Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Otherwise, you can add some weak acid at some point in the washing process. Since you need just a tiny amount, even cheap vinegar will do, without leaving a smell. You could make a soap goo out of soap and water, and add a bit of lemon juice. You could have a jug of water with a teaspoonful of vinegar in it, to rinse your hair with after soaping. Or how about pouring it into a plastic squirty bottle, so you don't spill it.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
The world of Absolute Reality,
onto which your mind has projected a world of relative unreality
is independent of yourself, for the very simple reason that it is yourself.
Examine the motion of change
and you will see. What can change
while you do not change, can be
said to be independent of you.
But what is changeless must be one
with whatever else is changeless.
The main objective to grasp is
that you have projected onto
yourself a world of your own imagination, based on memories,
on desires and fears, and that you
have imprisoned yourself in it.
Break the spell and be free.
You are universal. You need not and you
cannot become what you are already.
Only cease imagining yourself to be
the particular. What comes and goes
has no being. It owes its very appearance to reality.
You know that there is a world, but does the world
know you? All knowledge flows from
you, as all being and all joy.
Realize that you are the eternal source and
accept all as your own.Such acceptance is true love.
Having never left the house you are asking
for the way home. Get rid of wrong ideas, that is all.
Collecting right ideas also will take you nowhere.
Just cease imagining.
Don't you understand?! Enough if you do not
misunderstand. Don't rely on your mind for liberation.
It is the mind that brought you to
bondage. Go beyond it altogether.
is beginningless cannot have a cause.
It is not that you knew what you are and
then you have forgotten. Once you know, you cannot forget.
Don't ask the mind to confirm what is beyond the mind.
Direct experience is the only valid confirmation.
- Nisargadatta
onto which your mind has projected a world of relative unreality
is independent of yourself, for the very simple reason that it is yourself.
Examine the motion of change
and you will see. What can change
while you do not change, can be
said to be independent of you.
But what is changeless must be one
with whatever else is changeless.
The main objective to grasp is
that you have projected onto
yourself a world of your own imagination, based on memories,
on desires and fears, and that you
have imprisoned yourself in it.
Break the spell and be free.
You are universal. You need not and you
cannot become what you are already.
Only cease imagining yourself to be
the particular. What comes and goes
has no being. It owes its very appearance to reality.
You know that there is a world, but does the world
know you? All knowledge flows from
you, as all being and all joy.
Realize that you are the eternal source and
accept all as your own.Such acceptance is true love.
Having never left the house you are asking
for the way home. Get rid of wrong ideas, that is all.
Collecting right ideas also will take you nowhere.
Just cease imagining.
Don't you understand?! Enough if you do not
misunderstand. Don't rely on your mind for liberation.
It is the mind that brought you to
bondage. Go beyond it altogether.
is beginningless cannot have a cause.
It is not that you knew what you are and
then you have forgotten. Once you know, you cannot forget.
Don't ask the mind to confirm what is beyond the mind.
Direct experience is the only valid confirmation.
- Nisargadatta
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
"To come out in plain words and say it, it isimpossible because if you carry enough fuel to thrustlong enough to travel at say nine tenths the speed oflight you could
never have enough fuel to stop. You would have to keep
traveling forever. "
That a really good reason, but there's one that's an
even bigger problem:
Space Isn't Empty.
IIRC, the density of the interplanetary medium is
about 1 atom of hydrogen per cubic meter. That's not
much in the way of resistance, but let's say the front
of the vehicle presents a face of 10 square meters.
That means every meter distance travelled it will, on
average, collide with 10 atoms of hydrogen. Now, let's
pretend that you get this machine to go only HALF the
speed of light. That means you will collide with
149,896,271 atoms of hydrogen every second.
You're dead. The kind of kinetic energy of 150 million
atoms slamming into your ship at 1/2 c EVERY SECOND
will eventuate in your ship becoming incredibly hot
and radioactive. And God ferbid you hit a grain of
sand at that speed - it would slice right through your
ship so fast - dead meat.
So: you're going to go all star trek on me and
postulate a huge "deflector array"? Where's the energy
going to come from for that? And besides, as you
approach C, your time dilation kicks in, so you have
some tiny fraction of time to deal with microscopic
bits of grit travelling at relativistic speed.
Deflecting it will require even MORE energy, and WHERE
is that going to come from? A small little lonesome
bit of crap is floating in space, minding it's own
dull business as it had for 4.6 billion years, when
suddenly Mr HotShot space truck comes blasting out of
nowhere saying "You have to get out of my way RIGHT
NOW" the energy required to do that would pretty much
not only vapourise the little piece of grit, which
would result in even MORE heat and radiation, on top
of all the other radiation. And if you're travelling
at say, 99% of c, you're looking at 300 million atoms
of hydrogen slamming into your machine at nearly light
speed - something it takes insane amounts of energy on
earth to do, just to get a few atoms in an
accellerator up to any appreciable speed.
