﻿Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 10:50 PM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Conspiracy theories are the place where new age dipshits and the alt right meet for dates and eventual miscegenation, resulting in Fascist Deadheads.

Lazy Lubber said:
I live around lots of left-wingers, who appear to be life-long rebels against their conservative upbringing

Malcolm wrote:
In other words, you have no idea who they were brought up, and so you are merely engaged in proliferation.

Lazy Lubber said:
; despite the apple not falling very far from the tree. In other words, most of them are so straight when it comes to following the mass-media. Its frightening their lack of critical thinking. They are often as conformist as the right-wingers.

Malcolm wrote:
The "mass media"? What did not you have in mind?

I mean, basically, there are those people, on the right and the left, who believe what scientists, the academics, the government, and the press tell them, because when taken together, there is a fact-based narrative to be followed. They may disagree about what the facts mean, but they accept the same basic set of facts to be what they are, facts.

And then there are those on the left and the right, who refuse to believe what the scientists, the academics, the government, and the press tell them, and having no other credible sources turn to other than people like Alex Jones, fundamentalist religious leaders, and so on on the bat-shit crazy far right, and their equivalents in the bat-shit crazy far left, who both are likely to believe such idiocy as 5G networks cause corona virus and so on.

Lazy Lubber said:
My understanding of Mahayana Buddhism & Madhyamaka is dependently originated causes are examined & understood.

Malcolm wrote:
Sane people rely on deductive reasoning to establish facts through empirical validation, since inductive reasoning is not reliable.

Lazy Lubber said:
I think anyone blindly following the mass-media on any matter is not practising Buddhism (because it is quite obvious the mass-media is often a controlled propaganda arm of governments).

Malcolm wrote:
This is just a conspiracy theory followed by people who tend towards the bat-shot crazy wings of the right and the left.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 10:32 PM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
Dan74 said:
Thank you for the edit that explained what you meant, but it still doesn't add up. You say that it is racist to discuss immigration and then adduce historical injustices that have contributed to it. Refugees from Syria or wealthy immigrants from China, it is apparently all the same. I am yet to see a sloppier stroke of the great big brush of generalisation from you.

Malcolm wrote:
We all know that when people bring up the immigration "issue," they are not generally referring to the immigration of millionaires, but rather, they bring up immigration as an issue because of jobs, cultural difference, etc. In Europe, there is a lot of racist anxiety about preserving European "culture," just as there is in the US.

You Europeans have managed to turn the Middle East and Africa into your ready-made second class citizens, upon whom your equality and liberty depends, and whose economies you control through economic access to employment in Europe.

More or less, it is the same relationship the US has with its southern neighbors.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 10:18 PM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Arranged marriage is not actually mentioned in the prohibitions related to partners.

Lazy Lubber said:
It appears it is it the Hinayana Commentary, linked above. Regardless, this is what the word "protected" means. "Protected" by relatives until married, per the tradition in India, which often remains practised today or until recently.

Malcolm wrote:
This is irrelevant in West, where we generally do not do arranged marriages. You were the one who brought up arranged marriage, and not me. Your assertion that it is covered in the precepts is false. Your contention that "protected" refers to arranged marriage is dubious at best.

I doubt Western culture defines Buddhist precepts.
Pratimokṣa precepts are flexible: one can be a one-vow holder, a two-vow holder, etc., up to a full upāsaka/upāsikā. Simply put, one does not have to follow the vow against sexual misconduct if one does not feel one can. Or one can elect to so for a day, a week, a month. There is nothing "Western" about this flexibility, it is stated very precisely by Vasubandhu in the Abhidharmakośa.

Furthermore, everyone admits that the codes of Vinaya and rites of ordination were developed after the Buddha passed. This why there is considerable variation in Vinaya codes and the rites of ordination in different schools.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 10:07 PM
Title: Re: Renewable Energy
Content:


Kim O'Hara said:
Subsidies distort the market and are (as far as I'm concerned) impossible to measure accurately.

Malcolm wrote:
Yup.


Kim O'Hara said:
While I'm sure everything you say is correct, I don't believe it is the whole story and I don't believe it alters the clearly observable cost trends.
And if the (real) costs of renewables keep dropping - as they have been for years - while the (real) costs of fossils keep rising (as they have to extract more difficult and lower-quality resources) then there must be a crossover.

Malcolm wrote:
Umm, oil is trading at 0 dollars per barrel right now...


Kim O'Hara said:
In media interviews over the past week, the energy and emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor, has called for a “gas-fired recovery” from the Covid-19 pandemic after the collapse of oil and gas prices.

Malcolm wrote:
See, it is hard for renewables to compete with that.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 7:14 PM
Title: Re: Why Bon ≈ Buddhism?
Content:
Ayu said:
I think, the Bon subforum is not for questioning if Bon is legitimately at all. Every tradition deserves a certain amount of respect in it's regarding subforum.

If this thread runs into the direction of disrespect, it will be locked.

Malcolm wrote:
What I said is a fact, not a put down.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 6:02 AM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Most Western Buddhists that I know do not view Buddhism as neutral on the issue of sexual conduct.

Lazy Lubber said:
Sure. I agree. They are certainly not neutral on the issue of sexual conduct. But only after they pick & choose certain teachings from scripture and thus redefine sexual conduct in their own image.

Malcolm wrote:
No, they just decide that those guidances on orifices are not definitive teachings.


Lazy Lubber said:
For example, in the Hinayana tradition, they focus on the literal 3rd precept definition but totally ignore the other teachings or context the 3rd precept is part of.

Malcolm wrote:
There are four fundamental pratimokṣa vows: do not take life, do not take that which has not been given, do not intentionally deceive people with your speech, and refrain from sexual misconduct. You are talking about the fourth vow. But that can only be taken by a lay person if one takes the vow against drinking alchohol, according to Vasubandhu. Therefore, most "ngakpa" Tibetan Lamas are not full upasakas, since most drink.

Lazy Lubber said:
At least the Hinayana tradition has two connected teachings about sexual conduct: (i) children remain protected by parents until parents arrange their marriage; and (ii) to not have sex with protected women.

Malcolm wrote:
We don't do arranged marriage in the West. Arranged marriage is not actually mentioned in the prohibitions related to partners.

Lazy Lubber said:
Most Western Hinayana ignore the 1st teaching as relevant and focus on the 2nd teaching. Thus the 2nd teaching taken outside of the context of the 1st teaching is interpreted as you can have sex with any person no longer living with their parents who is not married.

Malcolm wrote:
What Vasubandhu states in the Kośabhaṣya is that as far as partners go for lay people, one should not have sex with someone else's partner, one's mother, one's daughter, and aunts. It is written from a male point of view, but it is obvious that reverse applies for women. There are also restrictions with respect to orifices, times, places, and so on as well.

With respect to guardianship, this refers only to minors and the disabled.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 5:20 AM
Title: Re: Chod phowa and lifespan
Content:


AmidaB said:
I would like to ask you that does the chöd phowa have a lifespan-shortening effect on the practicioner?

Malcolm wrote:
No, because it is not that kind of transference.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 5:17 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
tobes said:
Unfortunately we're seeing the libertarian/individualist predicate deeply fail in reality. It is such a cherished ideal, so rooted in the American psyche, and built into the structures of politics, economy and society.

Malcolm wrote:
It's not really that simple. There is huge tension between the kind of culture in American politics which comes from the former Confederacy, which is rooted in the writings of guys like John C. Calhoun and continued by James Buchanan, and embraced by libertarians, and the other kind of politics, which is based more on the New England model of cooperative citizenship, represented by FDR-style social democracy.

tobes said:
But is simply not rooted in reality, as all Buddhists know. A destructive virus highlights just how much we are social beings, with shared responsibilities, and interdependently unfolding material lives. The cost of preserving this cherished libertarian  ideal at the expense of reality is bodies, plain and simple. And I grieve a bit for all of my American friends, a large part of this board.

I feel like just about every other place on Earth is looking at America and thinking, 'no no no - you need to be governed here, you need to think in terms of the common good, you need to share your resources do what is right for the polis as a whole. That -is - the - only - way. The only way.' So many other places have kind of managed that, places which are on some level, still liberal and democratic.....

Malcolm wrote:
American politics is just a continuation of the Civil War by other means. It is highlighted by the fact that the states of the former Confederacy, and the western states that were settled mainly by southerners in the post-war period, resisted social distancing, and now want to open up before it is sensible.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 4:13 AM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
Danny said:
One can read between the lines of his collected lectures and with hindsight read the ground work being laid down through occult teachings of white lodges, council of "wise elders" the 7 races of mankind etc the coming storm brewing.

Regards
Quote myself here. Like I said historically is interesting.

Regards

Grigoris said:
Why shift through piles of shit looking for some flakes of gold...

Malcolm wrote:
Some people are into the folklore of Austrian farmers?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 4:12 AM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
Grigoris said:
"God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols was a pop hit when I was a child.  The Clash was pop music.  Etc...

One of the benefits of growing up in New Zealand (an English colony) in the 70's, I guess...

Malcolm wrote:
These days, I rarely listen to music that is older than 20 years. And most of what I listen to is no more than ten years old, other than dub.

But in all honesty, I rarely listen to music at all, anymore.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 3:57 AM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
Dan74 said:
hich of us, old fogeys, is not a conservative when it comes to pop culture, to music?

Malcolm wrote:
On the other hand, I always like a good cover version of a classic hit:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 2:57 AM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
Danny said:
To be absolutely clear, not saying Steiner was a closet fascist...

Malcolm wrote:
Since he died in 1925, it would be hard to claim that. However, Anthroposophy is basically racist:

Grigoris said:
Proto-Fascism.

Malcolm wrote:
I'd go along with that.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 2:54 AM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
Sādhaka said:
Anyway, in that case I’ll go with ‘idiot compassion’ instead then.

Malcolm wrote:
When you weaponize speech in this way, you always run the risk of it being turned against you. For example, I could say that the conservative Buddhists on this board are the biggest bunch of snowflakes I have ever seen.



Sādhaka said:
Who of us here has Skillful Means?


Malcolm wrote:
We do our best, in absence of realization.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 2:49 AM
Title: Re: Alzheimer's Disease
Content:


Karma_Yeshe said:
what is the view of Alzheimer's Disease regarding Sutra (and maybe also Tibetan Medicin)?

Malcolm wrote:
It is not a disease that is recognized as such in Tibetan Medicine or classical Ayurveda.

Were it to be recognized as such, in Tibetan medicine it would be included among the 101 karmic diseases for which no cure is possible.

