Apech

Thanks for sharing sunshine - hope you are feeling much better now.

I'm with you on this one Manitou.

How can you say that when it is written in the teachings 'thou shalt be furry, white and walk like an Egyptian' - clearly you need to study these things properly otherwise your chakras will get fuzzy and karma will fizz like diet cola.

Hey Cat the trouble with you is you don't got no troubles.

Just winding this back a few hours. I'm not sure you got this off track single handed Ralis - its takes a few TaoBums to do that . This was quite an interesting thread until people went off on the usual Karma/Dzogchen thing ... It would be great if people could avoid telling other posters that there is something wrong with them (or their practice) on the basis of what they have read on here. We don't really know each other, most of us have never met, even if we had it would take some extraordinary genius to work out 'what's wrong' with the other person. So how the hell can anyone know what is up with anyone else on here on the basis of a quickly typed post??? I would suggest caution on this front - I know it would annoy the hell out of me if anyone tried it ... its one of the reasons threads descend into personal abuse ... (and you know what happens then ). I think that (and I know this is what Buddhist teachings say) Karma is impossible to understand properly from a relative point of view. It is quite a powerful working praxis in my view and also 'explains' or rather provides a working view for all the shit that happens (without the divine judgment thing). Also it tends to make you think twice before being nasty - which must be good. I think that some people derive great joy from alcohol - not me I can take it or leave it really - I just get woozy, fall over and pee myself - no great experience. i do think it tends to distort emotions - something to do with being 'water' I guess. I was taught that the higher teachings (Mahamudra in this case but also Dzogchen) do uphold the whole of dharma - Four Noble Truths and so on - so I agree with Vaj on this one. However it is also true that someone could attain the state mind without the rest of dharma - but then they wouldn't be Buddhist would they? so why even refer to any Buddhist terms e.g. Dzogchen. On one level it is all bollocks - just words - but on another it is what we have, what we work with and what we experience - so its not bollocks at all.

Swan Lake, Soweto Murder my wife! Big white bird. A nut cracker? Sweeeeet.

dont pierce the condom. Hey didn't you hear me say Need a wiki leak! (fixed the two posts - you guys are too fast )

Moved to discussion thread and bumped.

Vapid, black, tar pit. Look like a good place to go Need a wiki leak.

I and I in haze, It's that hairspray makes me cough, But my quiff is stiff.

I can't accept any of the arguments made here about CC. With the exception of Magical Passes - which I regard as a commercial enterprise - all the books are startlingly alive and full of ideas which have an immediate impact on the reader (supposing the reader is receptive to them). He himself on the other hand shows all the qualities of a man not up to the task ... the task being that of acting as the Nagual for others. Its not the 'lies' but the manipulation and sexual jealousy (the Wallace book) that demonstrate this ... in fact this mirrors exactly the fate of the so called three-pronged Nagual which he is supposed to have become in the books. In the books there are a multitude of accurate and meaningful observations and practices which are, no matter how much he a a writer may have lied, in themselves true. I do not accept that the assemblage point is a fantasy as another poster put it and his descriptions of altered states of consiousness ring true (although in the later books the 'blue scout' and the flyers do seem to be the products of increasing imbalance). I have no way of proving it or otherwise but I have always felt that CC did meet someone - (or possibly some people) - who did know what they were doing - and this inspired him and gave him valid teachings. What failed was his attempt to perpetuate those teachings properly. I do not accept that the whole of what is in the books is just bits and pieces gleaned from other writers and sources. Some of it is just too accurate.

By not wanting to be first, you are first. Are you a true Sage Marblehead???

Taste not, matters not. No salt? There's no seasoning! Bowl. Eggs. Noodles. Steam.

On the news today that hackers have closed down Mastercard and other sites which have withdrawn services from Wikileaks - also hacked the lawyers website apparently. Its more interesting to see how the cyber-battle pans out than any of the content of the leaks. This kind of thing is more or less inevitable once the internet is there - I'm just surprised its taken so long to get to this point.

:lol::lol: good one!

That's nice from someone who practices a system full of syncretic deities!

The Wikileaks thing is interesting but I don't think it's as significant as people make out. I cannot imagine the diplomats being able to carry on their business without being able to brief and comment in confidence. Now they know that stuff can be leaked they will just find a new encrypted or secure way to keep chatting - which is what (most of the time) we want them to be doing. Nothing is new under the heavens - its just the technology that has got bigger and possibly better.

confused by numbers! Run wildly from five to three No-one to count on.

I'm a bit confused and don't read Chinese. Are the two readings of REN justified by the text? i.e 'kernel' and 'humane'. If not why the difference? Why is it 'nobility' and not 'people' who are straw dogs?

Ah nice.

Yea but what is it? (forgive ignorance)

Get Firefox ... and a full range of emotions!

But... but you do cultivate grapes if you want them to grow!

I think its good to have such a wide range of contacts and views on here. You can read about all sorts of stuff that you would find it hard to come across normally. Great to chat with like minded people or at least people who share some of the same interests. Its a good support to practice but no substitute for practice. You have to get on with your own work. What other people have achieved or done means little to me ... I am only really concerned about my own progress and understanding ... good luck to them ... that's it.

Until you guys started debating whether the posts were actually relevant to Ch. 3 - I thought the discussion was relevant to Ch. 3. So on this occasion I don't agree with Rene (though I usually do). Anyone can start a thread/topic it doesn't have to be a Mod. I would see an argument for at some point going through the Chapter threads and moving out the tangential discussion - but this could be controversial and so should only be done with general agreement. My reason for this is so a new member can easily click on and get the full range of views for study purposes without distraction. I see nothing else to moderate on here (although Aaron/Twinner is leading).