Disinformation campaign

[Harmonious Emptiness]

5E, don't you see that you are trying to get the mods to act on CowTao, who was basically defending himself, just to show that they act on somebody because they didn't act on on your harasser?

 

CT's not harassing. He's using strong language, and he's calling bullshit like I'm doing on you right now, only his actions were directly provoked. We're all adults here, martial artists mostly.. You want people to get banned for refusing to deny the elephant in the room and saying what they see?

 

I agree with CT. SR seems like he's really hoping to score points with someone..

 

Just because you don't see it... This is a Taoist forum man.. reality is right there in front of you....

 

Some are just not smart enough to see it..

 

 

I think most are smart enough to see it here.. and shit's not going to be run by one or two shit-disturbers trying to use the rules to control rather than protect freedom. This is a Taoism forum. Why are you trying to force punishment where it isn't needed?

Edited August 18, 2011 by Harmonious Emptiness

[fiveelementtao]

Cowtao is perfectly capable of defending himself without that. I know because I too can type and know how long it takes to type a sentence after thinking it. If this were an inperson situation, that would be different. Because mouths can fly very fast... But typing on a keyboard takes conscious, deliberate decisions. He had time to filter his thought appropriately...

 

I too am a martial artist and I have taken a vow to never consciously harm anyone under any circumstances unless I am in mortal danger. CT was never in mortal danger and did not need to say those things.

 

I support his right to defend himself in any way necessary. And yes, this is a perfect example of what we are talking about in this thread and I find it... Amazing! that in this context, in THIS thread someone feels the need to act out the VERY thing that we are all discussing and seeking to resolve on this board.

 

The mods are going to whatever they're going to do. I will not hit the complain button but I will be watching to see what they do... and will make whatever judgement of them I make. This whole thing started because a bunch of people wanted to hold some newbie to standards (That I think are good) but clearly are not willing to follow themselves... In the beginning of all this I did not buy most of the impressions some people had about cliques and favoritism, but as more is being revealed, and I simply watch what is objectively happening in front of my eyes... My views are changing rapidly... I will be interested to see what happens...

 

 

5E, don't you see that you are trying to get the mods to act CowTao, basically defending himself, just to show that they act on somebody because they didn't act on on your harasser?

 

CT's not harassing. He's using strong language, and he's calling bullshit like I'm doing on you right now, only his actions were directly provoked. We're all adults here, martial artists mostly.. You want people to get banned for refusing to deny the elephant in the room and saying what they see?

 

I agree with CT. SR seems like he's really hoping to score points with someone..

 

Just because you don't see it... This is a Taoist forum man.. reality is right there in front of you....

 

Some are just not smart enough to see it..

 

 

I think most are smart enough to see it here.. and shit's not going to be run by one or two shit-disturbers trying to use the rules to control rather than protect freedom. This is a Taoism forum. Why are you trying to force punishment where it isn't needed?

[C T]

IMO, That was not direct. I am being direct with you right now, but I am in no way seeking to hurt you or personally insult you. My criticisms have purpose and context. Your remarks whether you feel them to be justified or not that I quoted were merely punitive and insulting. I find your reasoning very convenient and malleable to your emotions and situation and not at all reflecting what little I know of buddhism. If you truly are prepared to receive a suspension and it was worth it to you for whatever pleasure you got out of it by calling someone an asslicker, then I guess I can at least respect your commitment to follow through...

 

Within that same spirit of truthfullness you are leaning on, as a forum member, I must tell you that I find your behavior in this particular instance personally offensive to me and I find your actions here hypocritical in the extreme. As a forum member of your standing, I expect you to be able to express your feelings in more constructive ways. If not for the benefit of the person you are directing your comments to, then for the sake of the rest of us who have to read what you write. I know you understand my reasoning and would probably agree with me in any other instance that you yourself did not have an emotional investment in...

 

That's it for me. I have enough drama for now.

Blessings all...

I do understand your views, and (in part) where they are coming from, and i respect you taking your time to voice such.

 

My post was made without much attachment to emotions. It was Simp Rules' intention to rile some folks up, and to elevate his own position in the process - this is my evaluation, take it however anyone sees fit. I merely responded in kind. Could i have responded differently? I do not know for certain, but i am sure observers will make their own call anyway, so what is the point of justifying or attempting to redress the post to make it more acceptable?