Now multiply that energy by 300 million EVERY SECOND
and talk to me about some silly notion of a deflectorshield.
Quite simply, Mr Patterson is correct: It Just Ain't
Gonna Happen. Period. Not now, Not later, not ever.
HOWEVER: I do think that we can, and should, get out
of the gravity well. But I think a more likely way
than building ships that travel near c, would be to
evolve a special class of "humans" who have a genetic
code that is largely impervious to radiation (there
are bacteria that have this feature), eat rocks and
ice in the asteroid belt, have enourmous wing spans
that collect solar radiation and can live in a vacuum.
Once they eat the asteroid belt, they can grow bigger
wings and go work on the Kuiper Belt and then it's off
to the Oort cloud.Sound ridiculous? Yeah, It is. But it's one HELL of a
lot more achievable than travelling at c... That's
just a stupid hollywood fantasy.
Mister Studebaker
never have enough fuel to stop. You would have to keep
traveling forever. "
That a really good reason, but there's one that's an
even bigger problem:
Space Isn't Empty.
IIRC, the density of the interplanetary medium is
about 1 atom of hydrogen per cubic meter. That's not
much in the way of resistance, but let's say the front
of the vehicle presents a face of 10 square meters.
That means every meter distance travelled it will, on
average, collide with 10 atoms of hydrogen. Now, let's
pretend that you get this machine to go only HALF the
speed of light. That means you will collide with
149,896,271 atoms of hydrogen every second.
You're dead. The kind of kinetic energy of 150 million
atoms slamming into your ship at 1/2 c EVERY SECOND
will eventuate in your ship becoming incredibly hot
and radioactive. And God ferbid you hit a grain of
sand at that speed - it would slice right through your
ship so fast - dead meat.
So: you're going to go all star trek on me and
postulate a huge "deflector array"? Where's the energy
going to come from for that? And besides, as you
approach C, your time dilation kicks in, so you have
some tiny fraction of time to deal with microscopic
bits of grit travelling at relativistic speed.
Deflecting it will require even MORE energy, and WHERE
is that going to come from? A small little lonesome
bit of crap is floating in space, minding it's own
dull business as it had for 4.6 billion years, when
suddenly Mr HotShot space truck comes blasting out of
nowhere saying "You have to get out of my way RIGHT
NOW" the energy required to do that would pretty much
not only vapourise the little piece of grit, which
would result in even MORE heat and radiation, on top
of all the other radiation. And if you're travelling
at say, 99% of c, you're looking at 300 million atoms
of hydrogen slamming into your machine at nearly light
speed - something it takes insane amounts of energy on
earth to do, just to get a few atoms in an
accellerator up to any appreciable speed.
Now multiply that energy by 300 million EVERY SECOND
and talk to me about some silly notion of a deflectorshield.
Quite simply, Mr Patterson is correct: It Just Ain't
Gonna Happen. Period. Not now, Not later, not ever.
HOWEVER: I do think that we can, and should, get out
of the gravity well. But I think a more likely way
than building ships that travel near c, would be to
evolve a special class of "humans" who have a genetic
code that is largely impervious to radiation (there
are bacteria that have this feature), eat rocks and
ice in the asteroid belt, have enourmous wing spans
that collect solar radiation and can live in a vacuum.
Once they eat the asteroid belt, they can grow bigger
wings and go work on the Kuiper Belt and then it's off
to the Oort cloud.Sound ridiculous? Yeah, It is. But it's one HELL of a
lot more achievable than travelling at c... That's
just a stupid hollywood fantasy.
Mister Studebaker
Monday, August 15, 2005
"What then is that precious something contained in our food which keeps usfrom death? That is easily answered. Every process, event, happening -- callit what you will; in a word, everything that is going on in Nature means anincrease of the entropy of the part of the world where it is going on. Thusa living organism continually increases its entropy -- or, as you may say,produces positive entropy -- and thus tends to approach the dangerous stateof maximum entropy, which is death. It can only keep aloof from it, i.e.alive, by continually drawing from its environment negative entropy -- whichis something very positive as we shall immediately see. What an organismfeeds upon is negative entropy. Or, to put it less paradoxically, theessential thing in metabolism is that the organism succeeds in freeingitself from all the entropy it cannot help producing while alive."
WHAT IS LIFE? by Erwin Shrödinger
First published in 1944.
http://www.dieoff.com/page150.htm
WHAT IS LIFE? by Erwin Shrödinger
First published in 1944.
http://www.dieoff.com/page150.htm
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Thursday, August 11, 2005
"I built my cottage among the habitations of men,
And yet there is no clamor of carriages and horses.
You ask: 'Sir, how can this be done?''
A heart that is distant creates its own solitude.
I pluck chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge,
Then gaze afar towards the southern hills.
The mountain air is fresh at the dusk of day;
The flying birds in flocks return.
In these things there lies a deep meaning;
I want to tell it, but have forgotten the words."
~Tao YuanMing
And yet there is no clamor of carriages and horses.
You ask: 'Sir, how can this be done?''
