its own punishment -- the denial of reunion with the All and, for some sects, reincarnation in which the demerits earned in the present life leave their mark on the next." gnosis.org/thomasbook/ch22.html
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2018 22:10:04 GMT
The dark one “Mara” – The Evil, or Dark One - are major elements in the process of the Buddha’s enlightenment. It is emphasized in the Buddha’s teachings that it was ignorance and darkness, along with their capacity to “blind” humanity – all characteristics of being afflicted by the ‘e‘epa/wetiko virus - that were dispelled at the moment of enlightenment. The image of Buddha routing Mara’s hosts is often likened to darkness being dispelled by the sun. Once he attained enlightenment, the Buddha always recognized the moment that Mara appeared; to fully recognize Mara is to immediately defeat him. This is why Mara exclaims with the utmost dismay and despair, “The Exalted One knows me!” (The Exalted One is the Buddha, the one who has awakened to the dreamlike nature). Remember also what the Gnostic Gospel of Philipsays about evil, “When it is recognized, it is dissolved.” Though on one level apparently opposing Buddha’s enlightenment, Mara (the ‘e‘epa/wetiko virus) was actually Buddha’s secret ally, a projected aspect of Buddha’s own consciousness, for Buddha wouldn’t have been able to develop the “muscle” of his realization without Mara’s challenge. www.awakeninthedream.com/articles/the-masters-of-deception
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2018 11:04:29 GMT
Hi Elizabeth, awesome! Glad it resonated with you. That's pretty interesting that you met Makua before. Yup, and there is definitely a lot of content on there worth reading. Recognising the dark/virus is what super important in finding intrinsic immunity.
This bit is interesting to me, as it makes a lot of sense from my own experience.
I do have a difference in my own view which is I prefer to use language like deeper rather than higher as to help to recognise things as whole and within rather than separate and unreachable. The 'highest' reality to me is what is within the self although neither high or low exist at that level.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2018 9:53:57 GMT
Free agent www.bibliotecapleyades.net/mistic/mistic2/buddhism02lk.htm"The truth of the various controversial matters within Buddhism's history may never be fully known, but what is true is that although Buddhism purports to be the most effective way for humans to free themselves from delusion, Buddhism itself is not free of delusion. While this fact is not an egregious sin when one considers just how delusional this earthly plane can be, it does reveal that Buddhism is not what it is cracked up to be. All in all, however, Buddhism is like democracy: It's the worst form of government, except all the others. To truly "get" Buddhism, one needs to become a "Buddha," and a Buddha is a free agent not belonging to any particular group, cult or religion, not separate from "God," and not ascribing to ritual and rote, except that which moves her/him in her/his autonomy. A Buddha is, by its very definition, a liberated being, a person who thinks and does for her/himself yet who is connected to the whole, and thus selfless and concerned with the greater good." Zen quote 'If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.'
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2018 12:53:08 GMT
Karma as intention (Buddhist view) www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/transcribed-talks/karma-and-intention/"Some teachings about karma say that everything that happens to us in this life is the result of our past karma. Whatever happens to you here is the result of past karma. The Buddha did not say that. What the Buddha said is that there is a big sea of cause and effect, and within that, there is a subcategory of cause and effect which has to do with a cause and effect of intentionality, of the intentions we act on. In the case of sickness, the Buddha did not attribute all sickness to karma. Sickness may happen just by logical conditions or by genetic conditions. You do not have to attribute the sickness to your karma. The Buddha also said that even if someone assaults you, like when you are in a war, it is not necessarily the result of your past karma. In a sense, it may just be bad luck—you happen to be born in certain place and time. To be somewhat simplistic about Buddhist karmic theory, it might go something like this: in whatever fuels an action, the fuel of an action produces more of itself. If your action is fueled by hate, it somehow produces more of itself. In different words, if our intentions are unhealthy, that unhealthy fuel produces more unhealthy intentions. If our intentions are healthy, it produces more health. If the actions which fuel our actions are healthy, they tend to produce more health. If the intentions which produce our actions are unhealthy, it tends to produce something unhealthy. Another way that tracked intentionality works within us is that it works by conditioning us. It sets up habit formation. As a habit gets formed, it becomes easier and easier to do that action and harder not to do that action. I have noticed that process, for example, if I get a little bit too enthusiastic or