silent thunder

Really good point. Instinctively there is an awareness of that power within the religious mind form. The hate exists, prior to the religion. The religion provides a source of power from which to feed the hateful premise.

Game. Set. Match!

Nicely said. I focus on the distinction between revenge and protection. That distinction (however semantic), is the fulcrum for me to remain on the path, while engaging in violent behavior (verbal or physical). Verses 31 and 74 DDJ say it better than I do. For me intention is so vital. I engage fully in defense because of love. I cultivate discipline for protection so that I may avoid violence if possible, overpower it if necessary. For me, protection does not include preemptive measures. Prepare with the hope of peace, but prepare. I use weapons (verbal and physical), with utmost restraint and I feel no joy in victory, but a kind of forlorn sadness at the conditions that made such violence necessary. I'm projecting onto Wirathu my own assumptions of his intentions, hence my sorrow for the situation. So difficult to see beyond one side being right and one wrong. Both are parts of the whole, yet seem incongruent. Sad, difficult, nasty quagmire it seems to me.

I've recently lost my desire to punish. I achieved this through no effort or great knowledge. I did not achieve this. A natural manifestation of my awareness. When I fall in love, no effort. I do not achieve love. Love manifests.

two, a hundred million, seven billion, all the same

Before you set out on a path of revenge, first dig two graves.

Wirathu = i wrath u Sorrow for his path. See attachment to expectation as a condition to be lost in rage.

5 posts will open that option. Welcome to the bums.

Want to dive into that ocean.

just curious... are you and sree related?

That's got to be a wild experience! I've never experienced anything like that in seated meditation. I used to be a stage actor and the last show I performed in as an actor was at LaMama in NYC, back in the early 90's. It was a script adapted from the poetry of Rumi and all the actors learned to whirl in the dervish tradition for the show. I found that the only time I got dizzy while whirling was when I was trying to be in the mind and follow thoughts. If I let go and released to the process, it was very pure and there was zero nausea or disorientation, even when whirling for 40 minutes or more.

I've had a few trips outside the meat suit. Never voluntary though, a very impressive feat that.

I once had a lucid dream where I was trying to reconcile Escherian boxes and pillars incongruent with waking reality. Became so disoriented in my dream state, that I woke myself up and promptly vomited. lmao. Escher will get a big wet kiss from me for that one, when I meet him on the other side.

Really good stuff you're engaged in, even though it likely feels shitty. This confusion is born from questioning the source underlying your life and will no doubt lead you to stronger footing soon. I applaud you. While I have no answers, there are a couple questions I'd ask if you were hanging at my campsite. Are writing and cultivating mutually exclusive, or can you find a balance for them that works beneficially? Has cultivating brought you to an awareness that your happiness from writing was not true happiness and no longer serves you? Any passions as great as the ones you have for writing and cultivating usually stem from your core. Even if following them takes you a bit off-center at times, I would be very wary about casting off anything so close to your heart. Nietzche said it very well. "Be careful when you cast out your demons that you don't throw away the best of yourself." Our worst foes are our most efficient teachers. One thing seems certain from my experience, cultivation is going to affect every other aspect of your life, providing you with a shifting lense that will change your perspective as you pursue it. Could be an adjustment period as your life seed gestates a bit while conditions are changing. Either way, if you decide to stop pursuing writing for a living, I would encourage you to keep writing as a passion. Write about your cultivation experience and share it with the rest of us bums at the very minimum. Best wishes Fox. Namaste

I so love this. Really reminds me that no matter which road you take, they all lead back to source. I love the striking similarities between modern physics and ancient eastern cosmology.

and now to contradict myself entirely... my emotional shenpa prompted me to reach out and find this sad symbol which unfortunately, more accurately portrays my nations' ideals.

I build scenery for a living and will definitely go check this out when I'm in the area. Just have no idea how they pulled it off. Even though I'd kind of hate to have the illusion broken. Curiosity wins.

I had a tree fort for that...

I love this. Talk about a paradigm buster... It makes my inner fundamentalist/skeptic rage in a great way.

I have the sense that the sum total of my 'existence' can be viewed as a vibrational frequency. Where I am and where I end up is based on how my frequency relates to those around it. My energy will naturally settle where it is most natural.

It seems like a law of nations. The larger a system grows, the more its corruption grows and so it dwindles. It seems like anything that gets very large and successful, attracts those who would feed off the fat and so inevitably, it dissolves from within due to the growth of corrupting/parasitic feeders. I guess that's the yin in the yang. Grow too large and become small. Hard to watch it happen in slow motion with the feeling of not being able to meaningfully affect it. My focus tends toward smaller, local issues for me to invest any emotion in these days. Something I can directly affect with my will.

Welcome!

canned pressed meat paste food... precursor to soylent green...