A heart that is distant creates its own solitude.
I pluck chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge,
Then gaze afar towards the southern hills.
The mountain air is fresh at the dusk of day;
The flying birds in flocks return.
In these things there lies a deep meaning;
I want to tell it, but have forgotten the words."
~Tao YuanMing
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
100 Items that will disappear first during an emergency
1) Generators.
2) Water filters/purifiers.
3) Portable toilets.
4) Seasoned firewood.
5) Lamp oil, wicks, and lamps.
6) All types of fuel; Coleman, propane, gasoline, kerosene, diesel.
7) Guns, ammunition, pepper-spray, knives, bows/arrows, clubs, bats & slingshots.
8) Hand-can openers & hand egg beaters, whisks, paper/plastic plates and cups.
9) Honey, syrups, white, brown sugars.
10) Rice, beans.
11) Vegetable oil
12) Charcoal & Lighter Fluid.
13) Water containers
14) Mini heater head (Propane)
15) Grain grinder (non-electric)
16) Small propane cylinders and the adapter to refill them from the larger size
17) Goats, chickens, pigeons, ducks, rabbits, milk cows
18) Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc.
19) Baby supplies, diapers, formula, ointments, aspirin, etc
20) Washboards, mop Bucket w/wringer (for laundry)
21) Cook stoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22) Vitamins (Critical, due to forced daily canned food diets.)
23) Propane cylinder Handle-Holder. Small canister use is dangerous without this item.
24) Feminine hygiene, hair care, skin products
25) Thermal underwear, tops and bottoms
26) Bow saws, axes and hatchets & wedges
27) Aluminum foil.
28) Gasoline containers (plastic or metal)
29) Garbage bags (impossible to have too many.)
30) Toilet paper, Kleenex, paper towels
31) Milk -powdered & condensed (Shake liquid every 3 to 4 months.)
32) Garden seeds (non-hybrid A MUST)
33) Clothes pins, line, hangers
34) Coleman's pump Repair Kit:
35) Tuna fish (in oil is preferable over water)
36) Fire extinguishers (or a LARGE box of baking soda in every room...)
37) First aid kits.
38) Batteries (all sizes)
39) Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40) BIG dogs (and plenty of dog food)
41) Flour, yeast & salt
42) Matches "Strike Anywhere" preferred. Boxed, wooden matches will go first.
43) Writing paper, pads, pens, pencils, solar calculators
44) Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in wintertime)
45) Work boots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46) Flashlights, light sticks & torches
47) Journals, diaries & scrapbooks (Jot down ideas, feelings, experiences: Historic times!)
48) Garbage cans, plastic (great for storage, water, transporting - if with wheels)
49) Men's Hygiene: Shampoo, toothbrush/paste, mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, etc
50) Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51) Fishing supplies, tools
52) Mosquito coils, repellent sprays/creams.
53) Duct tape and WD40.
54) Tarps, stakes, line.
55) Candles.
56) Laundry detergent (Liquid).
57) Backpacks & duffle bags.
58) Garden tools & supplies.
59) Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies.
60) Canned fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
61) Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
62) Canning supplies (Jars/lids/rings/wax)
63) Knives & sharpening tools: files, stones, steel, oil.
64) Bicycles, tires, tubes, pumps, chains, etc.
65) Sleeping bags & blankets, pillows, mats.
66) Carbon monoxide alarm (battery powered).
67) Board games cards, dice.
68) Rat poison, roach killer.
69) Mousetraps, ant traps & cockroach magnets
70) Paper plates/cups/utensils
71) Baby wipes, oils, waterless & anti-bacterial soap
72) Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73) Shaving supplies (razors & creams).
74) Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels).
75) Soy sauce, vinegar, bouillons, gravy, soup base.
76) Reading glasses
77) Chocolate, Cocoa, Tang, Punch (water enhancers)
78) Lanterns, Coleman, kerosene
79) Woolen clothing, scarves earmuffs, mittens
80) Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
81) Gloves, work, warming, gardening and etc.
82) Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, trail mix, jerky
83) Popcorn, peanut butter, nuts
84) Socks, underwear, t-shirts, etc. (extras)
85) Lumber (all types)
86) Wagons & carts (for transport to & from open flea markets)
87) Cots & inflatable mattresses (for extra guests).
88) Atomizers (for cooling/bathing).
89) Wire of all types, bailing, fencing, (barbed and smooth), electrical (all gauges).
90) Screen patches, glue, nails,
91) Teas.
92) Coffee.
93) Cigarettes.
94) Wine, liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc.).
95) Candies of all kinds.
96) Screws, nuts & bolts.
97) Chewing gum.
98) Any type of food not listed above.
99) All kinds of pharmaceutical supplies.
100) Nails, string, twine, rope, spikes.
1) Generators.
2) Water filters/purifiers.
3) Portable toilets.
4) Seasoned firewood.
5) Lamp oil, wicks, and lamps.
6) All types of fuel; Coleman, propane, gasoline, kerosene, diesel.