frantic about cleaning my house. I do a lot of cleaning and laundry and this and that and it becomes doing, doing, doing. At some point, when the basic stuff has been done, and I stop, I can sometimes feel that my mind is in a “have to do stuff” track—the momentum is still there and I can’t put it down. A habit is created. Some of us do the same things over and over again for decades. We are always trying to defend ourselves, or we are always trying to measure up to other people, or we are always judging other people to make ourselves safer, or we are always trying to make ourselves as comfortable as possible in every possible situation as we are driven by comfort. There are many very common habits that we have that represent a certain kind of motivation. The more we act on that, the more it can become a habit, and habits can be something that drives us, rather than we driving it. Addictions can be like that, addictions to cigarettes or alcohol or almost anything. We can even include the addiction to talk, for some people just cannot stop talking, and they have such a strong momentum, such a strong drive, to talk. What is often said about intentions is that intentions are seeds. If you act on certain intentions, you are planting those certain seeds. You may plant seeds of hate, of greed, of lust, or of delusion. It is one thing to plant one seed, but if you keep planting them, then you keep nourishing them, keep watering them, and they grow and grow until they almost become our character So why is there this focus on intentions, why is it so important in Buddhist practice? It is because the world of our happiness and our inner peace is primarily a product of our intentions. That is a surprise for many people to hear because many people think that happiness is dependent on the stock market or who I manage to partner up with. Or they think that happiness depends on getting a good job. These things can be conditions for happiness, but it can be fleeting and unstable to have the world be the reason for why we are happy or unhappy. In order to become mature spiritually in Buddhism, we have to learn to be happy and at peace independently of the conditions of the world. If we are always looking for the conditions of the world to be just right, our happiness will be fleeting at best. But if you want your happiness to be stable, then you have to find the kind of happiness and peace that is independent of the conditions of the world. Whether or not you have a job, you have the capacity to be at peace with yourself. You can be happy whether or not you have a relationship, or whether or not you are healthy, or whether you have a good job or not, or whether you have recreational opportunities or not, or whether you have a good house or not. If we can learn to be happy independent of those conditions, then Buddhism says you have a stable happiness. That world of happiness that is stable has a lot to do with our intentions." (Btw I reccomend what Philip G. Says about karma)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2018 10:35:16 GMT
Acceptance tinybuddha.com/blog/3-steps-to-practice-acceptance-have-a-peaceful-life/1. Find solutions instead of complaining. You could complain for a lifetime about the leaking roof on your house, but as long as you don’t do anything about it, you’re stuck in the situation. Instead, ask yourself, “What can I do to solve the problem?” And if you can’t solve it, where can you focus your energy more productively? What things can you control? 2. Practice letting go. How can you accept a devastating loss or change, for example, that you won’t ever be able to run again? One is to hold on to the way things were. Personally, I loved jogging, which made it harder to accept the physical impairment. But if you can’t accept life the way it is, you have a big problem, because we cannot change what already has happened. Resisting the flow of life will only make you unhappy. The other choice is to bite the bullet and accept life the way it is. That takes courage but the process will empower you enormously. The ability to let go of things in everyday life makes for happiness and ease. You can even laugh when you miss a bus that’s departed five minutes early. Start out by accepting small things, such as stepping on a chewing gum or losing some change. You’ll be surprised; bit by bit, you’ll be able to let go of most mishaps that come your way. 3. Let beauty in. When you’re focused on everything that’s lacking, it’s hard to fully notice, appreciate, and enjoy what’s there. Look around you; there’s beauty all around. What an amazing planet! Beaches and mountains, colorful fish in the ocean, birds flying across the sky, music and culture, blueberry ice cream, kissing in the sunset, and lifelong friendships. There is so much to live for; this could potentially be paradise. Open up to what is truly beautiful and important in life. For example, look at a flower and enjoy its fragile beauty; take your mom on a surprise picnic or give yourself a day to relax. Most of us keep the blinds shut, closing off to life. Some of us even repeat the mantra, “Been there, done that.” The truth is, every experience is new, and it’s up to you how complete or lacking it seems. Take on the curiosity of a child. Open up and explore life as if it were your first day here, regardless of what you’ve had or lost. You can choose to focus on either. What’s your choice?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2018 10:45:01 GMT
