yabyum24

Completely agree.

Also, are you going to have sexual yogas?

You're definitely on form today sir!

But thanks for the duality-POV.

That's no problem dee, as I am very dualistic as a being. There's no escaping the fact that I am, and nowadays I'm more than willing to admit it. When I first learned about emptiness, I realised that "nothing existed" but no matter how often I read and debated this, (and boy did I debate it) I still, surprisingly, got angry and desirous depending on the occasion.

I remember leaving my Buddhist meeting one Sunday evening and making my way to the taxi rank. It was late and the taxi queue was full of drunken revelers. I was able to nevertheless generate dispassion for the scene by considering what we had just learned and meditated upon - that "all is mere illusion".

One pretty and quite busty girl came over to me giggling, and lifted her top to reveal her naked breasts. She said something like "Bet you know all about these, don't you?" Her friends were in hysterics. (note: I didn't have a girlfriend at that time).

I was suddenly very embarrassed and as I quickly climbed into the taxi, the driver said "They're all f***ing slappers, I can't stand them". I can still recall the hatred in his voice.

There was a lesson in that for me. At the time I thought I just needed to redouble my efforts to understand emptiness but in hindsight, as a young man confronted by a girl pushing her breasts up against me, there was only so far up my own arse I was able to go.

I'm proposing the theory that desires are not really desires (since we desire what is not there and has no existence) but are labeled desires and under that label is our need to control certain outcomes which stem from fear.

Does that make more sense?

Interesting idea but I come at it from the other way round, that control & fear follow on from desire. We fear not getting what we want and thus have a need to control matters. If we had no desires, there would be no fear because at the base of this is the desire for life (becoming). We are desire realm beings after all.

I once had my tarot cards read many years ago. I went with a girl I knew who had heard the lady was good.

It was very interesting as I was expecting a kind of vague verbiage which could be applied to just about anyone with a bit of imagination.

It wasn't like that at all. The lady went into a kind of trance and told me things which had happened in my childhood and past, which I'd never shared with anyone.

They were specific incidents which she could not have known about. Then she moved to the present and got it all 100% right and then to the future.

With hindsight, she was right about that too.

I was quite shaken up when I left and didn't discuss it with my friend. I've never had another reading since but I believe that some people (amongst the charlatans) have the gift. Thing is, you never know which.

A new avatar pic maybe? (ambitious eh?)

Got there in the end... not sure if it still counts though!

I looked up the average temperatures there by month. I will be going in July or August . Too cold the rest of the year!

 

The person hosting me lives about an hour outside of Oslo. I did notice a LOT of nice trees around on google earth .

 

Is it possible to get around norway by transit? How is the train system if I want to head over to sweden to check it out?

 

The most expensive places I have been have been in a switzerland and the amsterdam airports! Thank you for the warning, I wouldn't have thought of that, and it will definitely be important when I quote a price.

 

So what do people do in Norway? I don't like touristy things generally... more natural wonders.

 

Is there enough private space out in nature where one wouldn't be disturbed?

 

How are the beaches?

 

How jam packed is the area? I live in an area which I thought had a lot of people and was very busy... until I traveled the rest of the world!

Summer is a great time to be there, mid-summer especially - they dance around maypoles and take the day off. You can hardly blame them, the winter must suck! The weather was warm when we were there - I even got a tan!!! The days are very long and if you head north above the arctic circle, the sun doesn't set at all.

The train system is pretty good but it's worth planning an itinerary in advance. Most European countries have cheap(er) fares if it's booked online in advance. You can see a lot of nature from the train window, as they cut past mountains, glaciers and crystal clear lakes.

The people are quiet and unassuming (northern temperament) but they like the great outdoors and with a population of only about 3 million, you won't see many of them once you get away from the urban centers. It's easy enough to get into Sweden, which is flatter and more forested. The wooden stave churches are beautiful. If you're in Oslo, you should visit the Viking Museum.

Beaches? No idea, as I didn't really visit the coast but I've heard that the fjords are breathtaking, albeit better to see from a boat.

Just be careful of the milk in Sweden. They drink a kind of sour milk which tastes like it's gone off. I poured a load over my muesli for breakfast one morning!!!

