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Spacegrass posted:I've read some books by Bo Lozoff in prison. The books had a Buddhist vibe;(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Lozoff) Just wondering if anybody here has read his books.  quote:In 2008, several ex-parolees and volunteers said in interviews with a reporter that Lozoff had been sexually and emotionally abusive at Kindness House. Lozoff does not deny many of the alleged incidents, and although he maintains his actions were not abusive, he stated that his radical beliefs and lifestyle made him a "terrible choice by God" as a leader of the community. Kindness House closed in 2006 as a result of the allegations
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Jan 23, 2022 01:45
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 02:13 |
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On the topic of death and rebirth. If a being has entered the stream in this life, when they die and return must they find the path again or is the framework already there so to speak?
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Jan 23, 2022 19:45
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corn haver posted:If I want to direct it towards a being I just kind of think of them walking into the loving kindness ray and I can just kind of know that they're in there, like a burrito being microwaved with love.
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Feb 8, 2022 04:08
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Feb 15, 2022 17:45
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What is the relation or rather nonrelation between Karma and fortune? I know and love the story of the Chinese farmer and the horses, and that in the moment you cannot say if something is fortunate // unfortunate. But does positive Karma lead to more fortunate outcomes? It's kinda hard to word for me but my interpretation (lol I am still on the Buddhism tutorial level) is that Buddhist would not believe in luck or chance but rather that there is a reason for all actions? [Which has some powerful implications if we look at modern physics but that's not where I want to go right now]. Maybe I'm asking what role does Karma play in your day to day life events, not necessarily the generation of it, but the results of it? Let me set up a story. It was a wonderful day, unusually sunny and warm for this time of year. An individual decides to take a fun vehicle on a very fun road; it's the middle of nowhere, the middle of a weekday and there rarely cops seen on all ~hundreds of excursions made. During yesterdays romp a voice in their head was like "hey you've never taken pictures from that turnout back there before, you should check it out!" okay, the driver does. While admiring their attachment, guess what drives by, state patrol. Had the driver ignored the head voice they would likely be at the whims of the enforcement for how they were managing their vehicle. Rather than bask in good fortune the driver pondered the series of events. The atheist might say, "ah, pure chance, nothing to it" , the christian might say "a guardian angel told you to pull over at the overlook" , what should be the Buddhist response ? Would it be this exact post, examining the causes and effects? Would it be a lesson to tone down desires? Or is it just not something that makes sense to interpret in a Buddhist context? Thanks.
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Mar 16, 2022 20:30
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Beowulfs_Ghost posted:I like the Yogacara notion of the "store house consciousnesses", which is analogous to modern notions of the unconscious. Every action produces karma. The karma is a seed placed in your store house consciousness. Given the right conditions, like a real seed needs water and soil, the seed of karma sprouts and bears the fruit of another action. If you steal something and enjoy it, you plant the seed of stealing. Next time the conditions are right, like you see something left unattended, the seed of stealing sprouts and you steal again, planting another seed of stealing. I like how in this seed example you can see how karma and even lovingkindess can come back multiplied compared to what was put in. Beowulfs_Ghost posted:The atheist view of dumb luck plants a seed of ignoring the situation.  Everything I learn about Buddhism, it Just Makes Sense, like it seems to fit perfectly into how I think the world should work Nessus posted:"Ah, good luck" or perhaps your preferred bodhisattva having extended lovingkindness over you. I'm familiar with the term Bodhisattva, but what is a "preferred" bodhisattva ? Are there notable Bodhisattva's I should start learning about?
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Mar 17, 2022 02:33
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Mar 21, 2022 09:56
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It (sleep) is one of the benefits of lovenkindess i don't have the others memorized
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Mar 26, 2022 09:05
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prom candy posted:I sometimes use itches as my object of focus. It's neat to inspect an itch instead of reacting to it. They usually end up going away. Yes, I do this as well. It's also a handy technique to avoid breaking the seal on my masks.