THE LION’S GAZE "There is an intrinsic problem with illuminating evil, however, as articulating the nature of evil can actually invoke it in the field. This is to say that even mentioning the word evil can constellate that very quality in the reader, as well as in myself. It then becomes a question of how do we “relate” to the very darkness within us which has been evoked? Do we react in fear, in which case the seeming evil has power over us? Or do we turn the light of consciousness onto the part of ourselves that is the source of the darkness, reflecting upon the very darkness which has been called forth within us? One of the most beautiful teachings in Buddhism is called “The Lion’s Gaze.” The following example is given as an illustration: when we throw a stick around a dog, the dog runs after the stick, but when we throw a stick around a lion, the lion runs after us. The throwing of the stick in this example represents when something inside of us gets triggered. When we are triggered, it is as if a button inside of us has been pushed which activates an unconscious, compulsive knee-jerk reflex. Running after the stick like the dog, which is to “act out” being triggered, is to put our attention outside of ourselves. “Oh, I don’t want to read about evil, it triggers me. I’m going to stop reading about it.” This is to relate to what is triggering us in the outside world as “the problem.” Having the gaze of the lion, however, if we become triggered by the word evil, for example, we turn within ourselves and self-reflect, looking at whatever it is within us that has gotten activated. The lion is not afraid to go right to the source of the trigger, which is never outside, but always within ourselves. Assuming the fearless gaze of the lion, we relate to the situation that has triggered us as a gift, as it has helped us access a part of ourselves that up until now has been unconscious, and hence hidden."
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2018 5:24:52 GMT
In search of enlightenment www.unspirituality.com/search-banana-self-enlightenment/"The search for enlightenment could be likened to being a banana. Imagine if you were a banana but for some reason you didn’t believe you were a banana possibly due to inherited beliefs or assumed insufficiency due to psychological and physical abuse. Now consider, due to your banananess being suppressed, that you might begin to ACT like a banana. If dissociation runs deep you may set out on the path of bananahood. You might collect pictures of bananas, wear banana necklaces and clothing, and even start hanging out near trees. In your quest, you might be attracted to great banana teachers, mount pictures of them on your walls, share the “way of the banana” to others and reminisce on the imminent banana revelations coming from the photonic banana belt. Your dream will be complete on the day you become ONE with ALL bananas—and truly ARE the banana. The search for enlightenment is born from the LIE of separation—that awareness must become itself. Awareness is, always has been and always will be, until the day it expires in each human being, there. Awareness continues through the human experience by the process of evolution (a most efficient way to grow lifeforms and garner massive amounts of information and experience)."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2019 8:02:20 GMT
Truth vs being kind www.thoughtco.com/the-fourth-buddhist-precept-450102In Buddhism, being truthful goes beyond simply not telling lies. It means speaking truthfully and honestly, yes. But it also means using speech to benefit others, and not to use it to benefit only ourselves. Untruthful speech includes "half truths" or "partial truths." A half or partial truth is a statement that is factually true but which leaves out information in a way that conveys a lie. If you ever read the political "fact check" columns in many major newspapers, you find a lot of statements called out as "half truths." For example, if a politician says "My opponent's policies will raise taxes," but he leaves out the part about "on capital gains over a million dollars," that's a half truth. In this case, what the politician said is intended to make his audience think they if they vote for the opponent, their taxes will go up. Telling the truth requires mindfulness of what is true. It also requires that we examine our own motivations when we speak, to be sure there isn't some trace of self-clinging behind our words. For example, people active in social or political causes sometimes become addicted to self-righteousness. Their speech in favor of their cause becomes tainted by their need to feel morally superior to others. Practice of the Fourth Precept does not mean that one must never disagree or criticize. In Being Upright Reb Anderson suggests that we distinguish between what is harmful and what is hurtful. "Sometimes people tell you the truth and it hurts a lot, but it is very helpful," he said. Sometimes we need to speak up to stop harm or suffering, and we don't always. Recently a well-respected educator was found to have been sexually assaulting children over a period of years, and some