7) Guns, ammunition, pepper-spray, knives, bows/arrows, clubs, bats & slingshots.
8) Hand-can openers & hand egg beaters, whisks, paper/plastic plates and cups.
9) Honey, syrups, white, brown sugars.
10) Rice, beans.
11) Vegetable oil
12) Charcoal & Lighter Fluid.
13) Water containers
14) Mini heater head (Propane)
15) Grain grinder (non-electric)
16) Small propane cylinders and the adapter to refill them from the larger size
17) Goats, chickens, pigeons, ducks, rabbits, milk cows
18) Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc.
19) Baby supplies, diapers, formula, ointments, aspirin, etc
20) Washboards, mop Bucket w/wringer (for laundry)
21) Cook stoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22) Vitamins (Critical, due to forced daily canned food diets.)
23) Propane cylinder Handle-Holder. Small canister use is dangerous without this item.
24) Feminine hygiene, hair care, skin products
25) Thermal underwear, tops and bottoms
26) Bow saws, axes and hatchets & wedges
27) Aluminum foil.
28) Gasoline containers (plastic or metal)
29) Garbage bags (impossible to have too many.)
30) Toilet paper, Kleenex, paper towels
31) Milk -powdered & condensed (Shake liquid every 3 to 4 months.)
32) Garden seeds (non-hybrid A MUST)
33) Clothes pins, line, hangers
34) Coleman's pump Repair Kit:
35) Tuna fish (in oil is preferable over water)
36) Fire extinguishers (or a LARGE box of baking soda in every room...)
37) First aid kits.
38) Batteries (all sizes)
39) Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40) BIG dogs (and plenty of dog food)
41) Flour, yeast & salt
42) Matches "Strike Anywhere" preferred. Boxed, wooden matches will go first.
43) Writing paper, pads, pens, pencils, solar calculators
44) Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in wintertime)
45) Work boots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46) Flashlights, light sticks & torches
47) Journals, diaries & scrapbooks (Jot down ideas, feelings, experiences: Historic times!)
48) Garbage cans, plastic (great for storage, water, transporting - if with wheels)
49) Men's Hygiene: Shampoo, toothbrush/paste, mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, etc
50) Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51) Fishing supplies, tools
52) Mosquito coils, repellent sprays/creams.
53) Duct tape and WD40.
54) Tarps, stakes, line.
55) Candles.
56) Laundry detergent (Liquid).
57) Backpacks & duffle bags.
58) Garden tools & supplies.
59) Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies.
60) Canned fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
61) Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
62) Canning supplies (Jars/lids/rings/wax)
63) Knives & sharpening tools: files, stones, steel, oil.
64) Bicycles, tires, tubes, pumps, chains, etc.
65) Sleeping bags & blankets, pillows, mats.
66) Carbon monoxide alarm (battery powered).
67) Board games cards, dice.
68) Rat poison, roach killer.
69) Mousetraps, ant traps & cockroach magnets
70) Paper plates/cups/utensils
71) Baby wipes, oils, waterless & anti-bacterial soap
72) Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73) Shaving supplies (razors & creams).
74) Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels).
75) Soy sauce, vinegar, bouillons, gravy, soup base.
76) Reading glasses
77) Chocolate, Cocoa, Tang, Punch (water enhancers)
78) Lanterns, Coleman, kerosene
79) Woolen clothing, scarves earmuffs, mittens
80) Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
81) Gloves, work, warming, gardening and etc.
82) Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, trail mix, jerky
83) Popcorn, peanut butter, nuts
84) Socks, underwear, t-shirts, etc. (extras)
85) Lumber (all types)
86) Wagons & carts (for transport to & from open flea markets)
87) Cots & inflatable mattresses (for extra guests).
88) Atomizers (for cooling/bathing).
89) Wire of all types, bailing, fencing, (barbed and smooth), electrical (all gauges).
90) Screen patches, glue, nails,
91) Teas.
92) Coffee.
93) Cigarettes.
94) Wine, liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc.).
95) Candies of all kinds.
96) Screws, nuts & bolts.
97) Chewing gum.
98) Any type of food not listed above.
99) All kinds of pharmaceutical supplies.
100) Nails, string, twine, rope, spikes.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Blues for Buddha
By Jed McKenna
Being critical of Buddhism isn't easy. Buddhism is the most likable of the major religions, and Buddhists are the perennial good guys of modern spirituality. Beautiful traditions, lovely architecture, inspiring statuary, ancient history, the Dalai Lama — what's not to like?
Everything about Buddhsim is just so... nice. No fatwahs or jihads, no inquisitions or crusades, no terrorists or pederasts, just nice people being nice. In fact, Buddhism means niceness. Nice-ism. At least, it should. Buddha means Awakened One, so Buddhism can be taken to mean Awake-ism. Awakism. It would therefore be natural to think that if you were looking to wake up, then Buddhism, i.e., Awakism, would be the place to look.