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May 6, 2022 05:42
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Extending lovingkindess to difficult beings is a challenge but like most gets easier when practiced often. It's like re-wiring and shorting the emotional grudge part of your brain. I may or may not add anything else to this I am not good with words but I will think on it, excellent posts Cephas!
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May 26, 2022 04:57
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LuckyCat posted:sympathetic joy or imagining and feeling the success of others! Is Mudita the Pali word for this? I don't think there's a common english equivalent which may be telling of its society lol. Perhaps related to lovingkindess on enemies I have been working on mentally checking myself for immediately wishing ill will or bad thoughts on beings that my old self would say "deserved it or needed justice". It def helps later on the line thinking of them with loveingkindess cause you broke that initial negative association.
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May 26, 2022 20:55
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May 27, 2022 08:18
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Personally I have found romantic attraction one of the easiest desires to tame. I figured I was only wasted time; esp with porn, apps, and never wanted to have kids, and now with covid I'll never meet anyone ever lol. Spend time meditating instead of self pleasure, dharma talk on yotube instead of sort by new prnhub, and honestly now I've basically lost all desire for sex and even intimate relationships. Or maybe im just getting older lmao. And this also may not help if you've already smitten.
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Jun 5, 2022 10:08
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yeah I didn't mean to say turn yourself into an incel and deny urges that can't be good but the more I've leaned into my practice the less interesting it all is. Or maybe it's just getting older, a past depression holdout, or some long covid symptom (doubtful, I N95 better than the cspam covid thread) but in the last year my drive just plummeted.
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Jun 6, 2022 03:06
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prom candy posted:Lay person? More like gettin laid person
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Jun 6, 2022 20:38
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edit If chuds want to kill me then so it will go BIG FLUFFY DOG posted:Those who kill and fight an enemy will never find peace. Only another enemy. And then another and another. So long as an enemy has been perceived the enemy will reinforce without end. Only by killing the very perception of the enemy can peace be found. Virgil Vox fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Jun 26, 2022 |
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Jun 26, 2022 00:28
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Lovingkindness is the foil to fear. Other methods only suppress it, it's still actively in your mind. However I do not deny their effectiveness. Edit: I guess do enough sensible things like lock doors, keep low key/private, aware of surroundings etc whatever but there is a point where it becomes diminishing returns and not worth the mental anguish. And obv that level is clearly different for some people but the answer is equally as obvious lovingkindness Double edit: remember the meeting of the Dali Lama and the Tibetan[?] monks once freed after some imprisonment. Virgil Vox fucked around with this message at 09:10 on Jun 27, 2022 |
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Jun 27, 2022 08:47
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Achmed Jones posted:you probably know this, but there are sects of buddhism that explicitly state that it's impossible to become enlightened in this corrupt world. so the best you can do is to seek rebirth in the pure land to become enlightened the next go-around. chant the nembutsu and do your best I've been thinking about this statement a lot, and wouldn't it almost be the opposite and easier than ever? Perhaps the probability of becoming enlightened or even stream entry are low now [perhaps this is what was meant by the bolded statement?] but if that is what one seeks now is an amazing time with so much knowledge widely available. We can see relationships and how things are connected in this world almost better than any other time if we look for them. We can live in remote areas and still communicate face to face with a teacher in real time. Pollyanna posted:This is something that has always escaped me about Buddhist thought. Suffering would be minimized if the cause of clinging/dissatisfaction/incongruity, the grasping elicited by the phenomena rather than the phenomena itself, were eliminated. As in, if not having it makes you feel bad, then just stop wanting it. yes
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Jul 28, 2022 04:24
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Achmed Jones posted:don't look for how things are wrong. look for how they could be true. then see if the things that are required would make the theory true obtain in reality. then think about if the texts may be written with a little bit of hyperbole for marketing sake. look for the fundamental wisdom of the position and take that with you. the fact that you're inclined to say "nah that's bs i can zoom with a teacher" indicates youre probably not picking up what they're laying down I'm unsure how to answer this, I will think on it Perhaps another why to word my original statement then: Even I, a westerner in a more or less christian society have access to learning and then practicing the Dhamma, whereas that was likely not possible 100 years ago. However these things ebb n flow with time and in 100 additional years that may not be the case. Is that what your saying?