Gerontology is not a strong point of either Tibetan Medicine or classical Ayurveda.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 2:41 AM
Title: Re: Why Bon ≈ Buddhism?
Content:
Viach said:
How do bonpos explain for themselves the almost complete structural coincidence with Buddhism? ( I know how Buddhists explain it )

Malcolm wrote:
The short answer is, they claim Tonpa Shenrab was there first.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 2:25 AM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
Danny said:
To be absolutely clear, not saying Steiner was a closet fascist...

Malcolm wrote:
Since he died in 1925, it would be hard to claim that. However, Anthroposophy is basically racist:
By chance, as it were, the root race which happened to be paramount at the time Steiner made these momentous discoveries was the Aryan race, a term which anthroposophists use to this day.  All racial categories are arbitrary social constructs, but the notion of an Aryan race is an especially preposterous invention.  A favorite of reactionaries in the early years of the twentieth century, the Aryan concept was based on a conflation of linguistic and biological terminology backed up by spurious “research.”  In other words, it was an amalgamation of errors which served to provide a pseudo-scientific veneer to racist fantasies.

Anthroposophy’s promotion of this ridiculous doctrine is disturbing enough.  But it is compounded by Steiner’s further claim that—in yet another remarkable coincidence—the most advanced group within the Aryan root race is currently the nordic-germanic sub-race or people.  Above all, anthroposophy’s conception of spiritual development is inextricable from its evolutionary narrative of racial decline and racial advance: a select few enlightened members evolve into a new “race” while their spiritually inferior neighbors degenerate.  Anthroposophy is thus structured around a hierarchy of biological and psychological as well as “spiritual” capacities and characteristics, all of them correlated to race. The affinities with Nazi discourse are unmistakable.

Steiner did not shy away from describing the fate of those left behind by the forward march of racial and spiritual progress.  He taught that these unfortunates would “degenerate” and eventually die out.  Like his teacher Madame Blavatsky, Steiner rejected the notion that Native Americans, for example, were nearly exterminated by the actions of European settlers.  Instead he held that Indians were “dying out of their own nature.” 11

Steiner also taught that “lower races” of humans are closer to animals than to “higher races” of humans.  Aboriginal peoples, according to anthroposophy, are descended from the already “degenerate” remnants of the third root race, the Lemurians, and are devolving into apes.  Steiner referred to them as “stunted men, whose descendants still inhabit certain parts of the earth today as so-called savage tribes.”12

The fourth root race which emerged between the Lemurians and the Aryans were the inhabitants of the lost continent of Atlantis, the existence of which anthroposophists take as literal fact.  Direct descendants of the Atlanteans include the Japanese, Mongolians, and Eskimos.  Steiner also believed that each people or Volk has its own “etheric aura” which corresponds to its geographic homeland, as well as its own “Volksgeist” or national spirit, an archangel that provides spiritual leadership to its respective people.

Steiner propagated a host of racist myths about “negroes.”  He taught that black people are sensual, instinct-driven, primitive creatures, ruled by their brainstem.  He denounced the immigration of blacks to Europe as “terrible” and “brutal” and decried its effects on “blood and race.”  He warned that white women shouldn’t read “negro novels” during pregnancy, otherwise they’d have “mulatto children.”  In 1922 he declared, “The negro race does not belong in Europe, and the fact that this race is now playing such a large role in Europe is of course nothing but a nuisance.” 13

But the worst insult, from an anthroposophical point of view, is Steiner’s dictum that people of color can’t develop spiritually on their own; they must either be “educated” by whites or reincarnated in white skin.  Europeans, in contrast, are the most highly developed humans.  Indeed “Europe has always been the origin of all human development.”  For Steiner and for anthroposophy, there is no doubt that “whites are the ones who develop humanity in themselves. [ . . . ] The white race is the race of the future, the spiritually creative race.” 14
http://social-ecology.org/wp/2009/01/anthroposophy-and-ecofascism-2/


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 2:15 AM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
Dan74 said:
Which of us, old fogeys, is not a conservative when it comes to pop culture, to music?

Malcolm wrote:
Me.

Dan74 said:
And of course there are other questionable changes afoot. The invasion and conquest of our time by smart phones is one such massive change that I seriously question. A more controversial one is a massive wave of immigration in the last 50-70 years.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, one thing I know from dog breeding-- mutts are smarter than pure-breds.

Dan74 said:
A more controversial one is a massive wave of immigration in the last 50-70 years. But the Left until very recently would label any attempts by the conservatives to discuss it as racism.

Malcolm wrote:
Because it is racist. Immigration issues are a result of the hegemony of the global north, especially Western Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia, and the enormous disparity of wealth, globally, in these countries.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 2:10 AM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
Sādhaka said:
There is ‘idiot compassion’ or as Chögyal Namkhai Norbu would say ‘miserable compassion’, which is often the basis of an lot of PC narratives.

Is there free-speech vs right-speech? Perhaps; in some instances.  But you cannot say that only those who generally lean towards pc narratives, get to decide which is which. Well you can, but it does not mean you’ll be right.

Malcolm wrote:
Chogyal Namkhai Norbu only used the term "miserable compassion" to describe Dzogchen practitioners who refused to eat meat. He never used the term in any other way. So, you are misapplying his very specific critique to political narratives you don't like.

RIght speech is defined very precisely by the Buddha:  "Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter." In general, political speech is never right speech.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 2:05 AM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
Sādhaka said:
And I hope that you are not trying to imply that Mahayana Buddhists on the more conservative side do not have compassion for ALL sentient beings. This goes back to the ‘idiot compassion’ or ‘miserable compassion’ thing I mentioned.

Malcolm wrote:
I think that "more conservative" Mahāyāna Buddhists need to reread the Ratnavali, in which Nāgārjuna requests the king to ban capital punishment, and to institute a variety of social welfare programs, including free hospitals, debt forgiveness, and so on.

While I would not accuse conservative of Buddhists of lacking compassion, I might throw a little shade on their skillful means.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 1:58 AM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Most American Buddhists are pretty left-wing.

Lazy Lubber said:
It seems most left-wing American Buddhists do not understand Buddhism very well & appear to have created a Buddhism in their own image.

Malcolm wrote:
No, they just understand the need to separate church and state, something HH Dalai Lama has broadly proclaimed. Indeed, HH Dalai Lama has gone as far as the decry religious morality as irrelevant to the needs of the kind of pluralistic society we will live.

Lazy Lubber said:
For example, how often His Holiness Dalai Lama has spoken about sexual misconduct contrary to the expectations of left-wing American Buddhists, such as in this video:

Malcolm wrote:
He says one thing to Tibetans, another thing to Westerners.

People raised in conservative families are usually Christians, and they rarely leave Christianity for other religions.
My impression is most Western Buddhists view Buddhism as sexually amoral and even sexually liberal. For example, Noah Levine said in a video the Buddha was a sexual liberal. Levine grew up in the Western Buddhist Community.
Noah Levine did not grow up in a Western Buddhist Community. After he had a very difficult adolescence, around 17 or so, his dad taught him mindfulness of breathing over the phone while Levine was incarcerated.

Most Western Buddhists that I know do not view Buddhism as neutral on the issue of sexual conduct.


Most of the Buddhists with conservative leanings I have run into are ethnically Chinese, and pro-life agendas seem to be the root of their alignment with the GOP in this country.
Buddhism is conservative, as the video above of His Holiness Dalai Lama demonstrates.
No, one cannot make this argument without first describing what one means by conservative.
In summary, because Buddhism is so passive & has no official institution in the West, Buddhism is easily hijacked by Westerners, both left & right, for their worldly political agendas.
That's a pretty silly argument. Dharma is dharma. We in the US have what is known as the establishment clause, which guarantees separation of church and state. HH Dalai Lama agrees:

“The religious institution, the leader of the religious, and the political leadership, should be separate,”
-- July, 2011.

"What we need today is an approach to ethics which makes no recourse to religion and can be equally acceptable to those with faith and those without: a secular ethics."

"But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I believe the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics that is beyond religion."

-- Beyond Religion, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Buddhists in the United States who have liberal values agree that with HH Dalai Lama on all these points. Karma is personal, and what I do with my female partner in my bedroom is no one's business by ours. The rage expressed by some uptight Buddhists over various sex acts and sexual orientations is very hysterical and wrong-headed. Homosexuality is quite widespread among monastics, even though, supposedly one is not supposed to be permitted ordination if one is a pandaka (which includes heterosexual voyeurs, incidentally). Pedophilia is also a large problem among monastics, a crisis which is not very evident here in the West, since we do not have the habit if sending five year olds to live in cloistered male communities. But it is something that more honest Tibetans, such as the late Chogyal Namkhai Norbu have been quite honest about. In pre-1959 monastic establishments, boys were considered fair game by sexual predators in Buddhist monasteries. Today, in Bhutan, there is a percentage of monks and nuns infected with STD's, including a 12 year-old boy infected with HIV.
Health officials in the tiny Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan are making condoms available at all monastic schools in a bid to stem the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV among young monks who are supposed to be celibate.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/bhutan-seeks-to-curb-sexual-diseases-among-buddhist-monks/2013/03/28/260653f4-97ec-11e2-b5b4-b63027b499de_story.html

Then of course, there is the famous story of Dudjom RInpoche, who when asked about homosexuality, is said to have responded, "A hole is a hole." Since the man who asked the question is someone I know, I see no reason to doubt the answer.

What is interesting here, is that whenever we talk about how Buddhism is "conservative," in the end it boils down to differing cultural attitudes towards sexual orientation and abortion, and almost nothing to do with core Buddhist values: selflessness, emptiness, dependent origination, compassion, kindness, and bodhicitta.

I have no interest in modifying Buddhism to suit my political views (which are very liberal). I would however strenuously oppose instituting Buddhism as a state religion, since as we see in Burma, Shri Lanka, Tibet, Thailand, etc., Buddhism is completely corrupted by politics, always.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 1:23 AM
Title: Re: Renewable Energy
Content:
Nemo said:
Malcolm you do realize those statistics are for generating grid electricity.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes.


Nemo said:
In America you can still walk down the street and buy an assault weapon today.

Malcolm wrote:
In most states, that is true, but not in all states such as Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota (limited access), New Jersey, New York, District of Columbia (not technically a state), and Washington.

Nemo said:
I agree with Ozzie Zehner's position that the environment is an intersectional issue. We are being sold a bill of goods about the problem being fixed. Both sides of the issue are lying.

Malcolm wrote:
Agreed.