The Light is Better Over Here
Such thinking, however, would reveal a dangerous lack of respect for the opposition. Maya, goddess of delusion, has been doing her job with supreme mastery since the first spark of self-awareness flickered in some chimp's noggin, and the idea that the neophyte truth-seeker can just sign up with the Buddhists, read some books, embrace some new concepts and slam her to the mat might be a bit on the naive side. On the other hand, why not? How’d this get so turned around? It’s just truth. Shouldn’t truth be, like, the simplest thing? Shouldn’t someone who wants to find something as ubiquitous as truth be able to do so? And here’s this venerable organization supposedly dedicated to just that very thing, even named for it, so what’s the problem?
Why doesn’t Buddhism produce Buddhas?
The problem arises from the fact that Buddhists, like everyone else, insist on reconciling the irreconcilable. They don’t just want to awaken to the true, they also want to make sense of the untrue. They want to have their cake and eat it too, so they end up with nonsensical theories, divergent schools, sagacious doubletalk, and zero Buddhas. Typical of Buddhist insistence on reconciling the irreconcilable is the concept of Two Truths, a poignant two-word joke they don’t seem to get, and yet this sort of perversely irrational thinking is at the very heart of the failed search for truth. We don’t want truth, we want a particular truth; one that doesn't threaten ego, one that doesn’t exist. We insist on a truth that makes sense given what we know, not knowing that we don't know anything. Nothing about Buddhism is more revealing than the Four Noble Truths which, not being true, are of pretty dubious nobility. They form the basis of Buddhism, so it's clear from the outset that the Buddhists have whipped up a proprietary version of truth shaped more by market forces than any particular concern for the less consumer-friendly, albeit true, truth. Yes, Buddhism may be spiritually filling, even nourishing, but insofar as truth is concerned, it's junkfood. You can eat it every day of your life and die exactly as Awakened as the day you signed up.
Bait & Switch
Buddhism is a classic bait-and-switch operation. We’re attracted by the enlightenment in the window, but as soon as we’re in the door they start steering us over to the compassion aisle. Buddhists could be honest and change their name to Compassionism, but who wants that? There's the rub. They can’t sell compassion and they can’t deliver enlightenment. This untruth-in-advertising is the kind of game you have to play if you want to stay successful in a business where the customer is always wrong. You can either go out of business honestly, or thrive by giving the people what they want. What they say they want and what they really want, though, are two very different things.
Me Me Me
To the outside observer, much of Buddhist knowledge and practice seems focused on spiritual self-improvement. This, too, is hard to speak against... except within the context of awakening from delusion. Then it's easy. There is no such thing as true self, so any pursuit geared toward its aggrandizement, betterment, upliftment, elevation, evolution, glorification, salvation, etc, is utter folly. How much more so any endeavor undertaken merely to increase one's own happiness or contentment or, I'm embarrassed to even say it, bliss? Self is ego and ego is the realm of the dreamstate. If you want to break free of the dreamstate, you must break free of self, not stroke it to make it purr or groom it for some imagined brighter future.
Maya's House of Enlightenment
The trick with being critical of so esteemed and beloved an institution is not to get dragged down into the morass of details and debate. It's very simple: If Buddhism is about enlightenment, people should be getting enlightened. If it's not about enlightenment, they should change the sign. Of course, Buddhism isn't completely unique in its survival tactics. This same gulf between promise and performance is found in all systems of human spirituality. We're looking at it in Buddhism because that's where it's most pronounced. No disrespect to the Buddha is intended. If there was a Buddha and he was enlightened, then it's Buddhism that insults his memory, not healthy skepticism. Blame the naked emperor's retinue of tailors and lickspittles, not the boy who merely states the obvious. Buddhism is arguably the most elevated of man's great belief systems. If you want to enjoy the many valuable benefits it has to offer, then I wouldn't presume to utter a syllable against it. But if you want to escape from the clutches of Maya, then I suggest you take a very close look at the serene face on all those golden statues to see if it isn't really hers.
-Jed McKenna
By Jed McKenna
Being critical of Buddhism isn't easy. Buddhism is the most likable of the major religions, and Buddhists are the perennial good guys of modern spirituality. Beautiful traditions, lovely architecture, inspiring statuary, ancient history, the Dalai Lama — what's not to like?
Everything about Buddhsim is just so... nice. No fatwahs or jihads, no inquisitions or crusades, no terrorists or pederasts, just nice people being nice. In fact, Buddhism means niceness. Nice-ism. At least, it should. Buddha means Awakened One, so Buddhism can be taken to mean Awake-ism. Awakism. It would therefore be natural to think that if you were looking to wake up, then Buddhism, i.e., Awakism, would be the place to look.
The Light is Better Over Here
Such thinking, however, would reveal a dangerous lack of respect for the opposition. Maya, goddess of delusion, has been doing her job with supreme mastery since the first spark of self-awareness flickered in some chimp's noggin, and the idea that the neophyte truth-seeker can just sign up with the Buddhists, read some books, embrace some new concepts and slam her to the mat might be a bit on the naive side. On the other hand, why not? How’d this get so turned around? It’s just truth. Shouldn’t truth be, like, the simplest thing? Shouldn’t someone who wants to find something as ubiquitous as truth be able to do so? And here’s this venerable organization supposedly dedicated to just that very thing, even named for it, so what’s the problem?