 

You said you like me, not sure why, since we do not really see eye to eye on a few matters relating to spiritual paths, yet i have always found your thoughts, all of them in fact, stimulating and informative, and i do respect that we do not all have to be on the same page in the above regard. But i trust that at some stage you will see the malicious intent of this poster (Simp Rules) some day, and learn something from it. Even if you tried and yet cannot see any maliciousness in his words, that too is a lesson to take with you. I am quite certain he will be back to shoot from the hip again, so, like you, i shall await, what exactly, we will find out soon enough.

 

To the Mods and everyone else who took offense, my apologies for the crass labels. If this was directed at me without any particular reason, i too will be offended, as is 5ET for having to read such. Mods can take whatever action they deem necessary to remove the post and/or poster and quell the storm if they think one has brewed or is about to brew.

 

 

 

A word of thanks to H.E. for lending his voice to the matter. Am glad you are able to see this clearly.

[Mal]

C'mon mods, where are you? Do I have to hit the complain button before someone steps in here?

 

Yes you do (need to hit report) my thanks to the person who did.

 

I DO NOT spend ever moment of my life here, so as to where I was, I was teaching class.

 

As to the state of this thread I think we should take 5 and chill out..... As pointed out this is not the pit. People are IMO taking this REALLY a bit too far.

 

Personally I'm going to eat my dinner, try and relax and then go to sleep. So I do hope things look a bit calmer in the morning.

 

Good night.

[Aaron]

I must say I refuse to put Aaron, Goldisheavy and a bunch of others in this privileged category, sorry guys) an account of their own innate ignorance (I won't ask if this is beginningless like Maya or Avidya).

 

 

I didn't know there was another Aaron on this board! What nick does he go under? I'm sure it's not nice to consider him to be ignorant, but having never run into him, I can't honestly say he is one or the other, so I'll just have to accept you have an opinion of him. Wherever you are Aaron, let me tell you that I think you're okay!

 

Aaron

Edited August 18, 2011 by Twinner

[VCraigP]

 

Again, its my view that 99 percent of folks here who posts regularly have good hearts.

 

The other 01 percent? Well, these would be the agents of disinformation, or aliens, or both. Or simply, knuckleheads who refuse to take hints.

 

My favorite quote in this thread for awhile. At least it somehow relates back to the topic.

 

OK, at the risk of joining in the obviously successful bid by the agents of disinformation to derail my inquiry I will respond again about VMarco.

 

 

I dont care a whit about the content of ANY of his posts. It doesn't matter.

 

 

I care about this; Did his "insult" rise to the level of a short suspension or did it not.

 

That is all that should be weighed by Mods to consider his suspension. The rest is just personal preference and WAY to Subjective.

 

I DO NOT at all believe it rose to that level. It appears the mods have included his general annoyance to TTB populace in consideration of applying the short suspension. As Judge, Jury and Executioner I wish the mods would have been clearer about why the temporary suspension.

 

As a very short time former mod myself I expect the discussion about his suspension among mods did include consideration of his overall annoyance factor. IMO that should barely hold any weight at all except the aspect of entirely derailing threads.

 

Therefore my distress at his suspension was that I felt it was a misapplication of the rule about insults, or at least too quick a pull on that trigger in comparison to precedent. However, if there were previous insults which were similar or greater than the one which tripped the trigger AND there were warnings, then I entirely agree with the time out.

 

In summary, if you dont like him and/or his attitude, what he writes, etc, this is not and never should be any basis for any disciplinary action.

 

TTFN

[Todd]

 

 

A word of thanks to H.E. for lending his voice to the matter. Am glad you are able to see this clearly.

 

 

Really?

 

He supports you attacking another with personal insults so he is able to see things clearly?

 

To my mind, this is like making calls for a witch hunt, and then congratulating all those who join one for their level headedness and general good nature. We could add to the "Time for some shit !" thread: "Witch Hunter: As long as you join me in violence, then your shit smells good to me!"

 

I have interacted with Vmarco on this forum in a relatively in-depth manner, and though his views are rather different from mine in several areas, and though he has his own sort of unrecognized or justified violence, he also has something to share, however ungracefully. When people jump on the bandwagon in an attempt to completely marginalize him, I find this ugly. To attempt to completely marginalize those who disagree with us is just a really old social trick, and it doesn't matter what ideology is being used to support it.

