silas

The Dao Bums
  • Content count

    304
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About silas

  • Rank
    Taoist Bummer
  1. What does the Dao say about fighting?

    New York Times Article: Free Will: Now You Have It Now You Don't Classical Taoism posits encumbered will.
  2. “Patriotic Martyrs” Lyrics: Drup Sonam Tsering Composer and Singer: Jampel In the world of tears decorously flowing In the space of fire blazingly burning There is the soul of a brave man of the grasslands There is the fate of a powerless humanity Be grateful Be thankful The courage of Thupten Ngodup The courage of Thupten Ngodup In the horizon of the life force carried away in the air In the graveyard of flesh and bone burned in the fire There is the honour of a patriotic martyr There is the suffering of a separated people Be grateful Be thankful The courage of Tashi Gyatso The courage of Tashi Gyatso In the Snowland of hope of years and months In the world of patriots ablaze in masses There is the life of a humble Tibetan There is the call of a crowd rising up Be grateful Be thankful The patriotic martyrs of Tibet The patriotic martyrs of Tibet
  3. Flolfolil, that idea could work. It's more work, but it could definitely work. Viator, ok with this?
  4. >>If a thread is important people will naturally discuss it. But they won't if the thread is packed with non-sequiturs. If I want to read a thread on Kundalini, but have to wade through pages of posts about, say, a breakfast food, then I will just drop that thread and move on. Viator, let's see how things work out. Two questions - and I am asking seriously: If the current Wirathu thread dies away - meaning it drops to page 10 in the listing, can I start a new thread? What if the thread gets too long, can I start a new thread? Otherwise, are you saying that TaoBums will never have more than maybe 10 threads ever? Because any topic can fit into those threads?
  5. Viator, let me address some of your points. 1. "when a person creates many threads on the same subject..." Wirathu is an important topic in a Buddhist forum. I cannot think of any topic more important than a threat to the faith. I don't come from the same faith, but my interest lies in how any faith is turned. It is VERY important to understand this. Is TaoBums only for commercial businessses who want to sell Kundalini and magic meditation? Secondly, threads started in TaoBums forums are loaded with off-topic posts - that the mods do NOT remove. Hence, in a thread about Wirathu, they can post about Kundalini for several pages. The whole thread is LOST. That would be a reason to start another thread to try and bring it back on topic. Wirathu is a chance to study change, very BIG change and there are few places better suited to do it than at TaoBums. 2. "No matter how important any topic may be though, it should not be used to drown out other conversations on the board." I do not believe I have EVER had more than two threads going at one time about Wirathu - and they are separate topics. One thread was about the PRACTICE of Wirathu's Buddhism - and that includes the political process, because that is part of his practice. The forums display 20 threads per page. Two threads amounts to 2/20 or 10% of the page. That means 90% of the page is about other things. PLUS, in most cases, only one of my two threads appear at the top of the thread list. The other one is usually on the second page or later. In Myanmar, it is religious war brewing and how they fight the war is part of Buddhist practice.
  6. Viator, thank you. Wirathu is a controversial topic, but I must point out that his people (whoever they are) may be visiting this forum (it is a forum for Buddhists), and that Tao Bums have a chance to influence the course of history in Myanmar. I point out that when I post, I sometimes can come across a teeny bit sarcastic, but that's because so many threads on TaoBums are fueled by sarcasm. It does not mean I am spamming or trolling. Wirathu is a serious and important topic. People in Myanmar are suffering. Ignoring Wirathu does not ease that suffering.
  7. Bubbles, I'm sorry, but I must ask this because it is important. Let's just use the topic of kundalini. There are MANY threads in the forums about kundalini, some posted by the same person, on that single topic. How is that different from my posting about Wirathu, a specific aspect of Wirathu? I am asking if TaoBums REALLY does NOT want me talking about Wirathu. If everything is put into one thread, you are limiting my ability and everyone else's ability to discuss a topic in a straightforward manner. One post on a topic could be on page 3 and the next post to that same topic could be on page 20. How does someone follow such a train of thought? Other topics are not handled this way. If you simply don't want me to talk about Wirathu, don't hesitate to tell me that openly. I will understand.
  8. Mod: I am not trying to exasperate you, but I have a follow up question. What if I wanted to start a thread about a specific aspect of Wirathu? For example, hypothetically, what if I wanted to talk about how Wirathu brushes his teeth in a separate thread because I think it deserves special attention?
  9. Flolfolil, I am sorry that you suffered, but is there no one to defend Buddhism as a religion? Will no one suffer for Buddha? So many people make money by selling Buddha, but is there no one to defend his faith? The mod has not answered my question about posting policy yet. If you all suffer so much for reading about Wirathu, then I will stop posting about him. However, if Wirathu rises in power, please do not say that this is all a surprise, that you didn't see any evil, speak any evil, listen to any evil, so you don't understand how evil became so powerful.
  10. Mod: is this policy applied to everyone regardless of the topic? I am asking this seriously. If someone posts a topic about, say, Kundalini, must they ALWAYS post to the same thread and never start a new one? Or does this policy apply to just me or just a topic about Wirathu?
  11. The thread about Ananda Bhante is gone, the other "merged" Wirathu thread was moved to the Pit. Why the pit? It was already in Off Topics? What happened to Ananda Bhante????????? Are there no Buddhists to save their own religion?
  12. 7 Levels of Humanity

    Religion that is without limits is called Eclecticism, which can leave you without guidance, without truth - except the idea of no truth. The TaoTeChing can seem very open-ended, very pluralistic, but it does have its own set of subtle precepts that inform interpretation of the text. True Eclecticism is nihilistic and can destroy you. What is true Eclecticism? It is paying heed to all truths without consideration of context, without the ability to filter. Such a person can be led to his own slaughter.
  13. 7 Levels of Humanity

    From the TaoTeChing ch. 25 (Lau): I give it the makeshift name of 'the great'. Being great, it is further described as receding, Receding, it is described as far away, Being far away, it is described as turning back. As for higher education, there can be no higher than Tao. However, syncretic teaching can conflict. If the conflict is not resolved, it causes doubt. That is why Christians speak of doubt all the time, because they are all being lured away by talk of reason. And the same could be said of Buddhists, Taoists, etc.
  14. 7 Levels of Humanity

    The Hua Hu Ching 化胡經 is a Buddhist-inflected version of the TaoTeChing. Some of its concepts conflict with classical Taoism. The title translates as "Transformation Of The Barbarians" - a religious conversion text. The title is uncomfortable for me.
  15. 7 Levels of Humanity

    Then why is there Creation at all? If all things only desire to return to Tao, why should they be separated from the whole ever?