Why doesn’t Buddhism produce Buddhas?
The problem arises from the fact that Buddhists, like everyone else, insist on reconciling the irreconcilable. They don’t just want to awaken to the true, they also want to make sense of the untrue. They want to have their cake and eat it too, so they end up with nonsensical theories, divergent schools, sagacious doubletalk, and zero Buddhas. Typical of Buddhist insistence on reconciling the irreconcilable is the concept of Two Truths, a poignant two-word joke they don’t seem to get, and yet this sort of perversely irrational thinking is at the very heart of the failed search for truth. We don’t want truth, we want a particular truth; one that doesn't threaten ego, one that doesn’t exist. We insist on a truth that makes sense given what we know, not knowing that we don't know anything. Nothing about Buddhism is more revealing than the Four Noble Truths which, not being true, are of pretty dubious nobility. They form the basis of Buddhism, so it's clear from the outset that the Buddhists have whipped up a proprietary version of truth shaped more by market forces than any particular concern for the less consumer-friendly, albeit true, truth. Yes, Buddhism may be spiritually filling, even nourishing, but insofar as truth is concerned, it's junkfood. You can eat it every day of your life and die exactly as Awakened as the day you signed up.
Bait & Switch
Buddhism is a classic bait-and-switch operation. We’re attracted by the enlightenment in the window, but as soon as we’re in the door they start steering us over to the compassion aisle. Buddhists could be honest and change their name to Compassionism, but who wants that? There's the rub. They can’t sell compassion and they can’t deliver enlightenment. This untruth-in-advertising is the kind of game you have to play if you want to stay successful in a business where the customer is always wrong. You can either go out of business honestly, or thrive by giving the people what they want. What they say they want and what they really want, though, are two very different things.
Me Me Me
To the outside observer, much of Buddhist knowledge and practice seems focused on spiritual self-improvement. This, too, is hard to speak against... except within the context of awakening from delusion. Then it's easy. There is no such thing as true self, so any pursuit geared toward its aggrandizement, betterment, upliftment, elevation, evolution, glorification, salvation, etc, is utter folly. How much more so any endeavor undertaken merely to increase one's own happiness or contentment or, I'm embarrassed to even say it, bliss? Self is ego and ego is the realm of the dreamstate. If you want to break free of the dreamstate, you must break free of self, not stroke it to make it purr or groom it for some imagined brighter future.
Maya's House of Enlightenment
The trick with being critical of so esteemed and beloved an institution is not to get dragged down into the morass of details and debate. It's very simple: If Buddhism is about enlightenment, people should be getting enlightened. If it's not about enlightenment, they should change the sign. Of course, Buddhism isn't completely unique in its survival tactics. This same gulf between promise and performance is found in all systems of human spirituality. We're looking at it in Buddhism because that's where it's most pronounced. No disrespect to the Buddha is intended. If there was a Buddha and he was enlightened, then it's Buddhism that insults his memory, not healthy skepticism. Blame the naked emperor's retinue of tailors and lickspittles, not the boy who merely states the obvious. Buddhism is arguably the most elevated of man's great belief systems. If you want to enjoy the many valuable benefits it has to offer, then I wouldn't presume to utter a syllable against it. But if you want to escape from the clutches of Maya, then I suggest you take a very close look at the serene face on all those golden statues to see if it isn't really hers.
-Jed McKenna
Thursday, August 04, 2005
"It is apparent that in the not too distant future nature must institute bankruptcy proceedings against industrial civilization, and perhaps against the standing crop of human flesh, just as nature has done many times to other detritus-consuming species following their exuberant expansion in response to the savings deposits their ecosystems had accumulated before they got the opportunity to begin their drawdown".
Catton, 'Overshoot', Page 172
Catton, 'Overshoot', Page 172
"The world of mechanism is not a manufactory, in which energy iscreated, but rather a mart, into which we may bring energy of one kindand change or barter it for an equivalent of another kind, that suitsus better - but if we come with nothing in hand, with nothing we willmost assuredly return."
[Balfour Stewart, 1883, pp. 26-7; 34]
[Balfour Stewart, 1883, pp. 26-7; 34]
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
A definition for loving-kindness and samadhi
ericparoissien
...
an attitude where you let everyone around you believe in the niceynessthat "has to be" found at the heart of each creature ... thusminimizing the risk of being rejected, ignored, misunderstood, takenfor a fool, a madman or a simpleton. Considering that there is no mystery, no beyond, no transcendence, nocore to experience or humankind, thus no hope for evolution (thereforeno dissatisfaction or disillusion) ...at Dante's inferno's gate:"Leave all hope behind you, you who enter here"is a message of freedom .. but inferno for the seeker of truth; surely when nothing i carry or believe is my heart, is taken seriously, each moment takes care of itself. What if Buddha was so enlightenend that he did not need to believe in heavens and afterworlds and tomorrow will be better because of today's effort and meritorious deeds.