Nemo said:
I was an environmentalist in the 80s and that is when we were bought out. You could go from making 30k a year to 80k(1990 dollars) to work as corporate PR. It's now almost the entire industry. It is not a grassroots movement now.

Malcolm wrote:
This is why, like healthcare, energy production should be socialized.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 1:14 AM
Title: Re: Renewable Energy
Content:
Kim O'Hara said:
It remains uncompetitive in the market, and only exists through subsidies. ...
I have to say you're out of date, in just the same way the makers of the movie in the OP were out of date.

Malcolm wrote:
In the US for example, there is a little thing call the ITC, the Solar Investment Tax Credit, which gives solar projects a 26 percent credit for projects begun in 2020, and 22 percent tax credit for projects begun in 2021. This applies across the board to both residential and commercial properties. So, still subsidized.

Wind is the big winner in the subsidies dept in the 2020 budget, where developers are offered a 60 percent incentive if they bring their projects online by 2024. So, wind and solar are still subsidized in the US, even though such subsidies are slated for termination.

Of course, the Nuke industry received 250 million.

Then of course, there is this:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverwyman/2020/01/14/why-its-too-soon-to-let-renewable-energy-subsidies-expire/#fe8a4b31e022:
"While volume-based subsidies currently smooth out this problem, returns on investment will likely begin to decline once operators in systems with large-scale dependence on renewable energy can no longer depend on them. No subsidies may mean that many renewable producers will become no longer financially viable, and the current effort to switch global power generation to renewable sources may be undermined."
Now, don't get me wrong, I am totally in favor of developing these resources, and I am totally in favor of subsidizing these industries. But if we are taking about it from the point of view of a free market, alternative energy still is not over all competitive with fossil fuels.

You will object that fossil fuels received far more in subsidies, and it is true. The same article states:
The US Energy Information Administration reports that 28 percent of electricity generation globally in 2018 was from renewable energy and will only reach 49 percent by 2050. That’s disturbing given the planet’s need to cut back on carbon dioxide emissions and international targets that call for net zero emissions by 2050.

Given the sluggish adoption, some degree of subsidization will be needed for the foreseeable future. After all, the International Monetary Fund estimates direct and indirect subsidies to the global fossil fuel industry in 2017 totaled $5.2 trillion, up from $4.7 trillion in 2015, despite the climate crisis.

While renewables have proven they generate cheap electricity, the financial risks of some of these projects have not yet been fully mitigated. Renewable power generation is moving into a new phase, and while it is no longer crawling, it isn’t running yet either.
There there is this:

https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/us-wind-industry-faces-coronavirus-roadblock-as-it-races-the-subsidy-clock/2-1-774251

Kim O'Hara said:
The pandemic is “now causing supply chain disruptions that have the potential to significantly delay construction timetables and hurt the ability to monetise time-sensitive tax credits,” Greg Wetstone, CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), said in a statement to Recharge.

Projects that come online in 2020 can qualify for full value of the federal production tax credit (PTC), set at $24/MWh for electricity sent to the grid over their initial decade of operation.

Malcolm wrote:
So you see, at least in the US, wind and solar are still entirely dependent on tax credits, etc., for their viability.

Further, there are problems with the way Lazard calculates LCOE:

https://www.factcheck.org/2019/07/does-wind-work-without-subsidies/

Kim O'Hara said:
The EIA, which produces LCOE figures for future years, estimated in February that for wind facilities coming online in 2021, the average cost without subsidies would be $48.80/MWh when weighting by capacity. That’s compared with $46.70 for conventional natural gas and $40.50 for advanced natural gas (see Table A1a).

There are areas of the country, however, where wind’s LCOE values are lower or almost identical to those of advanced natural gas. Advanced natural gas, EIA analyst Sukunta Manussawee explained over email, is the only type of natural gas plant the agency expects to be built in the future, and refers to more efficient plants that get more energy from a given amount of fuel.

Overall, then, the data suggest that based on LCOE, building a new onshore wind facility is already, or very soon will be, cheaper than building a new natural gas plant, either on average, or in large sections of the country, without federal dollars being thrown wind’s way.

That isn’t the case for offshore wind, which remains very expensive to build, and thus is more pricey per megawatt hour than most other sources, even after subsidies are included (see, for example Table 1a or Lazard’s unsubsidized estimate of $92/MWh). There is only one commercial offshore wind farm currently operating in the U.S.

Beyond Levelized Cost

While LCOE is the most frequently used metric for cost competitiveness, it’s not perfect.

The EIA in particular cautions against reading too much into LCOE. “LCOE does not capture all of the factors that contribute to actual investment decisions, making the direct comparison of LCOE across technologies problematic and misleading as a method to assess the economic competitiveness of various generation alternatives,” the agency’s February 2019 report reads.

Malcolm wrote:
But here is the salient point in fact checking Trump's claims:
“What we see is not that wind is non-competitive without the PTC,” he explained in an email, “but rather that with the PTC it is very competitive.”
In other words, subsidies make wind, etc, very competitive with gas. The article concludes:
In the end, only time will tell whether wind is viable without subsidies. As Namovicz emphasized in a phone interview, despite all the numbers and fancy analytics that people try to use, because the U.S. is currently providing a large subsidy to wind, it’s impossible to know the alternative.

“There are no facts without the subsidy, because we don’t have that data available,” he said. “Everything else is just analysis and economic modeling.”

It’s a sentiment that Murray, the Duke economist, also shared. “Basically the tax credit played its role,” he said in an email. “That is how subsidies are supposed to work — kick start a technology and see if it can compete. Looks like we will see.”


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 26th, 2020 at 11:10 PM
Title: Re: Flight of Garuda best translation
Content:
Toenail said:
Hi,

what is the best translation of flight of Garuda available?

heart said:
Erik Pema Kunzang

/magnus

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, Erik's.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 26th, 2020 at 11:06 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
tingdzin said:
Well, I'm not going to argue with you, Malcolm, because you will never admit that there are things you don't know. And I asked respondents to start a new thread if they were serious about an intelligent discussion,  rather than just making bald and unsupported assumptions. Your opinion, however, would not be seconded by any serious academic scholar.

Malcolm wrote:
Thank goodness we don’t turn to the Academy to learn the Dharma. And no wonder all the Khenpos I know laugh at the Academy. Buddha”s metaphor of the blind men and the elephant fits the Academy perfectly.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 26th, 2020 at 10:58 AM
Title: Re: Renewable Energy
Content:
Nemo said:
... Total extraction costs for tar sand oil is about 73$ a barrel after massive layoffs and automation. They have been borrowing massively since 2008 telling the banks 100$ a barrel oil was normal. This year so much of that paper comes due Russia and Saudi have decided to bankrupt them. I'm happy that part of our economy and history will soon be dead.

Kim O'Hara said:
More generally and in the longer term, all renewables need to do is undercut fossil fuel costs and the fossil fuel producers will go broke, one sector at a time.
Tar sand oil is more vulnerable than most, but coal-fired power stations are already on their way out: new wind and solar is cheaper (most places) than new coal, even when you factor in storage, and new wind and solar is cheaper in some places than the cost of simply running existing coal plants. That's all good, from my POV, and it will keep getting better.

Your larger claim, Nemo, that renewables are never going to be enough, is dubious.
On the supply side, costs are still falling, grids are getting smarter, and storage costs (the next big growth area, I reckon) are dropping. We're still working out the best transport energy solutions, although EV's are looking more and more likely to win that one.
But the demand side is where things might get really interesting. It's possible for us to reduce demand per capita without much of a reduction in comfort and convenience, and I would like to think that's where we might be going. It's also possible that our population will take a bigger-than-coronavirus hit from the next pandemic, or start dropping as the developing nations' fertility rates follow ours below replacement rate.


It's not all doom-and-gloom.


Kim

Malcolm wrote:
The Jevons paradox would infer that it is a little premature to proclaim the death of fossil fuel.  And there are quite a number areas in which alternative energy infrastructure (cells, electronics, rare earth strip mining) has a big environmental cost compared to the value of the power it produces. It remains uncompetitive in the market, and only exists through subsidies.  I am not saying we should cease seeking alternative means of generating power, but to make any of that sustainable, our world culture and economic values will have to change considerably.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 26th, 2020 at 5:08 AM
Title: Re: Renewable Energy
Content:
Nemo said:
I can do it all on renewables except heat and transport.

Malcolm wrote:
Right.

Nemo said:
But many of the things I buy, including solar panels, have insanely huge energy inputs and have limited lifespans.

Malcolm wrote:
Right.

Nemo said:
I'm getting very tired of their being only 2 allowable views on every subject.

Malcolm wrote:
That's the price one pays for living in a society where the market is worshipped to the extent that people have convinced themselves it is intelligent. No one can rationally choose energy options for themselves, just like they cannot price doctors and health care. These things are not like vacuums and cars, commodities about which one can make rational economic choices for oneself.


Nemo said:
Heat and transport are only 70 to 85% of my annual energy usage and I've spent a fortune. You can't get there from here. Other than building your own hydroelectric dam it doesn't work.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, and meanwhile, oil isn't moving at all. The entire energy industry is looking at a major disruption, from which recovery may be impossible. For example, in your neck of the woods:

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/0-Oil-Forces-Canada-To-Shut-Down-Crude-Production.html

Nemo said:
Steam-driven oil sands production, also called steam-assisted gravity drainage, involves injecting steam into an oil sands deposit to melt the bitumen and make it flow up the well. To ensure long-term production, the temperature and pressure at such sites must be maintained at a certain level. Disruption, Reuters explains, could result in permanent damage, which would translate into a permanent loss of production.

Yet Western Canadian Select, the heavy oil benchmark of Canada, has been trading below $10 for about ten days now, with a temporary spike to $10.13 a barrel last Thursday. At the time of writing, WSC was trading at $-0.01 a barrel.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 26th, 2020 at 4:57 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:


PadmaVonSamba said:
This conversation has drifted away from a discussion of “soul splitting” to one about Master Hua and then specifically to what he has taught regarding homosexuality.

tingdzin said:
Yes, this thread cries out for moderator attention.

Also, as I and others have said many times before, a narrow equivalence of "authentic" and "Indian" Buddhist material is neither historically reasonable nor logically justifiable. If anyone would like to discuss this, though, please start a different thread.

Malcolm wrote:
Sure it is. It is both historically reasonable and logically justifiable. Otherwise, it is Humpy Dumpty Dharma:
‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean–neither more nor less.’
‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean different things–that’s all.’
‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master–that’s all’


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 26th, 2020 at 12:46 AM
Title: Re: Renewable Energy
Content:
Nemo said:
Green energy is utter bullshit. Who knew?