 

I am engaging in a bit of this, by joining my voice with 5ET, in an attempt to give more support for the view that it is not good to form cliques and to strong arm dissenting voices instead of engaging them or ignoring them (which is the best option in my mind, when engagement has no satisfactory conclusion). We could be perceived as forming a clique to quiet this sort of activity.

 

However, I do not view CaoTao or Sunya or others who have joined in the attack as inherently bad people, who should be marginalized or considered less that worthy. I am not calling for their ouster, though I feel that in the context of how this forum has been moderated, that there should be consequences to CaoTao's hateful personal insults directed toward Simplicity Rules. Going back to a less hands on moderation approach, allowing the members to handle things themselves (hopefully via engagement and ignoring, but not through hateful violence) might be great, but to have inconsistent moderation is much worse, in my mind, than more, but consistent moderation.

 

I mainly hope that we can stop seeing ourselves as above simple social dynamics, because our philosophy and practice is so subtle and so profound, so that we recognize impulses to engage in this sort of animalistic (with the very human twist of concepts and language) violence and perhaps let it go to allow something unexpected and helpful to flower.

 

 

[Harmonious Emptiness]

My favorite quote in this thread for awhile. At least it somehow relates back to the topic.

 

OK, at the risk of joining in the obviously successful bid by the agents of disinformation to derail my inquiry I will respond again about VMarco.

 

 

I dont care a whit about the content of ANY of his posts. It doesn't matter.

 

 

I care about this; Did his "insult" rise to the level of a short suspension or did it not.

 

That is all that should be weighed by Mods to consider his suspension. The rest is just personal preference and WAY to Subjective.

 

I DO NOT at all believe it rose to that level. It appears the mods have included his general annoyance to TTB populace in consideration of applying the short suspension. As Judge, Jury and Executioner I wish the mods would have been clearer about why the temporary suspension.

 

As a very short time former mod myself I expect the discussion about his suspension among mods did include consideration of his overall annoyance factor. IMO that should barely hold any weight at all except the aspect of entirely derailing threads.

 

Therefore my distress at his suspension was that I felt it was a misapplication of the rule about insults, or at least too quick a pull on that trigger in comparison to precedent. However, if there were previous insults which were similar or greater than the one which tripped the trigger AND there were warnings, then I entirely agree with the time out.

 

In summary, if you dont like him and/or his attitude, what he writes, etc, this is not and never should be any basis for any disciplinary action.

 

TTFN

 

Derailing threads, insults, and constant extreme religious intolerance.

 

Where are we going to be if we constantly highlight only negative things about a religion? It just turns into a provocative hate fest, and it's also against the rules. He didn't just state his position on it.. he dragged it into almost every thread and derailed the conversations with it. I don't mind if someone has an issue with Abrahamic religions, but to constantly drag in one-sided quotations which force everyone else to have to redundantly clear up is something which should not be tolerated anywhere including here, imo. I understand that religions have been responsible for bad things, but that is not all they have done, and I don't care how adeptly it is worded, but to throw this in people's faces all the time is uncalled for provocation, and the consistency of it showed an obvious agenda of spreading hate speech.

 

I realize that him being trans-gendered might give him more reason to feel that he was oppressed by these religions, but that still doesn't make it any different than if Christians, Jews, or Muslims came on here and started preaching hate against each other, pointing out only the worst of the worst of the religion like it was the whole thing, and not just a few times but over and over and over again.

 

See the "Christianit, Buddhism, Taoism" thread as one example if this is news to anyone

Edited August 18, 2011 by Harmonious Emptiness

[Sunya]

That's it for me. I have enough drama for now.

 

Really? Are you sure? Nah, you love it. You'll be back. Look at how much you typed up in this thread.

[Sunya]

However, I do not view CaoTao or Sunya or others who have joined in the attack as inherently bad people

 

When did I attack him? The only ad-hom thing I said was "you're a troll" after he threatened to call the authorities on me for simply disagreeing with his views.

 

Vmarco was a loon from start to finish. He never had any endearing moments. Sure, many members have had their dark nights. I've been suspended before for getting into heated debates and saying nasty things, but I certainly think that when a member has nothing else to offer except a nasty condescending attitude, they should be shown the door.

 

And with that, I'm done talking about this.

Edited August 18, 2011 by Sunya

[Aetherous]

Edited August 18, 2011 by Scotty

[fiveelementtao]

constant extreme religious intolerance.

