ITALY
#####################
"You should never be ashamed to admit you have been wrong. It only proves you are wiser today than yesterday."
-- Jonathan Swift
#########################
##############################
As a Zen Buddhist priest, people sometimes ask me what the quickest way to experience Awakening in the here-and-now is. While I cannot speak for women, the answer for men is to find someone who is willing to give you a swift and hard kick to the balls.
At that very moment, all experiences of stress and anxieties will cease along with all forms of craving. There will be nothing left in the here-and-now but the steadfast focus on that pain, nothing else can disturb or penetrate your mind. In fact, the experience of this most effective Yoga will so consume you, that there will be no concept of past, present or future, nor the wish for the pain to remain or go away. There will only be that very moment.
Sadly, we cannot go around asking people to kick us in the balls all day, it's both creepy and harmful to our general well-being. Thus my answer to the above-mentioned question is to not seek the quickest way. Rather we should instead seek the most reliable way, which of course is to establish a proper meditation practice.
So there, any more questions?
##########################
With clear and steady insight He sees this world is a mirage, And he no longer wonders about it. How can he fear the approach of death?
#################
MAYA , gone in <100 yrs
################
This may be a bit tangential for this group, but here goes:
The boundaries of the universe are ineffable. It is filled with rocks, dust, water, ice, unimaginable temperatures on both ends, suns, black holes, pulsars, etc. We are tiny little people on a small planet with a small star. Setting aside “alien seeding,” and putting a pin in the god question, how did consciousness arise from such a mix? How does all that produce what you and I know as our personality, our frame of view, our desires and loathings, our loves and our broken hearts? And if you can answer that, then tell me why. In this context what is the purpose of it all? Without God or alien seeding the meaninglessness of it all is overwhelming. (I don’t mean to depress, but it is a legit question).
###########################
I think that consciousness is inherent in everything from the beginning. The why is that it’s a big festive to which we are all invited, for a time, and then others get their turns.
#####################
B
Consciousness in the Buddhist tradition is one of the Aggregates. Form, feeling, perception and fabrications(thought constructs ) are the others. Consciousness is dependent(on contact viz. D.O.) and Impermanent, no solace there I'm afraid.
It seems to me that Our Buddha's declaration that there is no abiding place or ground of Atman to settle onto or into holds the key. Let the mind free, do not constrain it and let Karma be your guide to worldly conduct.
We are all so incredibly fortunate to be together here to ponder such things, pat on the back to us all
#######################
Has anybody thought how awesome thoughts are? There's this tendency for meditators to strive for no thought or no thoughts arising. But stop a minute, where would we be without thoughts of our ancestors and peers? No medicines, computers, solar panels, housing, alloys, gas, electric, TV, gps the list is endless. So next time someone asks you to Empty your mind you can have a little giggle.
######################
Well, suicidal for 6 years, homeless for 3, fortunately after being mass laid off post 9/11 Radisson Hotels and Resorts ( 2.4 million booked in 2010, bty, recognized for it, duh), having serendipitously discovered Zen earlier that year, drawing 42 wks unemployment, living with couple cats, just enough to pay living expenses, embarked on 24/7 sitting practice for 2 years before entering homeless, becoming suicidal again, going into VA psychiatric wing for 2 weeks, treatment team of half dozen doctors, interns: 'Tod are you still having thoughts of harming yourself?' How compassionate they are! Diagnosed Bipolar II Affective Mood Disorder, they saved my life! So, discovered that full awareness Zazen in the moment, all I have to do is not harm myself. Thinking doesn't help me, in that regard. As My life last 20 years has been a ping pong ball bouncing down a river ( VA Section 8 voucher Program saved me from homelessness this time, 4 years ago, been easy peasy since then, it's Obama's program, so not there '03-'07). As Alan Watts, says, it became a kind of ecstasy. Somehow, I become the empty space in which everything is happening. True story!
########################
DWM
What about just eating antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables? The reason we care about DNA damage is that we care about cancer. What if you measured the beta-carotene levels in people exposed to arsenic who went on to develop cancer, compared to those who got exposed to the same amount of arsenic but didn’t get cancer? Beta-carotene is like a proxy for healthy fruit and vegetable intake. The way you get high levels in your blood is by eating lots of healthy foods, like greens and sweet potatoes. Compared to those with low levels of beta-carotene in their blood, those with high levels had 99 percent lower odds of getting arsenic-induced cancer, as you can see at 4:34 in my video. So, if you’re going to eat rice, why not have some rice with some sweet potatoes on top?
###################
B Zen-
Thoughts rise & fallLike ocean waves:
No surfboard needed.
#################
A That which Is, is only one.
Some call it Shakti, some Shiva, some Vishnu, some Jesus and some B
People give it whatever names they like.
What does it matter if the names they give are different?
That which Is, is only One.
~Sri Ramana Maharshi
##########################
There are two ways to be fooled.One is to believe what isn't true;the other is to refuse to believe what is true.~ Soren Kierkegaard 
####################
A Sugar can not taste itself.
###################
A How many are there in this body - one or two?'
If two, why do people say `I' and not `we'?
There is therefore only one.
BHAGAVAN
####################
A As there is only Being,
without a second,
anything seen cannot be real.
That is the truth.
BHAGAVAN.
####################
C BIRTHDAY IN WORLD - SEP 9
#####################
A Bhagavan's famous instruction 'summa iru' [be still] is often misunderstood. It does not mean that you should be physically still, it means that you should always abide in the Self. In sattva guna [a state of mental quietness and clarity] there is stillness and harmony. If mental activity is necessary while one is in sattva guna it takes place. But for the rest of the time there is stillness. If sattva guna predominates one experiences peace, bliss, clarity and an absence of wandering thoughts. That is the stillness that Bhagavan was prescribing.
Annamalai Swami
#####################
No comments:
Post a Comment