Malcolm wrote:
It is not utter bullshit, but there are a lot of problems with it:

Alternative-energy technologies don't clean the air. They don't clean the water. They don't protect wildlife. They don't support human rights. They don't improve neighborhoods. They don't strengthen democracy. They don't regulate themselves. They don't lower atmospheric carbon dioxide. They don't reduce consumption.

They produce power.

That power can lead to durable benefits, but only given the appropriate context. Ultimately, it's not a question of whether American society possesses the technological prowess to construct an alternative-energy nation. The real question is the reverse. Do we have a society capable of being powered by alternative energy? The answer today is clearly no.

But we can change that.

Future environmentalists will drop solar, wind, biofuels, nuclear, hydrogen, and hybrids to focus instead on women's rights, consumer culture, walkable neighborhoods, military spending, zoning, health care, wealth disparities, citizen governance, economic reform, and democratic institutions.
Ozzie Zehner. Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism (Kindle Locations 3409-3414). Kindle Edition.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 26th, 2020 at 12:36 AM
Title: Re: new biography of Je Rinpoche
Content:
n8pee said:
Here is an old thread on the subject:

viewtopic.php?t=3483
That was an interesting rabbit hole, though I certainly do not wish to re-hash any of that debate in this thread. I do think we can all agree that Tsongkhapa was a genius as well as an incredible yogi.

In my sangha, it was always interesting to hear my guru address those that associated Dzogchen as a 'shortcut'', as though there was no need to spend so much time with the generation/completion stage practices. Perhaps this is the case? Of course as we all know there are so many different paths based on the predispositions and abilities of practitioners.

Malcolm wrote:
Dzogchen, while a secret mantra path, since it is dependent on empowerments and its practice involves the vajra body, is not a path of creation and completion. Creation and completion can be used by Dzogchen practitioners, but it is not the path of Dzogchen. Dzogchen has a different approach.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at 11:57 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:


jmlee369 said:
This is all to say, I am a bit weary every time people take issue with Master Hsuan Hua for some passing eccentric statement of his, rather than looking at the vast amounts of plain, standard Dharma teachings that he gave.

Malcolm wrote:
His eccentric statement in this regard is something which does not correspond to the Dharma, so it should be noted, and ignored. It does not mean everything else he ever said in his life lacked value.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at 9:36 PM
Title: Re: Tibetan Lamas and wealth
Content:


shankara said:
It's all in the biography by Tsangyon Heruka.

Malcolm wrote:
Which is almost entirely fictional.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at 9:30 PM
Title: Re: Sattvic/Yogic Diet Challenge
Content:
Grigoris said:
Raw milk is dangerous.  It is best to boil it before drinking unless you want to risk tuberculosis, diphtheria, typhoid, and/or streptococcal infections.

Malcolm wrote:
Maybe in In a developing nation, but not where I live. I was raised on it. And would never hesitate to drink it in New England.

Grigoris said:
You are vaccinated.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, no, that’s not it. I just know the farmers and the farms where it can be procured.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at 10:03 AM
Title: Re: Sattvic/Yogic Diet Challenge
Content:
Sādhaka said:
Perhaps not; or, maybe not in and of it’s self necessarily.

The point I’m trying to drive here is that milk should only be heated once; and that is reason enough to buy it raw, meaning that when you go to heat it, that will be its first time of ever having been heated.

I’m quite sure that Ayurveda says to not reheat milk, nor any other food for that matter.

Malcolm wrote:
In general, leftovers are considered tamasic. But as I said, a little tamas is not a bad thing.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at 10:02 AM
Title: Re: Sattvic/Yogic Diet Challenge
Content:
Grigoris said:
Raw milk is dangerous.  It is best to boil it before drinking unless you want to risk tuberculosis, diphtheria, typhoid, and/or streptococcal infections.

Malcolm wrote:
Maybe in In a developing nation, but not where I live. I was raised on it. And would never hesitate to drink it in New England.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at 2:51 AM
Title: Re: Lama Surya Das walks into Town Bagel in Massapequa and says...
Content:
Queequeg said:
"Make me one with everything."

What Would Happen If Everyone Truly Believed Everything Is One?
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/what-would-happen-if-everyone-truly-believed-everything-is-one/?fbclid=IwAR189MRfaXasYUPz_r4gVAcCDeUSc6iBKrK48abt52qzd7rCHiGQoJAXk34

The actual study is behind a pay wall, but basically, if you believe everything is really one, you tend to be a better (morally/ethically speaking, IMO) person.

They made up a scale to determine how much a person believes in one-ness:
1. Beyond surface appearances, everything is fundamentally one.
2. Although many seemingly separate things exist, they all are part of the same whole.
3. At the most basic level of reality, everything is one.
4. The separation among individual things is an illusion; in reality everything is one.
5. Everything is composed of the same basic substance, whether one thinks of it as spirit, consciousness, quantum processes, or whatever.
6. The same basic essence permeates everything that exists.
As I read those, I wondered which one accorded with a Mahayana view. I don't think any of those accords with Emptiness/Dependent Origination...


Malcolm wrote:
No, since we believe everything is an illusion.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at 2:47 AM
Title: Re: new biography of Je Rinpoche
Content:
n8pee said:
some have suggested a more than casual brush......
I'd be curious to hear more on this as the biography just mentions that Tsongkhapa didn't seem to be influenced in any way. As a Gelug student who has never received any type of Dzogchen teaching, it is an interesting subject.

Malcolm wrote:
The very first work in Tsongkhapa's collected works, after his biography, is a text on Dzogchen.

https://www.tbrc.org/#library_work_ViewByOutline-O4CZ191564CZ227640%7CW22109


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at 2:13 AM
Title: Re: Sattvic/Yogic Diet Challenge
Content:
Sunrise said:
I'm not an expert, but from what I've read the Sattvic diet's purpose is to lead to higher consciousness and make meditation easier. It's a diet designed to aid meditators by cultivating more sattva quality. Ayurveda is more medicinal, and looks at an individual's constitution and tries to correct imbalances. It's more focused on an individual's needs.

Malcolm wrote:
Speaking as someone who has trained extensively in Tibetan Medicine and Ayurveda, one has to be very careful with sattvic diets. Most people cannot do a pure sattvic diet, because in many cases it will lead to vatta aggravation. Also recall, that milk, ghee, honey, and so on, are also part of a sattvic diet. Many people try to a vegan version of this and really damage their health. Seen it with my own eyes, more than once. In general, most people need to have also a little tamasic food, for grounding, and rajasic food for energy.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at 2:09 AM
Title: Re: Sattvic/Yogic Diet Challenge
Content:
Sādhaka said:
The three main Gunas in diet being given such importance seems to be an more recent addition to Ayurveda, no?

Malcolm wrote:
No. Actually, the earliest Ayurvedic text we have, the Carakasamhita, is also the earliest source for Samkhya philosophy that we have.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at 12:07 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:



Grigoris said:
Nobody is grasping at emptiness, you are failing to see the empty nature of self and people are trying to point it out to you.

PadmaVonSamba said:
When Nagarjuna and others refer to “grasping at emptiness” it means failing to go beyond the duality of emptiness/non-emptiness, and regarding emptiness as a “thing” in itself.
As HHDL points out in Essence of The Heart Sutra, emptiness is not a thing in itself. Emptiness can only be discussed in terms of describing phenomena as being empty (of intrinsic existence).

Grigoris said:
In the Lankavatara Sutra they talk about the "Emptiness of Emptiness".

Malcolm wrote:
And in the PP sūtrsd and a whole bunch of other places.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 24th, 2020 at 11:55 PM
Title: Re: First rate translators in non-English European languages
Content:
SkyDragon3 said:
It seems my question was not clear.

I am aware there are existing English translations of the texts I mentioned, but there seems some debate as to the accuracy of the translations. From forums here and elsewhere I have read that new translations are being prepared for some of these texts and I assume this is because previous translations lack something necessary for students to comprehend the texts and benefit fully from them. If this is not the case, then why are new translations being prepared?

Perhaps this is the wrong forum to pursue this question, but as an English speaker only, this is of interest to me.

When I first began to read Buddhist sutras in English the translations I read were almost incomprehensible to me. They had been made by asian translators I believe and presented great difficulties for an English reader. I am aware of the value of a good translator, who fully comprehends the western mind and use of language.

Malcolm wrote:
As a well-published translator of Great Perfection material (five books), I can be quite frank about the fact that we are in the infancy of translating these texts. We all try to do our best, and and we all realize there is a long way to go. We all try no to be too harsh with each other, because we are all in the same boat.

There are three important factors to look for in a Great Perfection translation, which is very hard to evaluate for those who do not know Tibetan: is the translator's Tibetan grammar solid? Have the translations been peer reviewed? In general, one is not going to find peer-reviewed translations that are self-published on Amazon and elsewhere. Finally, does the translator have practical experience as well as the necessary Buddhist training both within the Great Perfection tradition itself and general Buddhist philosophy? Who are their teachers? What transmission have they received?

All of the texts we are translating now will have to be translated again 50 years. But for now, we do our best, because we are trying to help people attain buddhahood, not make a living off of book sales (if that was the goal, we would have all starved to death long ago).


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 24th, 2020 at 8:21 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Well, it was pretty secret, under the name "closeted."

Caoimhghín said:
Which is, I'm pretty sure, a turn of phrase from the 1950s or something.

Watch out, the ancient secret religion is lurking......

Whenever there's powerful globalist homosexual cabal myths, I almost wish they were true.

I would love to be part of a secret cabal bent on offending heaven so much it unleashes a global flood or something, killing everyone. #teamflood

Malcolm wrote:
It is all true, Jews, homosexuals, Hollywood, bill gates
, Soros, 5G, reptilians, the lot....the truth is still out there. Oh and pizzagate...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 24th, 2020 at 12:35 PM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
smcj said:
Whether you’re left or right, if you’re talking about politics you’re talking about samsara.

That’s okay of course. But as Dharma people we have the possible additional perspective that politics is just karma working itself out as interdependent causes and conditions.

Malcolm wrote:
Karma being ripened and karma being created...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 24th, 2020 at 11:53 AM
Title: Re: Karma in the animal realm?
Content:
Wayfarer said:
It is nevertheless the case that karma is a consequence of intentional or volitional action. I too find it hard to imagine how animals, especially lower animals, engage in intentional actions (although the Frans de Waal book mentioned above might help make that clear).

Malcolm wrote:
All minds in the desire realm are accompanied by the mental factor of volition (cetana).