Why do all these teachers have to prepare us for something glorious to come, or take us out of an undesirable state in which we are enmuddled. As soon as we had the need/fear, we rushed out to a specialist...
Do we rely on him to tell us to question the need/fear, and how to achieve that? thus entrapping us in his wisdom to tell us how much wedon't need anybody's wisdom to make it on our own. Please don't give us, any more samadhis, trips, thrills, higher states, orgasms, experiences ...WE ARE FINE... all there is to know about the world is contained in one pause. Hey teachers leave those kids alone!
ericparoissien
...
an attitude where you let everyone around you believe in the niceynessthat "has to be" found at the heart of each creature ... thusminimizing the risk of being rejected, ignored, misunderstood, takenfor a fool, a madman or a simpleton. Considering that there is no mystery, no beyond, no transcendence, nocore to experience or humankind, thus no hope for evolution (thereforeno dissatisfaction or disillusion) ...at Dante's inferno's gate:"Leave all hope behind you, you who enter here"is a message of freedom .. but inferno for the seeker of truth; surely when nothing i carry or believe is my heart, is taken seriously, each moment takes care of itself. What if Buddha was so enlightenend that he did not need to believe in heavens and afterworlds and tomorrow will be better because of today's effort and meritorious deeds.
Why do all these teachers have to prepare us for something glorious to come, or take us out of an undesirable state in which we are enmuddled. As soon as we had the need/fear, we rushed out to a specialist...
Do we rely on him to tell us to question the need/fear, and how to achieve that? thus entrapping us in his wisdom to tell us how much wedon't need anybody's wisdom to make it on our own. Please don't give us, any more samadhis, trips, thrills, higher states, orgasms, experiences ...WE ARE FINE... all there is to know about the world is contained in one pause. Hey teachers leave those kids alone!
it reminds me of a story Stephen Gaskin used to tell,
> about how he came to be enlightened. He said he was living
> with a bunch of people and he didn't like any of them. And
> he was kind of wrestling with this, because it was actually
> more than not liking the people in his household, it was
> more like he hated everyone and it was tearing him apart to
> borrow a phrase from James Dean. And he knew this feeling
> was crazy and he needed to come to some sort of resolution
> about it because it was destroying him to have this kind
> of feeling inside of him. And he went and meditated on this
> idea and feeling and eventually saw that having that kind of
> feeling created the foundation for his ground of being and
> everything was being extruded out of that and seeing this
> exploded his mind and he became enlightened, kind of a version
> of who am I? only what is this feeling?
*_* That's interesting.Could you elaborate?
-ok, sure, here's my understanding.
He said that reality ismultidimensional and the key element is the feeling/tone. Thatyou have your own personal one plus if there's more than one person in an area, there's a collective feeling/tone, similarto having an orchestra. A collective vibration. And this is the most important part of beingness. Rather than the thoughts part being the most important. If one can be shown or sees the truth of this, it 'could' cause a shift of consciousness from being anchored in thought, the usual place of anchorage. So, using this new model, attention is routed thru awareness of the energy body at all times to accurately measure the quality of one's thoughts.
> about how he came to be enlightened. He said he was living
> with a bunch of people and he didn't like any of them. And
> he was kind of wrestling with this, because it was actually
> more than not liking the people in his household, it was
> more like he hated everyone and it was tearing him apart to
> borrow a phrase from James Dean. And he knew this feeling
> was crazy and he needed to come to some sort of resolution
> about it because it was destroying him to have this kind
> of feeling inside of him. And he went and meditated on this
> idea and feeling and eventually saw that having that kind of
> feeling created the foundation for his ground of being and
> everything was being extruded out of that and seeing this
> exploded his mind and he became enlightened, kind of a version
> of who am I? only what is this feeling?
*_* That's interesting.Could you elaborate?
-ok, sure, here's my understanding.
He said that reality ismultidimensional and the key element is the feeling/tone. Thatyou have your own personal one plus if there's more than one person in an area, there's a collective feeling/tone, similarto having an orchestra. A collective vibration. And this is the most important part of beingness. Rather than the thoughts part being the most important. If one can be shown or sees the truth of this, it 'could' cause a shift of consciousness from being anchored in thought, the usual place of anchorage. So, using this new model, attention is routed thru awareness of the energy body at all times to accurately measure the quality of one's thoughts.