of his associates had known about this. Yet for years no one spoke up, or at least, did not speak up loudly enough to stop the assaults. The associates possibly kept silent to protect the institution they worked for, or their own careers, or possibly they couldn't face the truth of what was going on themselves. -------- www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.058.than.html[1] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial (or: not connected with the goal), unendearing & disagreeable to others, he does not say them. [2] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial, unendearing & disagreeable to others, he does not say them. [3] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, but unendearing & disagreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them. [4] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial, but endearing & agreeable to others, he does not say them. [5] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial, but endearing & agreeable to others, he does not say them. [6] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, and endearing & agreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them. Why is that? Because the Tathagata has sympathy for living beings. (As always these are not rules on how to live life lol)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2019 8:08:07 GMT
www.elephantjournal.com/2018/11/protecting-your-personal-boundaries-the-buddhist-way/Once upon a yogi time, the wandering sage Narayana was seated in meditation at the edge of a small village. Upon opening his eyes, returning to everyday awareness, he found himself face-to-face with a large cobra. “Oh, Narayana, please instruct me in the practice of yoga,” said the snake. “Ahimsa is the nonviolent attitude of the yogi,” he taught. “It is a way of relating to life with openness, curiosity, and loving awareness. By adopting the attitude of ahimsa, you will be able to welcome all that arises and engage with your life without creating pain or suffering.” Especially for a cobra, whose very body was designed to strike out with violence and venom, ahimsa is a foundation of the spiritual life. Thanking Narayana, the snake disappeared into the dense undergrowth. Never resting more than three days in any single location, the sage continued his pilgrimage. After a year, Narayana, again, found himself approaching the same village. “I wonder how my cobra-disciple is faring and how his spiritual practice is developing,” he thought to himself. The sage heard a groan rising from behind a nearby tree. Narayana discovered his disciple cowering in the dirt. The cobra’s body was bruised and battered, his sharp teeth were shattered, and his left eye was swollen shut. “What has happened to you?” the sage exclaimed. “Oh, guru-ji,” the cobra lisped through broken teeth, “You would have been so proud of me. I took up the practice of ahimsa with great dedication. When the young boys of the village threw stones at me, I smiled. They were surprised by my new gentle demeanor and came closer carrying sticks. But, I continued to smile and welcome them. They struck me and beat me; they kicked me and tied me in knots; they broke my teeth and bruised my eye. But, I didn’t bite or strike back.” “Oh, my disciple,” Narayana shook his head. “I told you not to bite. I didn’t say you shouldn’t hiss.” You have to hiss. You must protect yourself from forces that are harmful. What makes the difference between a wise stance and a deluded-defensive one is in how you protect yourself and the attitude with which you protect. Because, you have to take a stance—you have no choice. On the Earth plane, boundaries and distinctions are part of the game. To understand the difference between a loving and defended stance: >> In the defended stance, you set boundaries to protect yourself and those you love from life. >> In the wise and loving stance, you set up boundaries to protect yourself and those you love for life.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2019 13:48:44 GMT
"Hogen, a Chinese Zen teacher, lived alone in a small temple in the country. One day four traveling monks appeared and asked if they might make a fire in his yard to warm themselves. While they were building the fire, Hogen heard them arguing about subjectivity and objectivity. He joined them and said: "There is a big stone. Do you consider it to be inside or outside your mind?" One of the monks replied: "From the Buddhist viewpoint everything is an objectification of mind, so I would say that the stone is inside my mind." "Your head must feel very heavy," observed Hogen, "if you are carrying around a stone like that in your mind.""
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2019 7:10:07 GMT
www.buddhistinformation.com/buddhism_and_the_illusion_of_time.htm You will discover that it is nothing but thoughts--nothing but memories, nothing but expectations, nothing but mental commentary. It's "all in your head," so to speak. There's really no such thing as time. There is really only Now--an eternally present Present with no beginning and no ending. Everything is completely new, distinct, and original every instant, with no real "change" or "motion" at all. The mystic-philosopher Heraclitus, explaining this point, said, "A man cannot step in the same river twice."