Wayfarer said:
But in lizards and fish it must be rudimentary. Are such beings capable of intentional acts?

Isn't the significance of human birth ('this precious human birth') because humans are able to understand and respond to the dharma, whereas animals are not?

Malcolm wrote:
Volition is action, rudimentary or not.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 24th, 2020 at 1:21 AM
Title: Re: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:


Tiago Simões said:
Ah yes, right wing parties, the shiny beacons of equality and equal rights

Malcolm wrote:
Well, equality in western democracies have always been erected on the structural foundation of inequality; in other words, the inequality of others is essential to ones' own rights and equality. This is the dirty little secret of western democracies.

We see this kind of rhetoric quite often in discourse around the institution of slavery in the US prior to the civil war, and later, during the civil rights movements, where equal rights for black people in the Jim Crow states, it was argued, deprived southern whites of their equal rights.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 10:42 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
jmlee369 said:
I have found Master Hsuan Hua uses skilfull means to say unusual things during some of his teachings.

Caoimhghín said:
Yes, like his skillful means when he taught that homosexuals are practitioners of an ancient secret religion that is only revealing itself in this present day.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, it was pretty secret, under the name "closeted."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 10:17 PM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


tkp67 said:
It is true that pratyekabuddhas are said to be able to achieve liberation by themselves; but the fact that they have no spiritual teacher in their present life does not mean they did not have one in the past. Pratyekabuddhas, indeed, attend spiritual teachers and receive their teachings over countless lives.

- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche - The Heart of Compassion - Shambhala Publications

Malcolm wrote:
My answer and Dilgo Khyentse's answer are the same. Not sure why you have trouble understanding that.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 12:05 PM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
jmlee369 said:
Actually it does, hence the instruction "even if you heard a single line of verse..." In the Tibetan traditions at least, when you receive the oral transmission of a sutra, commentary or even a single mantra from someone then that person should be considered your teacher.

In the early monastic communities, one of the primary roles of your acarya was to teach you sutra recitation and memorisation.

PeterC said:
Just to expand on that.  It was rarely the case in early monastic communities that you could go into a library, pick up a sutra and read it. First you would have to actually *be* in the library, and since libraries were rare and important things, that didn't happen for casual visitors. Second, if you came across a sutra you didn't know, you would not just request to read it or copy it, you would ask for it to be explained. The biographies of the Chinese pilgrims to India described this process - and indeed they have descriptions of the translation process which show that commentary was being shared in that process too (this is perhaps intuitively obvious - how else would you make a half-decent translation). Of course it's possible that a monk could come across a text that had been forgotten and read it de novo, but that person wouldn't be a complete newcomer with no knowledge of the Dharma, they would be someone who had enough knowledge to even be in the library looking for documents in the first place. The ability to obtain a text and read it without any accompanying explanation is a very modern thing. The question of whether that's a valid way to learn the Dharma wouldn't even have occurred to most people a generation ago, because why would you do that if you were able to get an explanation from someone?

Malcolm wrote:
Indeed, we take literacy for granted. But in premodern times literacy rates were very low everywhere in the world.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 11:22 AM
Title: Re: Karma in the animal realm?
Content:
Wayfarer said:
It is nevertheless the case that karma is a consequence of intentional or volitional action. I too find it hard to imagine how animals, especially lower animals, engage in intentional actions (although the Frans de Waal book mentioned above might help make that clear).

Malcolm wrote:
All minds in the desire realm are accompanied by the mental factor of volition (cetana).


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 5:05 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


tkp67 said:
what do you make of the following:



Paccekabuddhas in the Isigili-sutta and its Ekottarika-āgama Parallel  By Bhikkhu Anālayo

Malcolm wrote:
Pratyekabuddhas are those, who, under the tutelage of a samyaksambuddha, aspire to awaken as pratyekabuddhas in a time when there is no dispensation of a samyaksambuddha.

In other words, in order to become a prayekabuddha, one must generate the bodhicitta of a pratyekabuddha. That means first one must have understood what a pratyekabuddha is, and that will only be understood at the feet of the teacher.

tkp67 said:
That is not what the sutta says. The sutta states "when Buddhas have not yet appeared"

At the time when Buddhas have not yet appeared This place is a noble and sacred dwelling, For Paccekabuddhas who have awakened on their own

Recall my question, "did the pratyekabuddha require a living human teacher?" That is in context to the very existence in which they achieved liberation.

Malcolm wrote:
In order to become a śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, or a samyaksambuddha, one must first generate the bodhicitta of a śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, or a samyaksambuddha. In order to generate that bodhicitta, one must have a teacher under whom one generates that bodhicitta. For example, Śākyamuni generated the bodhicitta to become a buddha under Dipamkāra Buddha. Prayekabuddhas are not like mushrooms that spring up in a field after a thunder storm, without any apparent cause.

For example, the Subāhuparipṛcchā sūtra states:

"The vehicle of those of medium devotion, of medium capacity, who enjoy solitude, who err on the side of personal benefit, who are diligent in concentration and equipoise, and aspire to their own awakening is called the pratyekabuddhayāna...adherents of the pratyekabuddhayāna are dedicated to perfecting the pratyekabuddhayāna now and in the future."

The Daśacakrakṣitigarbha sūtra states:

Because the tathāgata is compassionate, sometimes he explains the dharma of the śrāvakayāna, sometimes he explains the dharma of the pratyekabuddhayāna, sometimes he explains the dharma of the unsurpassed yāna, and therefore, by the power of aspiration and by the power of the kalyānamitra, all misdeeds that are a result of negative actions are purified, and some obtain the result of the śrāvakayāna, some obtain nirvana through the pratyekabuddhayāna, and some realize the meaning of the extremely vast, unsurpassed yāna.

So this should put to rest the question of whether or not pratekabuddhas have teachers, since they clearly do have teachers, here called  kalyānamitras.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 3:35 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


tkp67 said:
what do you make of the following:
When the Paccekabuddhas heard what the devas had said, they all rose up into space and spoke these stanzas: ‘At the time when Buddhas have not yet appeared, This place is a noble and sacred dwelling, For Paccekabuddhas who have awakened on their own, And always dwell on this mountain. This is called the Mount of Seers, Dwelled on by Paccekabuddhas, By seers and arahants, At no time is it bereft of them’.
Paccekabuddhas in the Isigili-sutta and its Ekottarika-āgama Parallel  By Bhikkhu Anālayo

Malcolm wrote:
Pratyekabuddhas are those, who, under the tutelage of a samyaksambuddha, aspire to awaken as pratyekabuddhas in a time when there is no dispensation of a samyaksambuddha.

In other words, in order to become a prayekabuddha, one must generate the bodhicitta of a pratyekabuddha. That means first one must have understood what a pratyekabuddha is, and that will only be understood at the feet of the teacher.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 3:33 AM
Title: Re: Karma in the animal realm?
Content:
Queequeg said:
We're likely to fall down into them when this life expires, unless we undertake extraordinary efforts in this life.

Malcolm wrote:
Or you have the fortune of meeting the teaching of the Great Perfection (Dzogchen).

Grigoris said:
You can meet a thousand teachers and not learn, understand or realise a single syllable of their teachings.

Malcolm wrote:
Nevertheless, if even just meeting the Great Perfection teaching, one has devotion to it, this will put an end to rebirth in lower realms. as Vimalamitra states, in The Threaded String of Pearls (Smith, Wisdom, 2020):

"Even without hearing, seeing, or understanding this tantra, a devoted person will become accomplished merely by wearing it; it is like nāgas who are unable to harm a person that wears the nāga-taming jewel."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 2:04 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


tkp67 said:
It does defy reason that the east asian schools extrapolated never before revealed teachings derived from the sutras while arguing one cannot learn from them.

Malcolm wrote:
Buddhadharma is an oral tradition. Books merely support that oral tradition; but they can never replace it.

javier.espinoza.t said:
dear Malcolm, do i need lung for reading a sutra or chanting a dharani?

Malcolm wrote:
As for sūtra, no; as for dhāraṇis, it depends on the source.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 1:46 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


tkp67 said:
It does defy reason that the east asian schools extrapolated never before revealed teachings derived from the sutras while arguing one cannot learn from them.

Malcolm wrote:
Buddhadharma is an oral tradition. Books merely support that oral tradition; but they can never replace it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 1:18 AM
Title: Re: Karma in the animal realm?
Content:
Queequeg said:
We're likely to fall down into them when this life expires, unless we undertake extraordinary efforts in this life.

Malcolm wrote:
Or you have the fortune of meeting the teaching of the Great Perfection (Dzogchen).


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 11:28 PM
Title: Re: Can Shikantaza be done "wrong", or is an attempt at it automatically successful?
Content:
Meido said:
It needs to be grasped under a teacher who can demonstrate that state.

Malcolm wrote:
Excellent post.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 10:19 PM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
tkp67 said:
Ringu Tulku Rinpoche: First of all, it is very important to understand that from a Buddhist point of view, there is no one and only way or method that is right. It depends on each person. There are said to be people who can learn everything by themselves, without a teacher. They are called Pratyeka-buddha type of people-“solitary awakened ones.”

Malcolm wrote:
Again, pratyekabuddhas are those who, under the tutelage of a buddha, aspire to attain awakening during a time when no samyaksambuddha's dispensation is current in the world. They do not teach, nor do they benefit beings with the Dharma, though they may benefit beings with mundane instructions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 10:17 PM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:



tkp67 said:
The Sravaka Dharma, utilizing the Sravaka Pitaka does not imply they learned from a living human teacher. I did not include the word living as it seemed implied but I do realize it was not clarified.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, considering that the sutras were not written down until three hundred years after the Buddha’s nirvana...

tkp67 said:
Excellent point!

I  will assume that memorizing and relaying the contents of a sutra alone does not equate to the status of teacher, correct?

Malcolm wrote:
You would have had to have heard the sūtra from a teacher, that was the point. And, as Q has pointed out to you already, the role of the teacher is clearly laid out in the Lotus Sūtra, among many others.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 8:04 PM
Title: Re: Are there Chan (Zen) texts that were actually composed during the Tang dynasty?
Content:
Dgj said:
Scholarship shows most purported Tang Chan (Zen) texts are products if the Song dynasty.

Are there any Tang Chan (Zen) texts that were written during that dynasty?

Malcolm wrote:
Definitely, since one can positively date chan texts by their translation and composition in Tibetan.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 7:59 PM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:



tkp67 said:
I guess I am misunderstanding the variety of interpretation.