 

Where are we going to be if we constantly highlight only negative things about a religion? It just turns into a provocative hate fest, and it's also against the rules.

 

Let's talk about Disinformation. Because there is alot of it going on here right now.

 

I have not seen ANY religion bashing by anyone. I have seen some healthy albeit harsh criticism by self-proclaimed buddhists of the application of certain doctrines within that religion. I have seen buddhists strongly identify themselves personally with their religion and who seem to be extremely attached to their own interpretations of that religion who can't seem to tell where their personal identities end and their particular brand of that religion begins who speak as though anyone who criticizes their understanding or application of that belief is somehow attacking an entire religion and marginalizing peoples religious rights.

 

I have recently heard about "gangs" of buddhists running around this forum. I never saw that before because I had no interest in buddhism. Yes, I encountered the rare hyper intellectual buddhist from time to time who wanted to drag me into intellectual nonsense debates, but I merely would say, "no thank you" or put them on ignore and go my merry way. I saw what appeared to be taoists complaining about buddhist absolutism and self-superiority, but I just took that in stride as the actions of a few religionists. But now I am seeing what appears to be a buddhist gang in action. I am seeing what appears to be fellow buddhists acting in a concerted manner to "show someone the door" for, and I am quoting here..."never having any endearing moments" and for "having a condescending attitude." Which seems to apply to alot of people including some buddhists. I am seeing what appear to be buddhists rallying around each other to protect and justify aggressive hostile behavior because it suits their particular agenda. I am seeing what appears to be buddhists who believe that simply by the nature of their religion, they deserve to be treated differently and have the right to break rules that they wish to apply very harshly to others.

 

I am seeing with my eyes once again why I do not identify with any organized religion. Thank you for that...

 

I would like to believe that if I were a Buddhist and even if someone whom emotionally I related to was caught in a moment of semi-justified defensive anger calling another forum member (and apparently a fellow buddhist) an "asslicker" I hope that I would have the objectivity as a buddhist to call foul on it.

 

I find it so incredibly ironic that the religions that preach the most about love, tolerance, forgiveness, equality and patience have members within that religion who seem to have more difficulty applying those values that they preach than those who do not.

 

I would just like to publicly say that I do not believe that any religion has the right to be treated preferentially on this forum or anywhere else. And as long as rules are being applied and enforced to forum behavior I would like to propose that along with prohibiting insults and attacks against religions, I submit that we also prohibit the preferential treatment of any religion over another and make it permissible to have the right for anyone to dissent and criticize any religion if they choose without it being classified as "hate". There is a difference between religious dissent, criticism and religious persecution...

 

Just to be clear, I am not in any way attacking any religion, I am however criticizing the behavior of some people who happen to be religious. I hope that distinction is not lost on anyone...

 

This has been very entertaining and informative. I couldn't have written the script better myself if I had tried...

 

BTW, thanks to Mods for making an appearance...

[Todd]

When did I attack him?

 

 

Vmarco was a loon from start to finish.

 

 

I guess this isn't an attack? Just a statement of absolute, self-evident (at least to anyone with half a brain and an an ounce of compassion) truth?

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2011 by Todd

[Sunya]

I guess this isn't an attack? Just a statement of absolute, self-evident (at least to anyone with half a brain and an an ounce of compassion) truth?

 

A post-facto observation. When he was around, I never called him anything except a troll, which was after he acted in that manner to begin with.

[Aetherous]

Sunya,

 

Calling someone anything (whether they deserve it in your opinion or not) is an insult and goes against the forum rules, you asshat.

[Sunya]

you asshat

 

Take that back or I'm calling the authorities to launch an investigation.

[Aetherous]

Okay I take it back, but you were acting like one so I was justified in saying it.

[Sunya]

Okay I take it back, but you were acting like one so I was justified in saying it.

 

Woah nilly! WTF? What happened to this being about not personally insulting people?

 

I personally like you Scotty, but this is not OK at all....

 

Can any mods care to explain why this is OK?

 

I will now be very interested to see how the mods react to this....

 

IMO, That was not direct. I am being direct with you right now, but I am in no way seeking to hurt you or personally insult you. My criticisms have purpose and context. Your remarks whether you feel them to be justified or not that I quoted were merely punitive and insulting. I find your reasoning very convenient and malleable to your emotions and situation and not at all reflecting what little I know of buddhism. If you truly are prepared to receive a suspension and it was worth it to you for whatever pleasure you got out of it by calling someone an asshat, then I guess I can at least respect your commitment to follow through...