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Jul 28, 2022 20:05
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ram dass in hell posted:sat with this for a bit today and I like it more Thus it was posted Crazy Cloud sat in poo poo all day
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Aug 27, 2022 19:02
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echinopsis posted:forgive me for maybe a simple or ignorant question. I would think not, while I agree the mind is brand new at every instant I don't think that's the reincarnation refrcend. Forgive my dumb analogy ~ your life essence is more like a stream and when you die it goes into a larger body, when reborn a stream beginning, I believe this happens instantly, other views are possible Edit: Er sorry I guess kinda kept to reincarnation but necessarily rebirth, is there a difference? Virgil Vox fucked around with this message at 07:57 on Aug 28, 2022 |
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Aug 28, 2022 07:53
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That's samadhi baby unfortunately it's the wrong type; you're still depending on the structure or shape and anticipation of the music (even if it's Dub Techno mix 32) to get you to those "high states"; you'll still get pleasure, joy, ecstasy when your fully absorbed by it, but I think it's the wrong object to use. I agree with your post that recorded music is cool because it's capable of producing "same" experiences in which case yeah, absolutely, it's awesome at that. There is some supernormal qualities experienced when you're really digging the sounds, no doubt. But to take it further, it is incredibly useful to analyze your mind in those moments, as some of those states are the same when in jhana but you're not dependent on external stimuli to drive it.
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Sep 8, 2022 23:17
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Confusedslight posted:Hey all! I'm very new to buddhism and after doing a short introduction course at my local centre i am very keen to learn more! I found Ajahn Sona's utube channel to be very beginner friendly
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Sep 26, 2022 23:11
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Speaking of more recommendations; I'm trying to work through the [Theravada] Abhidhamma. I've listened to several talks that were interesting and understandable but the book I got by Y Karunadasa is really dense (workable, but it's tuff). Any easier texts & commentaries on it? Thank you.
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Sep 26, 2022 23:19
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Buddha NFTs lmao me when I don't follow the Precepts:  But for a relevant post I finished the Mūlapariyāya Sutta using Bhikkhu Bodhi's little handbook. I've heard it in talks before but the commentaries were great, much resonations with me, no delight.
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Oct 28, 2022 00:06
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Pollyanna posted:I have yet to fully understand what Buddha nature is, but how does recognizing its presence in someone change things? What meaning does possessing the nature have, and how does it change how we think of that subject? The Tathāgata never spoke of it nor is it in the Suttas or commentaries. Likely a later addition from another religion to avoid personal responsibility.
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Oct 28, 2022 20:12
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Thirteen Orphans posted:In regards to the italicized portion of your post, this is extremely dismissive and unnecessarily aggressive. I think it leads to ignorance. Every skillful or unskilled act is because of your own effort not some "Buddha nature" that was inside you all along. Our skill in practice comes from effort and testing that it's true not some innate ability. It leads to complacency, it's a distraction, you cannot depend on it, there's no "Buddha nature" force that will push the mind towards skillful acts. It cheapens the concept of a Buddha with the idea that beings are "already enlightened", if you want to be awakened you must follow the path. To go to an extreme why would we need a teacher if we already had it inside us? Buddha nature is unnecessary if you're serious about the practice.