In Mahayana teachings

In the 4th century Mahāyāna abhidharma work Abhidharmasamuccaya, Asaṅga describes those who follow the Śrāvaka Vehicle (Skt. śrāvakayanika). These people are described as having weak faculties, following the Śrāvaka Dharma, utilizing the Śrāvaka Piṭaka, being set on their own liberation, and cultivating detachment in order to attain liberation.[3] While those in the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle (Skt. pratyekabuddhayānika) are portrayed as also utilizing the Śrāvaka Piṭaka, they are said to have medium faculties, to follow the Pratyekabuddha Dharma, and to be set on their own personal enlightenment.[3] Finally, those in the Mahāyāna (Skt. mahāyānika) are portrayed as utilizing the Bodhisattva Piṭaka, as having sharp faculties, following the Bodhisattva Dharma, and set on the perfection and liberation of all beings, and the attainment of complete enlightenment.[3]


---> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratyekabuddhay%C4%81na

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, this does not contradict what I said above.

tkp67 said:
The Sravaka Dharma, utilizing the Sravaka Pitaka does not imply they learned from a living human teacher. I did not include the word living as it seemed implied but I do realize it was not clarified.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, considering that the sutras were not written down until three hundred years after the Buddha’s nirvana...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 10:17 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
tkp67 said:
[



If it was impossible to be liberated without a human teacher then how is there such a thing as a pratyekabuddha?

Malcolm wrote:
pratyekabuddhas are practitioners,who, under the tutelage of a buddha, aspire to awaken In a future birth as pratyekabuddhas. Thus, also pratyekabuddhas necessarily have teachers, as do those never returners who attain the result arhatship in the five pure abides in their next birth.

tkp67 said:
I guess I am misunderstanding the variety of interpretation.

In Mahayana teachings

In the 4th century Mahāyāna abhidharma work Abhidharmasamuccaya, Asaṅga describes those who follow the Śrāvaka Vehicle (Skt. śrāvakayanika). These people are described as having weak faculties, following the Śrāvaka Dharma, utilizing the Śrāvaka Piṭaka, being set on their own liberation, and cultivating detachment in order to attain liberation.[3] While those in the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle (Skt. pratyekabuddhayānika) are portrayed as also utilizing the Śrāvaka Piṭaka, they are said to have medium faculties, to follow the Pratyekabuddha Dharma, and to be set on their own personal enlightenment.[3] Finally, those in the Mahāyāna (Skt. mahāyānika) are portrayed as utilizing the Bodhisattva Piṭaka, as having sharp faculties, following the Bodhisattva Dharma, and set on the perfection and liberation of all beings, and the attainment of complete enlightenment.[3]


---> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratyekabuddhay%C4%81na

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, this does not contradict what I said above.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 9:08 AM
Title: Re: In between Taoism and Buddhism
Content:
PeterC said:
Thanks Malcolm - interesting

Malcolm wrote:
The origin of gto rites are also attributed to Mañjuśṛī, as well as sa dbyad, literally, "examining the earth."

PeterC said:
I’m curious about the kongtse trulpey gyalpo attribution.  Was this a historical figure, or is it just a generic placeholder for an unidentified human origin?  The identification of this with Confucius has to be spurious, he has no major attributed texts on this topic (he limited himself to moralizing vacuities)

Malcolm wrote:
There are a number points a view, if you run a search on kong rtse ‘prul pa’i’ rgyal Po on academia.com, you turn up articles, also the same articles will come up if run a search on “gto”.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 9:04 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
tkp67 said:
[
And the second is thing you are missing is the necessity for a teacher, to properly study and practice the Dharma. You cannot learn Dharma from a book. It just isn't possible.
If it was impossible to be liberated without a human teacher then how is there such a thing as a pratyekabuddha?

Malcolm wrote:
pratyekabuddhas are practitioners,who, under the tutelage of a buddha, aspire to awaken In a future birth as pratyekabuddhas. Thus, also pratyekabuddhas necessarily have teachers, as do those never returners who attain the result arhatship in the five pure abides in their next birth.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 6:37 AM
Title: Re: In between Taoism and Buddhism
Content:
PeterC said:
Thanks Malcolm - interesting

Malcolm wrote:
The origin of gto rites are also attributed to Mañjuśṛī, as well as sa dbyad, literally, "examining the earth."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 5:29 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
tkp67 said:
Maybe you could explain to me what I am missing.


Malcolm wrote:
Well, for one thing you are missing the fact that this thread was moved into general Mahāyāna.

And the second is thing you are missing is the necessity for a teacher, to properly study and practice the Dharma. You cannot learn Dharma from a book. It just isn't possible.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 4:26 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:



tkp67 said:
He is the world honored one at the assembly of the Lotus. The Lotus itself illustrates as much.

Its importance cannot be understated.

Malcolm wrote:
He is the "world honored one" in all the sūtras. So?

tkp67 said:
Origin of cause for all sentient beings. He is the one that proclaims to the world in the Lotus Sutra the buddhas desire for all sentient beings to be enlightened. His enlightenment and what it encompasses is what this sutra represents.

Malcolm wrote:
The Buddha proclaims his wish for all sentient beings to attain full awakening in many Mahāyāna Sūtras, not only the Lotus Sūtra. And further, states in many Mahāyāna sūtras that all sentient beings will attain full awakening, sooner or later.


tkp67 said:
You seem to find it an inferior position to dedicate one's life to the world honored one. Perhaps it is my perception but perhaps this is the case. If this is the case perhaps you can tell me where I am failing in my practice by taking refuge in Shakyamuni Buddha, the world honored one of the Lotus Sutra.

Malcolm wrote:
Everyone who takes refuge in the Three Jewels takes refuge in the Buddha, specifically, during this age, Śākyamuni Buddha.

tkp67 said:
Perhaps you could explain why you feel so motivated to challenge it since it is not in contest with any other teaching, just veneration and prostration to the buddha I feel indebted to.

Malcolm wrote:
We all feel devotion towards Śākyamuni Buddha. You do not have the market cornered on that.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 4:08 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:



tkp67 said:
and mayahana 101 would have him as the buddha of the lotus, the most important aspect of this conversation and a primary sutra of East Asian traditions.

Malcolm wrote:
No. Mahāyāna 101 portrays Śākyamuni Buddha as this epoch's supreme nirmanakāya, but not the buddha of a particular sūtra or set of sūtras.

However, the primacy of the Lotus Sūtra is merely a religious belief some Buddhists in Japan hold. Not everyone holds that belief, not even in East Asian Buddhism, despite the Lotus Sūtra being regarded as an important sūtra in all Mahāyāna traditions.

tkp67 said:
He is the world honored one at the assembly of the Lotus. The Lotus itself illustrates as much.

Its importance cannot be understated.

Malcolm wrote:
He is the "world honored one" in all the sūtras. So?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 3:57 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Krakkuchanda's order of monks

Queequeg said:
Just did a search for this but not much information... can you recommend a source to learn more about this?

Malcolm wrote:
I might have the wrong Buddha. Kanakamuni etc. It is something I read a long time ago. forgot where, but the salient point is the assertion in a traditional source that there was a survival of a past buddha's sangha into our age.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 3:36 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:



tkp67 said:
So you are declaring I am incorrect in saying Shayamuni is the world founder of Buddhism? If I am this is wrong view.

Can you provide a citation please?

SonamTashi said:
The world goes through stages of the dharma arising when a Supreme Nirmanakaya Buddha appears and teaches, the dharma declining after the Buddha enters paranirvana, and the dharma eventually disappearing. This has happened many times, and Shakyamuni was simply the most recent to turn the wheel of dharma. So he is the founder of Buddhism in our time, but many other Supreme Nirmanakaya Buddhas have "founded" Buddhism in the past. I can find a citation if you want me to, but this is Buddhism 101.

tkp67 said:
and mayahana 101 would have him as the buddha of the lotus, the most important aspect of this conversation and a primary sutra of East Asian traditions.

Malcolm wrote:
No. Mahāyāna 101 portrays Śākyamuni Buddha as this epoch's supreme nirmanakāya, but not the buddha of a particular sūtra or set of sūtras.

However, the primacy of the Lotus Sūtra is merely a religious belief some Buddhists in Japan hold. Not everyone holds that belief, not even in East Asian Buddhism, despite the Lotus Sūtra being regarded as an important sūtra in all Mahāyāna traditions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 3:01 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


tkp67 said:
So you are declaring I am incorrect in saying Shayamuni is the world founder of Buddhism? If I am this is wrong view.

Malcolm wrote:
There existed, during the time of Śākyamuni Buddha, and beyond, monastics who belonged to Krakkuchanda's order of monks. So, yes, you are wrong in asserting that Śākyamuni Buddha was the founder of Buddhism in this world.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 2:58 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


tkp67 said:
Where have I rated your tradition in regards to my own? I have not. You are projecting that.

Malcolm wrote:
I did not say that you had rated my tradition. I was speaking to your evangelical impulses.

tkp67 said:
The only superiority in Nichiren's eyes was in propagation. I have not engaged a discussion in ranking traditions in regards to superiority of propagation.

Malcolm wrote:
Buddhadharma cannot be propagated. If someone does not have the karma to have a precious human birth with the 18 freedoms and endowments, they will never take refuge, let alone enter the many different paths of Dharma available to them. As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot force it to drink.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 2:55 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


tkp67 said:
yes but they didn't propagate teachings world wide.

Malcolm wrote:
Sure they did.

tkp67 said:
Are you saying your tradition has a different designation for world honored one? Is Shakyamuni less important according to your teachings?

Malcolm wrote:
Śākyamuni Buddha is the present supreme nirmanakāya, so very important. But he is but the fourth of the 1001 buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 2:36 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


Queequeg said:
What are you talking about?

Malcolm wrote:
Fledgling shakubaku. it's really cute.

tkp67 said:
Is this the fruit of the tradition you practice? or is it simply a rise of self?

Malcolm wrote:
Awwww...still with the baby shakubaku. It reminds me of this:



Except she is better at her thing than you are at yours.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 2:33 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
tkp67 said:
Or the word buddha has several designations. The context of my use is as first human sapien to establish Buddhist teachings for our sapient population. Do you understand why this is significant? Shakyamuni refereed to himself using one word in many context.

Queequeg said:
Then that is certainly your own view. That does not align with the description of Shakyamuni in the Lotus, or any Buddhist text. Sounds like some sort of "Secular Buddhist" teaching, if anything.

tkp67 said:
Shakyamuni wasn't the first human on earth to found buddhist teachings that have been spread globally?

Malcolm wrote:
No, there have been many buddhas on earth in the past.

tkp67 said:
You made a public declaration about your Nichiren practice, not I.