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2019 8:54:40 GMT
FINDING A PIECE OF THE TRUTH One day Mara, the Evil One, was travelling through the villages of India with his attendants. he saw a man doing walking meditation whose face was lit up on wonder. The man had just discovered something on the ground in front of him.
Mara's attendant asked what that was and Mara replied, "A piece of truth." "Doesn't this bother you when someone finds a piece of truth, O Evil One?" his attendant asked. "No," Mara replied. "Right after this, they usually make a belief out of it."
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2019 7:55:25 GMT
non-attachment Imagine there’s a woman—maybe a friend or family member of yours— who really, really, really loves the movie Titanic. She watches it every week without fail, sometimes twice, and has ever since it first came out. So for the past twenty years or so, she’s watched the movie, sometimes with other people, usually by herself. That’s over 1040 viewings of the same film. She’s memorized all the dialogue, noticed every miniscule detail, analyzed every possible character motivation. Is that weird or extreme? Most of us probably can’t fathom watching the same film (or reading the same book, or doing the same crossword puzzle, or listening to the same album) with this kind of regularity. We like trying new things and grow bored with monotony. When I first heard about this woman (yes, she really exists), I wondered how she could possibly continue to find joy in re-watching a movie she had memorized. I asked what was wrong with her, why she didn’t want to branch out. I thought that this woman was nothing like me. But really, we’re not so different. In fact, most of us do the exact same thing. We may not watch Titanic at 3 pm every Tuesday afternoon— but how often do we replay the same negative messages over and over in our heads? How often do we cycle through our most painful memories or our worst fears and anxieties? How often do we think the same things with monotonous repetition: I’m not good enough, I can’t do that, I hate so-and-so, I wish I’d done XYZ differently… In many ways, Buddhism is all about letting things go, helping us break away from negative thoughts and behaviors that do not serve us, as well as loosening the grip of all our attachments. If you can let go of ideas and images of how things should be, you can more fully enjoy the way things are. Reflect on the ideas and images in your mind to which you are attached. Identify your expectations about how the world should work and how you want you like to look. You can even grab a notebook and pen and write them down. • I want to do well at work. • I want to be fit and athletic. You might be fired from your job and start to question how smart or competent you really are. You might sustain an injury and have to spend several frustrating months in physical therapy, painstakingly returning to the same level of fitness (or less) as before. In essence, the pain that arises from the above situations is due to excessive attachment. Attachment to what? To our own self-image, our images of others, and our expectations about life. The first step to letting go is coming to a greater awareness of your attachments. Identify your attachments and think about how they operate in your life. You can then evaluate if you would benefit from shifting your mindset to embrace things in your life in their present forms, even as they change. hackspirit.com/the-art-of-non-attachment-how-to-let-go-and-experience-less-pain/---------- Also this story about the bull, it's too long to paste here but also about attachment www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/karunaratna/bl140.html
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2019 18:53:10 GMT
The experience of certain feelings can seem particularly pregnant with desire for resolution: loneliness, boredom, anxiety. Unless we can relax with these feelings, it’s very hard to stay in the middle when we experience them. We want victory or defeat, praise or blame. For example, if somebody abandons us, we don’t want to be with that raw discomfort. Instead, we conjure up a familiar identity of ourselves as a hapless victim. Or maybe we avoid the rawness by acting out and righteously telling the person how messed up he or she is. We automatically want to cover over the pain in one way or another, identifying with victory or victimhood.
Wandering in the world of desire involves looking for alternatives, seeking something to comfort us—food, drink, people. The word desire encompasses that addiction quality, the way we grab for something because we want to find a way to make things okay. That quality comes from never having grown up. We still want to go home and be able to open the refrigerator and find it full of our favorite goodies; when the going gets tough, we want to yell “Mom!” But what we’re doing as we progress along the path is leaving home and becoming homeless. Not wandering in the world of desire is about relating directly with how things are.