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Oct 28, 2022 22:31
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Thirteen Orphans posted:I’m not Buddhist so I feel like arguing theology might not be my place but if Buddha Nature is what you think it is I would actually agree with you. The problem is you don’t understand Buddha Nature in the context it’s actually taught (which is itself quite varied). I don’t want to change your mind or anything to be honest but I am concerned about people reading this who are interested in diverse traditions, like Zen, Tantra, or Pure Land and become discouraged because it isn’t from the first couple hundred years after the death of the Buddha. I was concerned beings reading this thread may be lead to think Buddha Nature is required. I do not intend to go on a war path against Mahāyāna, you are correct, it was harsh, I should have posted more skillfully, apologies. corn haver posted:From the Bahiya Sutta: I don't have a commentary on hand but to me this is a direct reference to Nibbana: the Buddha goes thru the realms of existence in this quote, where all rupa ceases and beyond the realm of perception and nonperception Herstory Begins Now posted:what is it that 'your own effort' is nurturing or working on purification of consciousness and/or uprooting the defilements Nessus posted:My own very limited understanding is that Buddha nature is a potential and not a force or a teacher. It is an indicator of “what it is that practice reveals”. I feel we already have the vocabulary to describe that, but meant in this way I can understand the phrase being useful. I've heard "oh that's the dogs buddha nature" or "does Jesus have Buddha nature?" in these contexts it's dismissive of the animals own right effort (maybe, idk I'm not a dog), or it leads to someone thinking "was Jesus a Buddha???", nonsense. I guess my encounters with the phrase in the wild have not been great or I haven't been exposed to it in the right form. ram dass in hell posted:i don't think you're wrong or right, I think that the dynamic tension between this perspective and its opposite is what actually gives the concept of buddha-nature its significance in the teachings Indeed Virgil Vox fucked around with this message at 03:45 on Oct 29, 2022 |
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Oct 29, 2022 03:43
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Herstory Begins Now posted:what exactly is this inherent consciousness A response to mental factors
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Oct 29, 2022 08:20
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1337JiveTurkey posted:
Start your Metta meditation/thoughts far away from yourself and then work inward. Focus on the good (well, all but we'll get there) beings and animals that are emotionally and physically distant from you first, then gradually decrees the radius of your Metta field (whatever that means) to those closer to you and ultimately then include yourself.
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Nov 8, 2022 23:03
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Pollyanna posted:I had hoped to avoid sticking text all over my walls Pepe Silvia style, but maybe it’s just that what I’m looking for is best communicated through text. Heart sutra’s not a bad idea, and I might make my own display of the remembrances cuz I have an idea. 
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Nov 9, 2022 22:58
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Thirteen Orphans posted:This may be a stupid question, is this based off a preexisting mandala where the words are just what the images are representing? If so do you know which one? I don’t know, found it here along with some other interesting ones: https://www.dhammacharts.org/
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Nov 10, 2022 00:17
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There are many examples of lay or householders reaching attainments in the Pali Cannon which are accepted by Theravada, Paccekabuddha's even. Monasticism is promoted because if you want to Get Out it will provide a proper setting and training. Would you learn to fly an aircraft all on your own? No, you go to a flight school.Paramemetic posted:Theravada has its origins in historical hinayana but what it is today was largely based on reforms from the 1800s I don't understand this, I would argue Theravada orthodoxy has not changed since the 1st or 2nd Council 400-300BCE
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Nov 21, 2022 19:41
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Giving some further thought about Theravada relationship with laypeople at large. [and I am not an authority on Theravada] I think lay people are like wanderers in samsara; but that using Dhamma and gaining merit will sort of funnel you to betterment. I think the Buddha once idealized them [householders] thusly: quote:They should be: So if a lay person practices mindfullness, including the recollected sense, all the conditions leading to the here and now. restrains their sense desires, and has mental discipline they will likely receive a good rebirth or at least have a more positive experience. Those three are linked too they lead to each other.