Malcolm wrote:
No, he made a statement about belonging to a group, not about what he does in his living room.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 2:27 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


Queequeg said:
What are you talking about?

Malcolm wrote:
Fledgling shakubaku. it's really cute.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 2:19 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
tkp67 said:
From Shakyamuni's perspective which of his past teachings, teachers and their contributions are worthy and/or lacking worth?

Malcolm wrote:
I can't speak from Śākyamuni's perspective, and neither can you. We can only speak from our own perspective.

tkp67 said:
In the East Asian tradition of Nichiren Buddhism contemplating that perspective isn't discouraged and to make the teachings as inaccessible or beyond approach is not appropriate.

Malcolm wrote:
You can contemplate what you imagine the Buddha's perspective to be all you want, but it won't make that perspective your perspective unless or until you have attained full buddhahood yourself and possess that knowledge for yourself. In the meantime, there are many, many teachings of the Buddha in sūtra and tantra. Trying to master them all is impossible, so it is better to pick your poison and stay with it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 2:16 AM
Title: Re: In between Taoism and Buddhism
Content:
Toenail said:
I am western and right wing and Buddhist. I know many other right wing western Buddhists my age. Americans Buddhists are pretty much like the cliche of Californian people, flip flop wearing, 100k in student debt for a gender degree etc, vegan with anemia etc. Us European Buddhists are more sensible and we seem to have more discriminate wisdom to reflect for ourselves and decide then what is right and what is wrong.

Malcolm wrote:
Unless you are an out and out fascist ala AdF, National Front, etc., your "right wing" is somewhere to the left of Bernie Sanders.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 2:11 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
tkp67 said:
From Shakyamuni's perspective which of his past teachings, teachers and their contributions are worthy and/or lacking worth?

Malcolm wrote:
I can't speak from Śākyamuni's perspective, and neither can you. We can only speak from our own perspective.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 1:45 AM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
tkp67 said:
I will glad to share the experiences that led to such compassion, suffering is an amazing cause.

Malcolm wrote:
Compassion is a good quality. But it does not have the power to remove the afflictions that result in suffering.

tkp67 said:
Have you tried practicing afflictions while having your compassion fully engaged?

Malcolm wrote:
One does not "practice" afflictions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 1:43 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
tkp67 said:
none of the traditions, their teachers or their attainments are in-congruent from the buddha field are they?

Malcolm wrote:
What do you mean? Please state what you are trying to say more clearly.

tkp67 said:
pixelization of your display is not in my control

Malcolm wrote:
The incoherence or your statement is not in my control, either. So, either restate what you mean or let it go. It's up to you.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 1:41 AM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
tkp67 said:
I will glad to share the experiences that led to such compassion, suffering is an amazing cause.

Malcolm wrote:
Compassion is a good quality. But it does not have the power to remove the afflictions that result in suffering.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 1:39 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
tkp67 said:
none of the traditions, their teachers or their attainments are in-congruent from the buddha field are they?

Malcolm wrote:
What do you mean? Please state what you are trying to say more clearly.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 1:38 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
tkp67 said:
FWIW Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche has written commentary on this sutra.

He does not seem to be as dismissive to the value thereof.

https://read.84000.co/translation/toh113.html

Malcolm wrote:
No one here has dismissed the value of the Saddharmapundarika in and of itself. But, to put it in context for you, Saddharmapundarika Sūtra, like all Mahāyāna sūtras, belongs to the causal vehicle, not the result vehicle.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 1:34 AM
Title: Re: Tenth Vow of Amitabha
Content:
Astus said:
In the tenth vow of Amitabha it is stated that beings in Sukhavati will not arouse any clinging/desire (parigraha/貪), not even to their own bodies. It is generally believed that even ordinary beings (prthagjana) may be born there. However, how could an unenlightened one be free from clinging suddenly?

Malcolm wrote:
Parigraha means "possession" or "property." I don't think this means clinging in the sense you take it to mean. I think it means that beings born there will have no concept of property.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 1:08 AM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
tkp67 said:
The reason for this is because I question the benefit of behavior and congruence with Buddhist teachings.

Malcolm wrote:
Before you go around questioning other people's conduct, you should check your own. Then check it again. Then a third time.

After all, dude, you are just an afflicted sentient being wandering around in samsara, just like the rest of us poor schmucks.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 1:06 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
Some people might believe this, but I don't. You cannot infuse a rock, stick, or even piece of paper with nice calligraphy with the names of buddhas and bodhisattvas with awakening.  However, you can certainly generate merit by venerating pieces of paper that contain the names of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and so on, as a substitute for the Buddha in person, because they contain the names of buddhas and bodhisattvas. But infuse the actual paper with awakening? Not a chance.

tkp67 said:
You participate in the east asian forums but doubt the lotus teachings.

Malcolm wrote:
There are people in the EA Buddhist forum, EA Buddhists, who do not follow Nichiren Buddhism in any form at all, who do not hold the Saddharmarapundarika Sūtra as the apex of the Buddha's teachings, such as Zen Buddhists, Pure Land Buddhists, and Shingon Buddhists, let alone believe that venerating a beautiful calligraphy by Nichiren is the best way to attain awakening. You seem to myopically believe that only Nichiren Buddhists are East Asian Buddhists.

Do I doubt Nichiren's interpretations? Definitely. But that does not mean I reject the Saddharmapundarika. I just understand it through a different lens than do you.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 12:37 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/liberate-america-covid/

Unknown said:
These people are not “patriots.” They’re punks. They’re selfish punks who spent all of their time pre-virus tooting about how they didn’t need to contribute to society in the form of taxes, and how they could hold out for years in their doomsday bunkers. But it turns out they couldn’t last four weeks without public meeting places and double-ply toilet paper.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 12:30 AM
Title: Western Buddhists and politics
Content:
Sādhaka said:
Nice^ post.

I can’t stand the political atmosphere of this forum...

Malcolm wrote:
Thanks.

Most American Buddhists are pretty left-wing. People raised in conservative families are usually Christians, and they rarely leave Christianity for other religions.

Most of the Buddhists with conservative leanings I have run into are ethnically Chinese, and pro-life agendas seem to be the root of their alignment with the GOP in this country.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020 at 12:25 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


TharpaChodron said:
Covidiots should have to sign a DNR type of thing to opt out of any emergency medical care if they or their families get sick.  Sounds rough, but that’s the type of ideology they live for anyways sooo...

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, we are dealing with the most significant social and political event any of us have ever seen in our lifetimes. Covidiot hysteria is understandable, but dangerous.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 11:56 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:



TharpaChodron said:
I was supposed to be landing in Paris this Thursday and then driving down to Turin, Italy. Had tickets to La Scala opera in Milan for next week, too.  Fortunately, we were able to get everything refunded and will do the trip later. I bought an Italian pasta machine as a small consolation.

Malcolm wrote:
Bummer. we would have been in retreat with Sangye Khandro and Lama Chonam in NZ.


TharpaChodron said:
Total bummer. Praying for a World party in 2021, and not a “Ship of Fools”

Malcolm wrote:
The patriotic covidiots of the Covideracy ride again:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 11:16 PM
Title: Re: In between Taoism and Buddhism
Content:


PeterC said:
The only issue here is that those are two quite different systems of astrology with different calculation based (solar vs lunar). I’ve never studied Tibetan astrology so don’t know how they are conformed.

Malcolm wrote:
Skar rtsi (stellar calculation) is derived from Kalacakra, and is principally concerned with calendrics, though instructions for horary charts exist, which are not too different from Jyotish and Ptolmeic charts.

'Byung rtsi (elemental calculation) by contrast, in Buddhist sourcesis credited to Mañjuśṛī and Kongtse Trulpey Gyalpo (considered to be identical with Confucius by some Tibetans) and was a terma system introduced in the 11th century. It is credited to Du har nag po, supposedly a Chinese mathematician/astromer who came to Tibetan from China during the imperial period, translated/revealed by an 11th century (?) Tibetan named Khams pa khra mo.

Elemental calculation involves calculating the cyclic relationships between the five phases, wood, fire, earth, metal, and water; the twelve animals; the eight parkhas; and the cycle of sme ba; otherwise known as the magic square of Saturn.

Though the origin of these ideas are nominally Chinese, their treatment in Tibet is distinctly Tibetan, and owes very little to Chinese narratives on the same subjects. For example, in Chinese sources on the cosmic tortoise, there is no description of a tortoise of the basis, which describes reality in terms familiar to anyone who has received Dzogchen teachings:
"First, out of total nothingness there is the so called "primordially existing or abiding tortoise". And from this arose, or were produced, all the Buddhas of the three times and all the sentient beings of the three realms. The example for that is the void of space, and since the meaning is the dharmadhātu of Samantabhadra, it exists without any coalescence or separation in any of the three times. No head or tail can be seen here, no limbs are shown here, in terms of time, here it abides without abiding. Without grasping to any extremes -- Buddhas and sentient beings are in that; including the dharmakāya, the sambhogakāya, and the nirmanakāya, the emanations of the body, speech, mind, qualities and activities of the Victors, male, female, neuters, moving and resting and so on -- that superior one is called the "abiding tortoise."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 10:40 PM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
tobes said:
The answer to this question is AA Bailey: it was she who gave birth to the notion of a new age. In her work, the esoteric, the occult, the fascistic, the anti-Semitic and the epistemic blindfold all co-emerge.

Malcolm wrote:
Yeah, you are right. But she just expanded upon HPB’s racist pseudoscience.

tobes said:
I've had the great misfortune to look into this terrain, and I think there is a profound shift between the two. Blavatsky at least, reads (bizarrely) a whole bunch of texts, from Plato to Shankara, and claims that there is a universal truth through them all. So, with early Theosophy you could be a Hindu, Buddhist, Jew or anything else, and simply read your existing tradition through that lens. A mistake, yes, but one that has reference points in history/reality.

Bailey "channels" all of her material from some entity calling himself "the Tibetan" - and thereby invents an entirely new tradition which replaces all existing traditions, and which has no reference points outside of itself. It is epistemologically, far more dangerous.

Malcolm wrote:
You forget, HPB was in contact with "mahatmas," Masters Koot Humi and Morya, and their disciple Dwaj Khul, supposedly a Tibetan disciple of the former, who make their first appearance in the Mahatma Letters.

Recall, the Secret Doctrine was supposedly written by Koot Humi and Morya. The Mahatma letters were sent to Sinnet, who wrote "Esoteric Buddhism."

Dwaj Khul is Bailey's "Tibetan."