I am more concerned with ending fabrications - and more concepts are just going to keep me running in circles.

Well said. Views are tough to dispose of though, as they seem to point to facets of truth. There's always the suspicion (or hope) that if we acquire more of them, sooner or later we'll hit the mother load. The fear that if we don't, we'll miss the party.

That said, the only thing I've ever found that really counts is what has been found in meditation. Insomuch as it has affected my life for the better, helped me drop (to some extent) the stress of self etc.

I would also say that anatta means not-self, rather than no-self. The first is a direct astonishing discovery, the second an intellectually fabricated ontological view.

Norway rocks! Most of them speak English better than native speakers and they are friendly, polite nation. I had a great three weeks back packing and youth hosteling around Norway, Sweden & Finland many years ago.

Norway is spectacular. Being a Canadian, you'll appreciate the raw beauty of nature and Norway has it in bucket loads. We flew into Bergen, travelled across to Oslo and then onto Trondheim before crossing into Sweden.

The only thing to look out for are the prices (ouch). The only person I met who thought it was reasonable was a Swiss guy!

Greetings folks.

Just something I thought I'd share and get some feedback.

 

I've had many different meditation experiences over the years. Voidness, peace and tranquility, heat, cold, intuition, being-ness etc etc. Lately, a new feeling/experience has entered my meditation sessions. A feeling that my whole body is expanding on the in-breath, and contracting on the out-breath.

I can also sense individual parts of the body as they expand and contract. Hands, feet, arms, legs, shoulders, back, hips, head. Not only that, but I can feel the insides such as muscle, bone, tendon, blood, veins expanding and contracting.

This has come upon me without any conscious control. I've just been sitting as normal in full lotus, focussing on the mechanism of breathing. Not placing my awareness in any particular place such as the belly, nose or third eye. Just the breathing in, and then out.

Sitting without a goal in mind.

This is all very interesting to me and also very pleasant.

Over and out.

Brilliant. Keep at it.

What can one expect though with the masses raised in Marxist indoctrination camps (Government Education)?

I'm not sure where you'd need to be philosophically, to describe western schools in such terms.

When I was a kid, Mandela was in prison and considered a terrorist by the establishment, along with anyone else who wasn't white and was asking for equality.

I don't "worship" anyone btw, so no worries on that score.

 

your argument is 100% non-existent

No argument wolf, just an observation born of personal experience and I mean it well, as I've been there. I personally wouldn't give this stuff the time of day.

The man's anger is not yours, you don't have to take ownership of it. Let him keep it:

 

The Reviler

Once while the Blessed One stayed near Rajagaha in the Veluvana Monastery at the Squirrels' Feeding Place, there lived at Rajagha a Brahman of the Bharadvaja clan who was later called "the Reviler." When he learned that one of his clan had gone forth from home life and had become a monk under the recluse Gotama, he was angry and displeased. And in that mood he went to see the Blessed One, and having arrived he reviled and abused him in rude and harsh speech.

Thus being spoken to, the Blessed One said: "How is it, Brahman: do you sometimes receive visits from friends, relatives or other guests?"

"Yes, Master Gotama, I sometimes have visitors."

"When they come, do you offer to them various kinds of foods and a place for resting?"

"Yes, I sometimes do so."

"But if, Brahman, your visitors do not accept what you offer, to whom does it then belong?"

"Well, Master Gotama, if they do not accept it, these things remain with us."

"It is just so in this case, Brahman: you revile us who do not revile in return, you scold us who do not scold in return, you abuse us who do not abuse in return. So we do not accept it from you and hence it remains with you, it belongs to you, Brahman..."

 

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/piyatissa/bl068.html

It's your body, your life. Do what's right for you. It's never "weak" to follow your instinct/gut-feelings.

Fundamentalist indoctrination of the most nauseating kind. In the UK we have the new so-called "faith schools" (some Islamic). If things are left to fester, we'll slide in the same direction.

@white wolf. This kind of stuff slowly poisons the minds of those who pay heed to it. They won't even notice it transforming their minds. It's the slow drip-feed of hate that's the easiest to absorb (and thus justify) and the most insidious.