When you wake up in the morning and out of nowhere comes the heartache of alienation and loneliness, could you use that as a golden opportunity? Rather than persecuting yourself or feeling that something terribly wrong is happening, right there in the moment of sadness and longing, could you relax and touch the limitless space of the human heart? The next time you get a chance, experiment with this.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2019 4:37:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2019 13:15:12 GMT
www.homeoint.org/morrell/buddhism/addict.htm"There is not really any ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in Buddhism; there are just actions that bring us greater happiness and those that bring us greater pain. It is also important to acknowledge that we are all in some ways addicted to something, be it only money, shopping, success, promotion, food or sex. People who are addicted to something have become too solidly locked into a love of pleasure and are reaping the consequences of that lifestyle. It also means that their sense of identity is rewarded only when they indulge whatever they crave, and this has thus become dependent upon their addiction. A firm sense of self-identity is based solely upon their habit, and without it, they feel invisible and non-existent. This is often termed an ‘addictive personality’ – they believe that life without ‘their fix’ is unfaceable, not worth living and sad and boring. Such people have identified so strongly or solidly with the source of their pleasure that they believe life without it is not possible or is unthinkable. To at least some degree, they have lost control of their life. Though varying shades of addiction occur, addicts of all types, when questioned, tend to blame some previous event they were not responsible for, or some other factor external to them, for their behaviour. This very conveniently absolves them from any blame for the position they are in. It is thus a crutch they lean on to get through their life. They portray it as normal or harmless – or both. They claim to be the victim of something and are in denial about their own motives and their own responsibility for what they do. They hide, and hide from, their true motivations, past experiences and the real basis for their behaviour. They also play down the harmfulness [to self and others] of what they do. They convince themselves that it is harmless and not serious – but something they can control – and when challenged, they try to convince others of the same viewpoint. Cure of addiction necessarily involves unspinning - putting into reverse - the habit as it was formed. It means regaining control over one’s life, denying oneself the sensations to which one has become helplessly addicted, and generally negating the path one has followed. It means the re-establishment by gentle means, of control over the habit, being able to switch it on or off at will, just like a tap. This means stopping gazing at pleasant forms, stopping the internal fantasy element and stopping all the habits associated [attendant rituals of habit] with what is a pattern of addictive behaviour. Inevitably, a very long slow process can take as many years to un-learn as it took to establish in the first place. It means learning how to live day by day on nothing, on a sensory diet of nothing in particular and this will eventually stop the cravings. That is the basis of the Zen approach mentioned above. It means being able to ‘enjoy’ ordinary life as it is. Additionally, it means being able to discover and enjoy oneself just as we are. In these senses, it might be seen as a very joyful and refreshing path to follow. To the addict, this may sound like a very boring form of sense deprivation – which is exactly what it is!" purifymind.com/ "WHEN our real inner self is led astray by human desires, we all know that desires are bottomless. We all will not be able to do anything of our own free will, and we become the slaves of human desires. THE power of temptation of human desires is doubly brutal. Some people always try to attain their desires with nefarious tactics. The moment we have a thought like this, the moment we lose the chance to contact our real inner self, we are going to be gone far away from purifying our mind. ALWAYS keep a watch on thoughts in your mind. Try to realize or know what and where your thoughts are. As a matter of fact, according to the experienced people’s idea, “Thoughts always vanish when you watch them.” If we could practice like this all the time, the power of our thoughts will decrease over time. This is not a very easy level to reach, but at least we have an idea that there is a way to get rid of thoughts. LIKE we mentioned, things arise always depending on conditions: when conditions come together or gather together, things arise; when conditions disperse or dispel, things cease. [This is a doubly important notion]. When we understand this notion, we will also understand that everything in the universe is impermanent; from this point of view, it should be easy to get rid of CLINGING, and always persisting in our opinion. Always remember and practice the notion of IMPERMANENCE. This will help to purify our mind a lot."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2019 18:06:40 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2019 12:55:11 GMT
Buddha Nature
"The Buddha said that all phenomena—including us—are conditioned, and all conditioned phenomena are impermanent. Far from being single, independent, and unchanging, we are made up of many parts, a product of causes and conditions, and constantly changing. Yet Buddhism does say we have an essential nature that transcends conditioned or material existence. In the Mahayana, this is called buddhanature, the open expanse of awakeness in which all good qualities reside."