 

Within that same spirit of truthfullness you are leaning on, as a forum member, I must tell you that I find your behavior in this particular instance personally offensive to me and I find your actions here hypocritical in the extreme. As a forum member of your standing, I expect you to be able to express your feelings in more constructive ways. If not for the benefit of the person you are directing your comments to, then for the sake of the rest of us who have to read what you write. I know you understand my reasoning and would probably agree with me in any other instance that you yourself did not have an emotional investment in...

 

Despite my recent dispute with moderators... This forum has changed so much over the last year or so that I don't know that it can flourish without some serious moderation. My only contention is that moderation, while necessary ,needs to be equitable and consistent. If moderation is going to be strict, it needs to be strict for all. If lenient, then lenient for all. Make a choice and commit to it... But in the current forum we have, I think moderation can be helpful. I have only been here for 3 years, but this place has changed radically since I got here. When I first got here although there were a few bad apples causing a ruckus and no lack of drama (including my own), many were sincere long time practitioners who focused on esoteric energy work. I see now that I got here relatively late just as the old guard was leaving and the new younger crowd was coming in. IME, the maturity level and knowledge level has decreased exponentially over the last year and am finding it increasingly more challenging to avoid bashing all the nonsense I read. I am sure there are members who do not fit into this newer category but I do not hear from them as much. They seem to have retreated into their own practice forums.

 

Some of the old timers whom I respected that were here when I got here have told me that they have packed up and left because of the current environment. IMO, We now have alot of teens and young adults here who have little to no actual experience but no lack of pride in their book knowledge. I think alot of people come here hoping to find a short cut to enlightenment or spiritual power etc... So instead of it being a place where people who work hard to seek out real training and experience and then share that real-life experience with like-minded people, instead we have the internet generation who want to be directed to the latest book that will give them some magic pill to make them the next John Chang and then engage in intellectual semantics about what they have read but not actually achieved... At least I find this to be true with the general discussion forum. I suppose other sub forums are different...

 

But, if we are talking pet peaves, My biggest one is the passive aggressive type already mentioned by a few who wear the veneer of spirituality, love and peace but reak with suppressed anger and insecurity. . The whole idea that spirituality means that one cannot have any negative feelings has fostered a society that is highly unconsciously passive aggressive. I am aware that I myself am aggressive, but I do try to be conscious about it and keep my aggressiveness in context and on topic and hopefully constructive...

 

However, my biggest peave on the discussion forum is when someone wants to challenge me on some issue I have raised or discussed and it's clear that I have pushed some major button, but instead of just simply saying, "I disagree with you, Sunya and here's why..." They want to couch their opposition in the form of a passive aggressive "spiritual" question like, "Gosh Sunya, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge (like I actually want my rear kissed), but what about x, y and z? Spiritual guru so and so says different. What is your view?" And then, like an idiot, I begin spouting my views thinking that this individual actually was interested in my opinion when what was really going on was that the person wanted to lure me into an intellectual argument and lace the conversation with passive aggressive, veiled insults while pretending to actually care about my opinion... I say, If you're going to challenge someone, go ahead and do it and own it. Just be conscious and constructive about it... So, now I find myself asking people, "Are you asking me because you want to know my opinion or because you want to challenge me and lure me into an argument? If so, I'm not interested."

 

Or even worse is the Drive-by-insult, where someone will attack something I have said, try to hide the attack within their post and lace it with judgements in the third person but not have the courage to mention me by name. My favorite one is that apparently I am "patriarchal."

 

Anyway, just venting... It would be nice to find a way to attract the serious seekers here and not the forum junkies. Other than my own, this is the only forum I visit. I hope that this forum stays a place of value for me...

Edited August 18, 2011 by Sunya

[Encephalon]

[Aetherous]

Sunya,

 

You are just a Buddhist gang member and an intellectual...Simplicity Rules knows about the categories here. And I think you're an alien government disinformation agent, too! Next time we talk on AIM, in like two minutes, we will giggle like little school children and become on with the Tao...but until then, may the force be with you.

 

Also, you have my email so regardless of what happens here, I'm sure you'll be sending me a bunch of Buddhist videos and texts which will bore me to death.