If they nuke the USA then they'll never get all that US debt back that they've bought.

That really was gorgeous soaring crane .

Just reminded me this short film on Capoeira seen through kids eyes -- it is so sweet !

May be an odd thing to say but it looks like the origin of break dancing is right there. A lot of those moves look very similar.

Does anyone here have experience with his system/teachings ?

He has an abundance of free vids and articles online.

Thanks.

I'm currently reading his book on dream yoga and I can't praise it highly enough. I've read a huge amount of dharma books over the years, many of which were scholarly commentaries to sacred texts. Whilst interesting for what they are, such books lack any real "guidance" element, often failing to contextualise the material from a practitioner's perspective.

This book is entirely different to that. It's clear from the start that he knows what he's talking about and has experienced it for himself. There's no superfluous content and it's all applicable and accessible. The book goes way beyond the subject of dream yoga, as many (waking time) practices are discussed as an aid to it. He is conversant with westerners and knows how we think and what background we have.

He is very skilled in coming at the subject with that in mind. Very refreshing. I think I will be looking out for more from him in the future. My thanks to Silent Thunder for bringing it to my attention.

its possible that you have confused emotion with feeling.

 

in some practices the student is actually taught how to separate the two. One can feel without being caught by emotion. Emotions are the taints from memory, not a result of whether one feels or not. I can feel without falling into a mode of grasping and/or aversion, which is precisely the take-off point where emotions enter the fray.

Nicely said.

Sexual energy recovers by itself after a while. Masturbating will not "destroy" you just like that, so no need to fret about it.

We collect energy from various sources - like the food we eat and the universe in general. I've personally noticed that the strongest time for energy collection is during a waxing moon - it seems to pour in. You will notice that you are stronger, there is a luster to your skin and even (bizarrely) less plaque on your teeth.

If we are celibate for a while, it's like we seal the doors and the energy stays inside, if we lose it, then it's like a rupture of the astral body. You will feel more tired, irritable, drained and be prone to illness (colds etc). The astral body weakens as we age and therefore you will feel it more acutely, the older you get.

The thing is, when the energy builds up to a certain level, things start to happen. Firstly, it feels a burden to carry it. Then you may also notice, erotic dreams, attractive females which flirt with you, in fact a whole host of completely unexpected and compelling events, which don't make things any easier. It seems the energy within you is straining to return to its universal source and 'summoning' or invoking such things.

There is a dependent-arisen element to the mind and the objects of the senses and you can see it at work here, very clearly. We are desire-realm beings and the very gateway to this manifestation was via the sex act of our parents, thus we are corporeally and energetically formed within Maya. We are, thus, in our entirety Maya's property and breaking free takes an act of great will power.

The orgasm is a pale shadow of the all-consuming bliss, which can help free us from Maya's grasp. Called the Great Bliss of Perfect Freedom, it burns away all binding karma. Perhaps we are subconsciously seeking this within every orgasm but there is no freedom, merely a very temporary relief and then the fatigue which inevitably follows.

I have no easy answers to any of this, just a few observations I've gathered along the way. Seek to find something which will help you stand your ground. But mostly be aware that if you put up a fight, Maya will do all she can to harvest that which is hers.

Just be an honest seeker looking for spiritual realization.

I think that's the best thing any of us can be.

A reset for what though? We currently have a human life with the luxury to cultivate our spiritual path, despite the pain and drawbacks we may encounter. Are any of us in control of the death process and the passage through the bardo?

The desperate mind of one who ends their own life will likely generate poor throwing karma for a subsequent rebirth. If you want to end it all and throw away your life, why not do so by casting aside all concern for worldly things and follow the path.

If the world no longer binds you, then walk a free man.

There are much better ways to 'end it all' than suicide.

Awesome story.

Suicide seems like a good option.

It's NEVER a good option. I've been through some very dark times but they always pass (although it doesn't feel like they ever will). You owe it to your future self to hang on in there and not lose hope. This will pass.

To go beyond intellectual understanding to a spontaneous experience of sunyata is to experience the nature of the mind as dharmakaya. This state manifests as an all-pervading quality of space.

I like this.