Meditation - Essential to Buddhism

[sentient]

Originally Posted by janielee

Fascinating stuff, hey, this world of conventions

Lol!

Originally Posted by janielee

Yes I had to admire how Trungpa Rinpoche caused some angst in his students, and I particularly liked the yawning part and look of having eaten something unappetizing in response to Pema calling herself 'nice'. I laughed at that. Fantastic.

I know the conventional truth is a veil, but it drives one up the wall, when the “elephant in the room” is neither seen nor acknowledged.
What a relief Trungpa’s humour was and that he addressed these problems in his book: “Cutting through Spiritual Materialism”.

He would have copped this a LOT ….. too much insanity to deal with tbh ….. at times I personally really could not have dealt with it - found my way back to balance had it not been for Aboriginal Elders who see both the Absolute/Emptiness (Dreamtime) view with the conventional irl - AS “What Is”…

Humour is the relief in the “Gods must be Crazy” conventional world, wish I had it instead of the “Vajra Buddha Family” neurosis, but hey we all have our own crosses to bear.

Oh. I just saw a book: Moonshadows: Conventional Truth in Buddhist Philosophy as a pdf download, in case somebody is interested - don’t know if it is any good but:

https://anarchistbooks.files.wordpre...e-cowherds.pdf

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[Phaelyn]

Originally Posted by janielee

Trungpa Rinpoche is a realized individual; no doubt about it, in my opinion.

Well he no longer exists as whatever he was to individuals who knew of him. The consciousness that was in that life and person is now somewhere else and something else. Dealing with the effects he had on others in that past life. That's all that matters in the end, the effects we manifest in others and ourselves. Did we create any suffering in ourselves or others? Did we eliminate any suffering in ourselves and others? Did we seek to harm others or ourselves in any way? Did we even unconsciously cause harm to others or ourselves?

This is off in the belief realm, so who knows, but there is a way some have spoken about to learn that does not involve another whole incarnation. It's a way we have to learn between lives. It involves meeting up with someone we have harmed in a past life, and through a particular technique, we re-live the experience from their perspective. For example, I bullied a person in a past life, I would meet up with that person between incarnations, go into their memories and re-live that experience as if I was them, I would merge with their minds, experience that bullying from their perspective, feel what they did as if I was them. A rather intense way to learn compassion and empathy. To fully understand the results of our actions and choices, what we created in another.

[Phaelyn]

It really makes no difference if one is a realized master or a dishwasher, a guru or a maid, a pope or a plumber, a buddha or a homeless beggar, all that matters is the unconditional love we deny or embrace in each moment. The love we are or are not. One's title and role in life is meaningless. One's popularity and success are also meaningless. If we are rich or poor, meaningless. All that matters is that divine love we can walk with no matter what we are, or where we are. How much we let it be us. If we make room for it to be present and manifest, instead of our ego. In the end, we discover we are that, hidden under all of this other non-sense we fill our time with.

Karaniya Metta Sutta: The Buddha

This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech,
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied,
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm and wise and skillful,
Not proud or demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.
Wishing: In gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born —
May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,
Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings;
Radiating kindness over the entire world:
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed views,
The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.

[sentient]

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

That's all that matters in the end, the effects we manifest in others and ourselves. Did we create any suffering in ourselves or others? Did we eliminate any suffering in ourselves and others? Did we seek to harm others or ourselves in any way? Did we even unconsciously cause harm to others or ourselves?

The narcissists pattern is for you to play an imaginary role (enabler – enabling) their fantasy reality.

The greatest FEAR for HURT - for a narcissist is to have their false self, the mask exposed, uncovered.

True – done unskilfully, this unmasking could send the narcissist into psychosis, besides not everyone can unmask in this lifetime.

*

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

Some philosophy teacher at a community college told our class that. I'll google it as I have no idea. I'm still confused about BCE BC AD and all of that lol.


Ok that didn't help.

What? So Buddha's birth day is based on Christ's birth day??? Why? Time starts at zero when Jesus was born? So there is before christ time and after christ time? What about the parts of the world that don't believe in Christ at all... what is time there.... what year is it there?



So is this year basically 2020 A.D.?





Time is not very precise eh.... but then what year it is would be made up anyway.....why not start with the big bang? Well because then we would have to list todays date as 13 billion, 8 million, 147,895.... or something like that.

Ok back to how long ago Buddha lived....

I'll just make a guess based on the above which I'm still iffy about if I understand it or not....

So it is now 2020, Jesus was born in the year 1, when the monk started counting years, Buddha was born around 500 years before Jesus so Buddha would have been born around 2520 years ago if I did that right. Yea you get what you pay for in community college.

There are Buddhist, Christian and Muslim calendars. The Buddhist calendar I use is 543 years ahead of our Calendar. Using that Calendar, the year is 2563.

I used to travel a lot, and when I would go thru Customs, I would have to show invoices. Can you imagine the agents face when he saw an invoice 543 years in the future and then looked at another invoice that was from the distant past (Muslim)?

Originally Posted by sentient

He would have copped this a LOT ….. too much insanity to deal with tbh ….. at times I personally really could not have dealt with it - found my way back to balance had it not been for Aboriginal Elders who see both the Absolute/Emptiness (Dreamtime) view with the conventional irl - AS “What Is”…

Humour is the relief in the “Gods must be Crazy” conventional world, wish I had it instead of the “Vajra Buddha Family” neurosis, but hey we all have our own crosses to bear.

Oh. I just saw a book: Moonshadows: Conventional Truth in Buddhist Philosophy as a pdf download, in case somebody is interested - don’t know if it is any good but:

https://anarchistbooks.files.wordpre...e-cowherds.pdf

*

I can only assume that these teachers have a very strong foundation so they cope through that strength.

You are admirable from my perspective, sentient.

I will take a look at the link

Thanks,

JL

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

It really makes no difference if one is a realized master or a dishwasher, a guru or a maid, a pope or a plumber, a buddha or a homeless beggar, all that matters is the unconditional love we deny or embrace in each moment. The love we are or are not. One's title and role in life is meaningless. One's popularity and success are also meaningless. If we are rich or poor, meaningless. All that matters is that divine love we can walk with no matter what we are, or where we are. How much we let it be us. If we make room for it to be present and manifest, instead of our ego. In the end, we discover we are that, hidden under all of this other non-sense we fill our time with.

Karaniya Metta Sutta: The Buddha

This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech,
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied,
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm and wise and skillful,
Not proud or demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.
Wishing: In gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born —
May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,
Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings;
Radiating kindness over the entire world:
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed views,
The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.

Good sutta

Thanks,

JL

[sentient]

Originally Posted by janielee

I can only assume that these teachers have a very strong foundation so they cope through that strength.

Their “Refuge in Emptiness” is solid as a rock …
If not - even when realized – well, I am very familiar with problems with alcohol.

Originally Posted by janielee

You are admirable from my perspective, sentient.

Making statements like that – you’ll soon discover the opposite.

*

I took a link at the link. Admittedly, I lack the intellectual rigor and discipline to work through it

Namaste,
JL

Originally Posted by sentient

Their “Refuge in Emptiness” is solid as a rock …

I suspect it is more than that

Originally Posted by sentient

If not - even when realized – well, I am very familiar with problems with alcohol.

I see.

Originally Posted by sentient

Making statements like that – you’ll soon discover the opposite.

*

Is that an intention?

Take care,

JL