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2019 18:30:48 GMT
Buddhism, like all religions, is a mess... Created, with time, by human greed, lust for attention, power, etc... This guy is quite annoying, but he happens to be one of the very few real translators of ancient Buddhist texts: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKwM6Xn7FdkIs it a shocker, that most so called Buddhists never read a single original text? Never actually thought on such with their own head. Exactly like the so called Christians... If you don't know already what he is trying to say that is wrong in modern Buddhism (from common sense), better listen carefully, since Buddhism has some nasty aspects like any other popular believe. One fun fact is that the original Buddhism lasted less then 100 years after Buddha, and was replaced by competing sects. Now if you ask these guys any philosophical question, they will just tell you - I can answer only in accordance to my sect... I have had exactly 0 sane conversations with Buddhists, exactly the same with Christians, although I'm interested in the truth in both religions... The issue is, most religious people, are not actually interested in the religion itself. They are interested in few believes that they really like (ignoring the other 95%), and the idea of being part of a bigger human movement...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2019 19:30:20 GMT
Thanks for your post interim. I agree with some of this. I think it depends on which buddhist but yeah generally it is about sects and amongst sects there is a ton of arguing. There are also western atheist buddhists some of which say interesting useful things about applying buddhist ideas in a practical down to earth way however they are still stuck within what is another belief. I have had some sane conversations with buddhists though irl and some within a forum and in a chat. Zen types, loner types, intellectual/atheist, new agey etc. Plenty of sectless buddhists. It just depends who you find. Though ive had arguments again on how a lot of buddhists do things like worship statues of buddha etc things that seem so opposed to the fundamental ideas but whatever really. It is true that human religions are all pretty much screwed. But in the end its up to yourself to find out what's best for you. Especially through personal experience. That is actually the most important thing to do rather than reading texts tbh. The Buddha never wrote anything down himself and so the texts are all just interpretations of what he said. Zen takes a approach that avoids texts for example. There are many ppl born into religion culturally too which is quite different. But again I think identifying yourself with a religion is unhelpful nor is following anything in that way.
" In Buddhism, direct experience is regarded as the most essential, if not the only, component of its method of inquiry for its practitioners in getting access to and confirming the truth of the world around us." That is the most important thing to take away.
That said I think Buddhism deserves to be criticized, for a long time I hated it and would not read it for many reasons. Like it mirroring the harmful aspects of christianity etc. Hierachy, threatening people and controlling them etc.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2019 14:35:06 GMT
According to Buddha the gross level of our conscious awareness – conceptual and sensory – for sure depends upon the brain. That is evident. If the brain and our nervous system are not functioning properly, then everything comes out confused, doesn’t it? But Buddha’s point is that there are subtler levels of consciousness that do not depend upon the brain, upon any part of the physical body at all.
Buddhism says we all possess “Buddha nature”: Buddha is a Sanskrit word that simply means fully awakened and it refers to the state of mind of a person who, having removed all the pollution from their own mind, has discovered their own pure nature. It’s something psychological, not some religious concept. And it doesn’t exist out there somewhere; it’s our very nature. Water in its nature is pure. It can be polluted, but that pollution never permanently transforms the water: the water always remains water nature. The pollution can be removed from the water and what you’re left with is natural pure water: you can’t remove water nature from water: it’s what it is. Mind is the same. Its nature is pure, and pure means virtue. It’s not some abstract concept. Buddha mind is what is left once every atom of pollution, delusion, has been removed. And that Buddha mind, being infinite virtue, simply perpetuates itself forever. It pervades the universe: there’s not an atom space where that mind can’t be.