 

Regards,

Scott

Edited August 18, 2011 by Scotty

[Sunya]

Taken aback, I felt obliged to at least bring myself up to speed with a lit review of Tibetan Buddhism. (Fortunately, the LA Public Library rocks.) Beyond what I already had read by Ken Mclead - Wake Up to Your Life - I settled on John Powers' works, who seems to be one of the reigning western scholars on the Tibetan tradition.

 

I highly recommend the book Pointing Out the Great Way by Daniel Brown, who is an astute translator, pragmatic teacher (like Ken McLeod), and clinical psychologist. It's focus is on the essence Mahamudra tradition and really makes Tibetan Buddhism make sense to a Western mind (Brown has been teaching for 30 years) It's quite similar to Wake Up to Your Life but I like it more as it's more concise in its presentation.

[Sunya]

Sunya,

 

You are just a Buddhist gang member and an intellectual...Simplicity Rules knows about the categories here. And I think you're an alien government disinformation agent, too! Next time we talk on AIM, in like two minutes, we will giggle like little school children and become on with the Tao...but until then, may the force be with you.

 

Also, you have my email so regardless of what happens here, I'm sure you'll be sending me a bunch of Buddhist videos and texts which will bore me to death.

 

Regards,

Scott

 

You are a gentleman and a scholar, except today. Today you make my inner child feel weak and helpless, and for that I condemn you. I don't care if the mods ban me, but I must say this: you're a bully, you smell, and you don't know the meaning of compassion. May the undivided light burn you alive, but not today (since there is no present).

[Aetherous]

You are a gentleman and a scholar, except today. Today you make my inner child feel weak and helpless, and for that I condemn you. I don't care if the mods ban me, but I must say this: you're a bully, you smell, and you don't know the meaning of compassion. May the undivided light burn you alive, but not today (since there is no present).

 

You are a gentlewoman and a scholar, too, Sunya...but you weren't yesterday, and that offended me so I am holding that grudge today. If you were suspended from the forum, I would talk shit behind your back. Today my inner child is feeling pretty awesome, because I realized mahamudra. Because of this, my compassion is bursting forth, and I must say that I care if the mods ban you. For this reason, from this day forward I publicly announce that I am not taking the following things to be insults: being called a bully, being told that I smell (thanks for the tip), and being told that I don't know the meaning of compassion (which I do, Vmarco told me ).

 

The undivided light is burning in my heart and my loins right now...but this is really in the past, so I'm going to fast forward to tathagata time now.

[Stigweard]

My favorite quote in this thread for awhile. At least it somehow relates back to the topic.

 

OK, at the risk of joining in the obviously successful bid by the agents of disinformation to derail my inquiry I will respond again about VMarco.

 

 

I dont care a whit about the content of ANY of his posts. It doesn't matter.

 

 

I care about this; Did his "insult" rise to the level of a short suspension or did it not.

 

That is all that should be weighed by Mods to consider his suspension. The rest is just personal preference and WAY to Subjective.

 

I DO NOT at all believe it rose to that level. It appears the mods have included his general annoyance to TTB populace in consideration of applying the short suspension. As Judge, Jury and Executioner I wish the mods would have been clearer about why the temporary suspension.

 

As a very short time former mod myself I expect the discussion about his suspension among mods did include consideration of his overall annoyance factor. IMO that should barely hold any weight at all except the aspect of entirely derailing threads.

 

Therefore my distress at his suspension was that I felt it was a misapplication of the rule about insults, or at least too quick a pull on that trigger in comparison to precedent. However, if there were previous insults which were similar or greater than the one which tripped the trigger AND there were warnings, then I entirely agree with the time out.

 

In summary, if you dont like him and/or his attitude, what he writes, etc, this is not and never should be any basis for any disciplinary action.

 

TTFN

VCraigP I am hearing you

[Encephalon]

I highly recommend the book Pointing Out the Great Way by Daniel Brown, who is an astute translator, pragmatic teacher (like Ken McLeod), and clinical psychologist. It's focus is on the essence Mahamudra tradition and really makes Tibetan Buddhism make sense to a Western mind (Brown has been teaching for 30 years) It's quite similar to Wake Up to Your Life but I like it more as it's more concise in its presentation.

 

Thanks for that! cLeod's book takes a WIDE! look at specific practices from many schools. And, he's great to have in LA! I just spoke with him after a meeting last Sunday. I relish the works by clinicians. Next on my list is Thoughts Without a Thinker by Mark Epstein, a clinical psychiatrist.