GrandmasterP

Saint Marblehead. Patron saint of Realists. Feast Day... Today.

There isn't 'scientific' method, those who know just know what's Yin and what's Yang. It's really easy ... You can try this if you like it always works..... Repeat after me..... " It's all Tao. Don't sweat the small stuff." Hope that helps.

There's a deal here in the UK where if a householder has solar panels on a suitable roof they receive some sort of subsidy towards payment from the government. We've seen quite a few solar roofs being installed hereabouts. It's not something we ever looked at for this place though. The main house is a listed building so the exterior cannot be altered. Three miles offshore from where we are moving to they are building what will be Europe's largest wind farm once it is completed.

Mrs GMP does all the cooking but that's from choice and experience. Overall 50-50 though, give or take.

And the other side becomes the backside. That works for both coins and some debates too.

The food's pretty good too. Salad Cream on Chips ( french fries). Most excellent. It's all I've ever used since having been turned on to that fashion in Bruges. Seriously though. For sure given the size of the multiverse it's unlikely that we're the only inhabited planet of sentient creatures. By the same token it's a heck of a stretch to imagine that aliens would pop up over Belgium. Not impossible, just pretty unlikely.

In Belgium? Belgians can't even agree on what language to speak to each other. Aliens would be pretty much fecked.

Do prostitutes need much coaching?

Just finished reading a recent book by a guy who cycled across Xinjiang in China as part of a 'round the world' trek. That's the area that Tibet has been included in and it is huge. Buddhism is the religion and the guy was welcomed to stay in Buddhist temples and homes along the way. Maybe back in the Cultural Revolution days the Chinese Government clamped down on religion but not now so much. Tibetan style Buddhism is very fashionable with middle class Chinese right now. Posters on DW were commenting on the large numbers of Chinese at a recent 'empowerment'. The DL is possibly being pragmatic insofar as perhaps in years to come the need for his 'government in exile' won't exist if Tibet falls in with how things are in the rest on Xinjiang. If no one is being persecuted for their religion...... ( and I am NOT claiming that might not be the case in Tibet right now. We can't know for sure because we only hear from special pleaders as to what goes on there)... then without persecution they'll simply rock on without any need for a DL-government in exile-over in India.

Nemo Mortalium Omnibus Horis Sapit

Errrr. Sorry to butt in but there isn't a 'law' of duality. If we take 'law' to be..... A statement of fact, deduced from observation, to the effect that a particular natural or scientific phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions are present: For example.... the second law of thermodynamics .... Then 'duality' fails the test and cannot be a 'law' because duality is mediated by variable discourse, as we see very clearly here on this thread.

According to Bill Porter in his Chinese Hermit book the hermits he met were very busy people. Building huts, cultivating their own food, walking down ( and then back up) their mountain to fetch supplies and visit/teach in the local villages. Sounds like pretty hard work to me does hermitting, in China anyhoo.

Optimism always triumphs over experience.

Cos the earthly sage dies eventually. IMO the clue's in that word 'immortal'.

Warm in winter and cool in summer. There was a docu on TV here a while back where someone stayed with a Chinese family in a cave house. It was most comfortable.

Which begs the question... " Do the sagacious marry?"

Mr Leo our old boy with Puppy Olive. No 'sage' would ever own three working cocker spaniels. Working Cockers are hard work.

Preach it Pastor! AMEN!!

Miss Alice our middle dog with Puppy Olive the puppy.

Love that 'honeydo'. I am having that one. Many thanks to you thelerner. I am now officially retired ( on pre-retirement leave until my end date on Friday 19th). Thus far today I have.. Cooked breakfast for Mrs GMP and myself ( beans and toast). Checked oil and tyre pressures on Mrs GMP's little car prior to her departing for the shops. Fed two deeply traumatised hens and reassured them that nasty Mrs Fox is unlikely to return any time soon. ( Hens seemed unconvinced). Walked three dogs ( 2 then 1 because the puppy is still too manic to go out with the older two dogs). Washed down all paintwork in dining room and lounge. Ditto all kitchen unit doors ( it is a BIG kitchen). Vacuumed all floors downstairs ( tiles and laminate). Mopped all floors downstairs. Fed three dogs their luncheon ( sausages , liver and chicken with mixer for two, raw mince and puppy biccies for one). Helped Mrs GMP put away enough grocery shopping to feed a small infantry battalion during a month long campaign. ( I fear that there may be a dinner party in the offing). Packed some more books into removal crates. I may possibly be useless ( I do try to be) . I am definitely knackered.

Are you perhaps using the term 'useless' in a somewhat pejorative sense Nikolai? Almost as if it were a 'bad' thing or state of being? Wouldn't one rather need to first discover who it was who defined 'useful' in order to investigate why and how they had arrived at their definitions? Meaningful philosophical discourse can only ever commence after, but never before - carefully defining, in order to agree upon; the definitions of the terms to be used for reference.

If it has NCIS or CSI in the title then Mrs GMP watches it. For an English housewife she certainly possesses a comprehensive knowledge of US Police procedures. We don't have satellite ( pay) TV so tend not to see those series that people watch and then buy the box sets for. Nor do we own any box sets. TV for me... Anything about Trains Cycling Buses Archaeology Birds Antiques And I'm there. Some quiz shows. Two Tribes is good and I like Eggheads. Apart from that it's X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing ( Strictly if those two clash) and that's my lot.

Tom Wolfe coined that but it's fair comment I reckon. It's a good OP worth discussing and I wasn't intending to be negative at all. My point was and is that we can say all those things about both cults and aspects of mainstream religions. Has to be really if we take Wolfe's point that all religions begin as cults and the ones that become mainstream are those that have attained political power and influence.

Calpol 6+ ( made for kids) seems to cure just about anything that ails our dogs. 2 to 3 mls before bed time and they're good to go. Vet recommended it. Only thing is when buying it ( in UK) you must not tell the chemist it's for a dog or they're not allowed to sell it to you.

A cult is a religion without political power. All religions began as cults and some gained political power and influence. Everything in the OP referring to cults can equally be applied to aspects of any mainstream religion.