So, attachment – as I said, one of the ways it functions is, in an almost primordial way, to give rise to neediness. It’s there even when everything is going fine: your body’s just beautiful, you’ve got the best husband or lover on earth, you’ve got enough money, the weather’s lovely – all the things we imagine to be the causes of happiness all seem to be in place. But if we dare just to sit, we’ll always find an underlying dissatisfaction. Any sense of well-being, if it is there, doesn’t last long. That dissatisfaction, when it’s really raw, is unbearable pain, isn’t it – when things go really wrong. So, how this neediness and dissatisfaction relate to attachment and the suffering we experience as happiness is like this: it’s as if we were junkies (just use that as an analogy). In other words, we have the type of mind that is always craving something to give it relief from dissatisfaction. The happiness we get now, Buddha is saying, is based on this craving mind, just like the junkie’s: it’s based on attachment. Therefore, when attachment doesn’t get what it wants there’s this immense dissatisfaction, frantic grasping and freaking-out; we’re miserable; things are a disaster. So, then, we frantically look for the junk to get the fix: the cake, the person, the job, the money, the good sound, the praise... we label it; we search it out. When we get it, then we get the fix. When we get the fix is when we get the relief. That relief is what we call happiness. That sounds like a depressing picture, but it’s an interesting one to look at.
A person who’s given up being a junkie is like the person who’s achieved the state of nirvana – the freedom from needing the junk in the first place. If you’re not a junkie and you look on at someone who is you don’t even think about getting a fix, because you don’t want one: you’re fulfilled already
Anger is the response when attachment doesn’t get what it wants – when carrot cake comes instead of chocolate cake. We’ve got it all worked out, all tightly controlled; we know exactly, we want this, we want this, we want this; then, we do all this manipulating to make sure we get exactly that one thing. But the more we try to control what we get, the more we freak out when the wrong thing comes. It’s just logical. It’s not because there’s anything wrong with carrot cake (and we think there is), it’s not because there’s anything so delicious about chocolate cake (and we think there is), it’s only because we’re so dependent on having that certain thing and have done all kinds of manipulating to get it.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2019 16:33:33 GMT
One of the fundamental teachings of Buddhism postulates the entelechy of wholeness and worth that we all possess inherently. Limbach states, “Nothing is wasted, nothing is discarded, everything is workable and has a place” (11). This basic wholeness means that we have a birthright of belonging to the earth, which I think can be a comforting principle to remind ourselves when we don’t feel valuable. The First Noble Truth describes that life always involves suffering, even when things feel good. The other three noble truths discuss the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the path to enlightenment and freedom from suffering. If we live a life full of love and happiness, we are also bound to experience the absence of these feelings at other times. When we do experience times of suffering, Limbach urges us to thank these periods of suffering for the information they give us about who we are. somaticpsychotherapytoday.com/tea-and-cake-with-demons-a-buddhist-guide-to-feeling-worthy/
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2020 14:10:30 GMT
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Post by mironlang on Mar 9, 2020 0:56:19 GMT
100% agree!
Good quote!
Believe nothing!
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Post by Stranger2 on Mar 9, 2020 18:06:26 GMT
100% agree!
Good quote!
Believe nothing!
Well, the problem is, if you really want to be consistent in "believing nothing", then you have to be a solipsist. Because even the existence of anything except for your own consciousness, including external world and other people, is only an unprovable belief, or at least an assumption. So, we necessarily have to make certain assumptions about the reality, whether we turn them into beliefs or not.
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Post by mironlang on Mar 9, 2020 23:16:46 GMT
100% agree!
Good quote!
Believe nothing!
Well, the problem is, if you really want to be consistent in "believing nothing", then you have to be a solipsist. Because even the existence of anything except for your own consciousness, including external world and other people, is only an unprovable belief, or at least an assumption. So, we necessarily have to make certain assumptions about the reality, whether we turn them into beliefs or not. That problem is strictly yours, not mine.
i googled 'solipsist' .. i think i can learn some things there.
what i mean by not believing anything is... its just either "I know" or "I dont know" ... i do not believe in anything at all at this point.
unprovable belief = THe need to prove anything is only valid if that is the role you chose in your existence in this reality.... if not there is no need.
Making assumptions are disastrous in my experience, if it works for others then i am happy for them
Thanks for the time
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Post by Stranger2 on Mar 10, 2020 12:21:04 GMT
what i mean by not believing anything is... its just either "I know" or "I dont know" ... i do not believe in anything at all at this point.
OK, that's fine, but I'm just curious what do you know. Let me ask you: do you know if 1. your consciousness exists? 2. anything outside your consciousness exists? 2. my consciousness exists? 3. material world exists?
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