GJC: The concept that cuts through the fog of ignorance and secrecy, the concept that allows the student to use Chi with purpose, to cultivate Jing, to develop and "burn" it into form, to become a dynamic self-powered individual is "The Condensing Principle." "The Condensing Process" is one of creating an inner vacuum with Chi, Jing, and Shen all at the same time. It's the process of packing the essence of things into every thought, intention, and action. Here's one basic condensing technique for developing Jing: whatever the posture, on the inhale focus on the body to expand, and at the same time focus on the inhaled Chi to contract, to condense, into the core of the body; then, on the exhale focus on the body to contract, and at the same time focus on the inhaled Chi to expand. On each inhale and exhale there is a simultaneous mental focus to expand and contract. This particular technique does two things: first, it sensitizes you to where you are in space as a physical, material body, and second, it introduces you to the first glimmer of Chi sensation, so much used in later training. This is just step one. As we go on and on, what we're doing is refining this same basic technique to the point where it goes from as gross as the body contracts, to where all the molecules in your body condense into one single atom.
(Gary Clyman)
(Gary Clyman)
Monday, August 01, 2005
plane has its own illusion, which can be destroyed only by another illusion on the same plane. For example, a man takes a full meal and goes to sleep. He dreams of being hungry in spite of the jagrat food in his stomach. To satisfy the dream hunger, he has to take dream food.
Similarly the illusion of ajnana (ignorance) can be destroyed only by the illusion of guru upadesa (the Master's teaching). Mukti (liberation) is ever present, and bondage is for ever absent, yet the universal experience is the reverse.
- Ramana Maharshi, Thus Spake Ramana
Similarly the illusion of ajnana (ignorance) can be destroyed only by the illusion of guru upadesa (the Master's teaching). Mukti (liberation) is ever present, and bondage is for ever absent, yet the universal experience is the reverse.
- Ramana Maharshi, Thus Spake Ramana
He Sees the Truth
O Rama, he sees the truth who sees the body as a product of deluded understanding and as the fountain-source of misfortune, and who knows that the body is not the Self.
He sees the truth who sees that this body pleasure and pain are experienced on account of the passage of time and the circumstances in which one is placed; and that they do not pertain to him.
He sees the truth who sees that he is the omnipresent infinite consciousness which encompasses within itself all that takes place everywhere at all times.
He sees the truth who knows that the Self, which is as subtle as the millionth part of the tip of a hair divided a million times, pervades everything.
He sees the truth who sees that there is no division at all between the self and the other, and that the one infinite light of consciousness exists as the sole reality.
He sees the truth who sees that the non-dual consciousness which indwells all beings is omnipotent and omnipresent.
He sees the truth who is not deluded into thinking that he is the body which is subject to illness, fear, agitation, old age and death.
He sees the truth who sees that all things are strung together in the Self as beads are strung on a thread, and who knows ‘I am not the mind’.
He sees the truth who sees all beings in the three worlds as his own family, deserving of his sympathy and protection.
He sees the truth who knows that the Self alone exists and that there is no substance in objectivity.
He is unaffected who knows that pleasure, pain, birth, death, etc., are all the Self only.
He is firmly established in the truth who feels: ‘What should I acquire, what should I renounce, when all this is the one Self?’
Salutations to that abode of auspiciousness, who is filled with the supreme realization that the entire universe is truly Brahman alone, which remains unchanged during all the apparent creation, existence and dissolution of the universe.
— Vasistha’s Yoga, translated by Swami Venkatesananda
O Rama, he sees the truth who sees the body as a product of deluded understanding and as the fountain-source of misfortune, and who knows that the body is not the Self.
He sees the truth who sees that this body pleasure and pain are experienced on account of the passage of time and the circumstances in which one is placed; and that they do not pertain to him.
He sees the truth who sees that he is the omnipresent infinite consciousness which encompasses within itself all that takes place everywhere at all times.
He sees the truth who knows that the Self, which is as subtle as the millionth part of the tip of a hair divided a million times, pervades everything.
He sees the truth who sees that there is no division at all between the self and the other, and that the one infinite light of consciousness exists as the sole reality.
He sees the truth who sees that the non-dual consciousness which indwells all beings is omnipotent and omnipresent.
He sees the truth who is not deluded into thinking that he is the body which is subject to illness, fear, agitation, old age and death.
He sees the truth who sees that all things are strung together in the Self as beads are strung on a thread, and who knows ‘I am not the mind’.
He sees the truth who sees all beings in the three worlds as his own family, deserving of his sympathy and protection.
He sees the truth who knows that the Self alone exists and that there is no substance in objectivity.
He is unaffected who knows that pleasure, pain, birth, death, etc., are all the Self only.
He is firmly established in the truth who feels: ‘What should I acquire, what should I renounce, when all this is the one Self?’
Salutations to that abode of auspiciousness, who is filled with the supreme realization that the entire universe is truly Brahman alone, which remains unchanged during all the apparent creation, existence and dissolution of the universe.
— Vasistha’s Yoga, translated by Swami Venkatesananda
Do what you feel like doing. Don't bully yourself. Violence will make you hard and rigid. Do not fight with what you take to be obstacles on your way. Just be interested in them, watch them, observe, enquire. Let anything happen - good or bad. But don't let yourself be submerged by what happens.
- Nisargadatta Maharai I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
- Nisargadatta Maharai I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
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