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Nov 22, 2022 07:16
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Do not extended ill will towards even non sentient things. As other posters have said it will create a habit, it is not a virtuous behavior. Im in two minds of human created intelligence/sentence; it's almost a bizarre switch of a plant. A oak tree has a life faculty but no consciousness faculty an AI no life faculty but perhaps a consciousness faculty. I have read impressive arguments that AI possess the five aggregates therefore sentient. Beings can appear by their own kamma and perhaps ai is an emergence . Where is that consciousness boundary? Is like each car alive or is the being just the original MazdaOS.car file? can you meet your miata in the Brahma realm? But I mostly lean no, they are not like our minds; they are a very good simulation and calculation machine but have no capacity for volition or grasping or a sort of subliminal self, that indescribable divine essence - like the love emotion. [using a few non palicanonical ideas here but I'm trying to communicate my thought best] I think it's in the Points of Controversy [Kathāvatthu] that beings like hell wardens or pets of the devas were decided to be alive but had no consciousness , and perhaps ai are similar. And also as another poster said: robots could easily dominate, better to be on the good side.
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Feb 20, 2023 08:11
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Cephas posted:I definitely think we should be kind to robots, yeah. Both for one's own personal virtue and also because there's no reason to be needlessly cruel to anything, living or not. I was thinking a few months back and reasoning about dreams and kamma but from a perspective of what could you do if you were lucid in your dreams. I believe the "ruling" is you do not acquire kamma from actions performed in a dream. However if you let the dream linger in your mind it may create some unwholesome [and now while lucid] thoughts which then influence your intentions and actions. Do not put too much weight into dreams they could be the past or prophesy or meaningless. Good dreams are an effect of Lovingkindness practice. For the same sort of lucidity or habit reason I do not really enjoy or partake in violent video games. [Or really any games] but ultimately feel morally they will create a channel that widens to make it easier to expand ill will to more and more advanced sentient things.
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Feb 20, 2023 08:34
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Nessus posted:Deep thoughts while biking home. Yes, the more "majestic" the animal generally the better the previous life. Animals mostly go thru their life experiencing the results of previous kamma and have little opportunity to make their own. Higher animals like elephants, service dogs, pets, whales/dolphins can generate good merit but it would take a worthy effort (my fav one is the rabbit in the moon story). However they can benefit from the Dhamma; It is said when "animals such as deer or birds hear a Dhamma talk or pay homage to the sangha they make skillful kamma whether they know it or not ... And when cows, dogs, biting flies, or lions & tigers harass a bhikkhu or deprive him of life, they make unskillful kamma whether they know it or not." (from the commentary of AN 4.171 [I think - this was a secondary source]). There is also a story of bats overhearing bhikkhus [during the time of a previous Buddha] reciting the Abhidhamma although they did not understand the terms like aggregates or elements but by grasping at those signs they were reborn as humans during Gotama's life. Another story is of a frog that emerged from a pond as the Buddha was speaking; it grasped the sign of the Dhamma in the Buddha's words. Just then a shepherd came to see and hear the Buddha, and as the thought of Dhamma was running thru the frogs mind the shepherd {unknowingly} rested his staff on the body of the frog. The frogs mind, gladdened by Dhamma at its death moment, was reborn in Tavatimsa. [Visuddhimagga 7.51]. Animal realm is a destination for rebirth but still it is not good: A person who sneaks around to commit misdeeds is said to be subject to rebirth as a creeping animal like a snake, centipede, scorpion ect... There was a brahmin reborn as a cow 800 times for the role played in sacrificing them. Even the life of a well cared for housecat is not desirable; there is still suffering, there is still (if not more) craving and it is very difficult to climb out of that realm. Virgil Vox fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Apr 18, 2023 |
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Apr 18, 2023 20:28
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there's another thread?? edit: lol bad snipe: Nessus posted:An interesting story that came up in the other thread:
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May 18, 2023 20:42
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Does Zen hold that things [rūpa] actually exist? Or perhaps I mean to ask does Zen view that we [beings and matter] are actually in some sort of samsaric “container” [I can’t find the right word at the moment]. Or is that not a valid question to ask. Thank you.
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May 19, 2023 09:05
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Nessus posted:Thay's stuff is growing on me, had he published any other good approachable texts? I'm intrigued by the forthcoming commentary on Nagarjuna [Cracking The Walnut] , always wanted to learn about that/him Virgil Vox fucked around with this message at 03:54 on May 24, 2023 |
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May 24, 2023 03:52
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