Interestingly enough, I dug up an article on Baily writtten by our very own Nicholas Weeks, who it turns out was a follower of Bailey and Leadbeater from 1970-1985, by his own account. http://blavatskyarchives.com/In_Theosophys_Shadow_Vanity_Whispers.pdf.

However, you are right, there is a shift into genuine racism in Bailey that is largely absent in Blavatsky, apart from the general 19th century attitudes one might expect in books from that era.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 11:18 AM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
tobes said:
The answer to this question is AA Bailey: it was she who gave birth to the notion of a new age. In her work, the esoteric, the occult, the fascistic, the anti-Semitic and the epistemic blindfold all co-emerge.

Malcolm wrote:
Yeah, you are right. But she just expanded upon HPB’s racist pseudoscience.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 9:34 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
mikenz66 said:
I'm sure some will say that we're a bunch of sheep, and the protesters in Michigan, etc, are fighting for freedom, but, frankly, I'm pleased  that our Prime Minister's motto is "Be strong, be kind."

Malcolm wrote:
Those people are to be pitied. They are so stupid, it’s fatal.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 9:13 AM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
SonamTashi said:
I wouldn't even say they are truly anti-authoritarian. For many of these people it seems they think along the lines of "only my opinion matters." In other words they make themselves the final authority, and are thus extremely authoritarian. It is how some end up Fascists.

PeterC said:
That’s a better description.  It’s the willingness to reject evidence and experience in favor of their own uninformed prejudices that is so dangerous

Malcolm wrote:
John Oliver pointed out something interesting: the right wing media has been preaching for decades that are four sources you cannot trust—the government, the media, scientists, and academics. Doesn’t leave much left over, by design.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 4:48 AM
Title: Re: Mala with Lion-Faced Dakini
Content:
pema tsultrim said:
...
Feel free to PM me an answer if necessary.

Malcolm wrote:
I have never heard this, and I have received several different transmissions of this practice from different Sakya and Nyingma teachers.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 1:02 AM
Title: Re: Greetings from a Zen Pagan
Content:
Grigoris said:
From the fragments I have read (most of his theory comes to us second-hand) it seems that he was more a type of proto-Madhyamaka.
Academics believe he was influenced by the teachings found in the Atthakavagga Sutta Nipata.  This, of course, does not preclude that he may have been influenced by Jains.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, Gymnosophist (Naked philosophers) was a term which sprang form Greek encounters with Digambara Jains, since they went naked.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 12:36 AM
Title: Re: Question on Well-wishing thoughts
Content:
AznAquaSp1rit said:
Why should you have "well-wishing thoughts for all beings?"
I find it very hard to practice.
I've become very distrustful of people in general because of the way they've treated me.
I don't wish good thoughts for the people that have wronged me. I wish the opposite.
Past friends that have abandoned me have left me hurting deep inside.
I believe a lot of people I've encountered in my life are inherently selfish and only think of themselves.
What do you recommend that I do?

Malcolm wrote:
Well, are you actually any different than any of them?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 12:29 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
TharpaChodron said:
I still go to work, but I meet my clients and families now via Zoom or the like and everyone is at their homes except me on the calls usually. They say there is much more child abuse, neglect, domestic violence etc going on unreported, and yes, the phones have been eerily quiet.

Planted a bunch of asparagus in the home garden today, garden stores are considered “essential” like grocery stores.  My practice remains unimpressive and I still haven’t learned French...

Kim O'Hara said:
Much the same here, actually.
The streets are very quiet but lots of people are getting on their bikes for exercise. A lot of people are working or studying from home, or have lost their jobs, or have had their hours cut. Garden stores are doing well, as are hardware stores, as people find time for stuff around the house.

Me?
I've repainted the laundry and it now isn't unbearably depressing to walk into.
And I'm riding my bike to make up for the fact that the tennis club has been shut down.
But I haven't learned French either.


Kim

TharpaChodron said:
I was supposed to be landing in Paris this Thursday and then driving down to Turin, Italy. Had tickets to La Scala opera in Milan for next week, too.  Fortunately, we were able to get everything refunded and will do the trip later. I bought an Italian pasta machine as a small consolation.

Malcolm wrote:
Bummer. we would have been in retreat with Sangye Khandro and Lama Chonam in NZ.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 12:01 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
Queequeg said:
I've always been taught that it is critical to hear a teaching that has come mouth to ear in an unbroken lineage back to the Buddha. The wisdom of the teacher doesn't matter so much as the conveyance of the teaching accurately. There is even a sense that a teaching could be inert through generations and then find fertile ground in the mind of a worthy student, blossoming beyond the achievements of the intermediate teachers. The echo of the Buddha's Pure and Far Reaching Voice has profound power like that.

Malcolm wrote:
Beyond this, Nāgārjuna points out, that even if the world were devoid of tathāgatas, the nature of reality being what is it, it is possible that someone could discover this. However, this is very rare, like the blossoming of the proverbial udumvara flower.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 11:31 PM
Title: Re: Greetings from a Zen Pagan
Content:
darumadarling said:
Generally Celtic and Hellenistic influences. There's a small history of Buddhism in Ancient Greece/Alexandrian culture as well

fckw said:
That's not really precise, it was actually the other way round. Maybe there might have been some soldiers coming back from Asia bringing some Buddhist ideas back to ancient Greece (which was a cultural melting pot anyway due to being located on the trade route), but Buddhism never really got a foothold there.

Grigoris said:
Yes it did, but not under the name "Buddhism":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrho

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhonism
Most interpretations of the information on Pyrrho's philosophy suggest that he claimed that reality is inherently indeterminate, which, in the view of Pyrrhonism described by Sextus Empiricus, would be considered a negative dogmatic belief.

Malcolm wrote:
This would suggest that Pyrrho was actually influenced by Jains, rather than by Buddhists. Indeterminacy is a key Jain tenet.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 11:29 PM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
tatpurusa said:
deleted post....


Malcolm wrote:
To answer the question you quickly deleted, the evidence for Russian meddling is to be found in the Mueller report.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 11:18 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
Aemilius said:
Please desist from using abusive language. If you read the Jataka stories there is always a passage of identifying the persons in that particular previous life, i.e. who were who in that previous life. This applies to many different persons like Shariputra, Maudgalyayana, Maitreya etc, they are all identified as having been such and such persons in a past existence.
The issue seems to be a kind of magical use of the phrase "no-self". As I see it. People in a certain buddhist school are quite happy to say that they are the person who pays the taxes, who posses a passport, who has a personal indentification number, and who was a certain person in a past life. But they also say that they have "no self". And see no contradiction in it. Thus the "no-self" is used in a magical and ritualistic sense. The normal life, that is based on the fact that persons are identifiable as being such and such, is never disturbed by that ritualistic & magical use of language.

Grigoris said:
You really have no idea what you are talking about.

If you do not develop bodhicitta you will never get over this desperate clinging to the idea of a permanent "self".

Malcolm wrote:
Sati's heresy is pernicious and hard to kill.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 10:12 PM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
GrapeLover said:
But I do think you can often get your foot in the door to some extent.


Malcolm wrote:
The Lotus Sūtra is useful here:
The noble men or noble women who have planted roots of merit, even though they are born in all the states where they come into existence and die and pass away, they will easily find a kalyāṇamitra, they will be near someone who will act as a teacher, and they will be given a prophecy of the highest, complete enlightenment, be guided toward it and ripened for it.
Section 25.24, https://read.84000.co/translation/toh113.html


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 10:04 PM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


tkp67 said:
What do you make of the mention of Pratyekabuddha in the sutras?

Malcolm wrote:
Pratyekabuddhas are those who recall the teaching of dependent origination and attain the samadhi of cessation on that basis. But they all had teachers in a previous life, where they made an aspiration to attain the result of a pratyekabuddha.

tkp67 said:
Or Shakyamuni's own enlightenment as discussed in the lotus sutra?

Malcolm wrote:
Why confine the discussion Śākyamuni Buddha's full awakening to the Lotus Sūtra? It's not like it is the first or even the last word on the subject.

tkp67 said:
He was self enlightened, left the seat of enlightenment to teach. This is in the sutras correct? Who taught him?

Malcolm wrote:
Well, if you follow Hinayāna narratives, this is how it seems. But this is a Mahāyāna forum, and as a result, the Mahāyāna idea is that Śākyamuni Buddha is a nirmanakāya, who does not actually attain buddhahood in this loka, but rather, in Akaniṣṭha Ghanavyuha. This is stated in several sūtras, such as the Lanka and so on. According to the Lotus, the Buddha's original teacher was Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra.

tkp67 said:
Is there not a tradition whose teacher infused all aspects of Shakyamuni's enlightenment into an insentient object for the purpose of propagation in the later age?

Malcolm wrote:
Some people might believe this, but I don't. You cannot infuse a rock, stick, or even piece of paper with nice calligraphy with the names of buddhas and bodhisattvas with awakening.  However, you can certainly generate merit by venerating pieces of paper that contain the names of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and so on, as a substitute for the Buddha in person, because they contain the names of buddhas and bodhisattvas. But infuse the actual paper with awakening? Not a chance.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 9:52 PM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
tatpurusa said:
Are Tibetans who do not believe Chinese state propaganda regarding their own country and history conspiracy theorists or correct?

Malcolm wrote:
No, since such objections to Chinese propaganda is evidence-based.


tatpurusa said:
Are Armenians, who claim to be victims of a genocide by the Turks conspiracy theorists?

Malcolm wrote:
No, since Armenian claims are evidence-based.

tatpurusa said:
Are Native Americans who claim they were purposefully exterminated conspiracy theorists?

Malcolm wrote:
No, since Native claims are evidence-based.

tatpurusa said:
Were the Jews claiming persecution by the Germans conspiracy theorists?

Malcolm wrote:
No, since Jewish claims are evidence-based.

Conspiracy theories all lack evidence, hence the construction of a theories of conspiracy in absence of evidence to back up claims: examples, the Anti 5G people possess not even a shred of evidence to back up their claims. The Antivaxxers similarly have no evidence to back up their claims, and on and on it goes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 7:27 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
Aemilius said:
Why do we need to quarrel concerning such a basic issue? We all know that there are the Jatakas or birth stories etc in Buddhism.

Grigoris said:
Yes there is a reason to quarrel, because you wrongly assert that this is evidence of transmigration, of some-thing that travels from life to life (an atman) when it is NOT evidence for anything of the sort, when the Buddha taught Anatman.

In other words you are peddling BS, trying to sell it as Buddhadharma.

Aemilius said:
Please desist from using abusive language. If you read the Jataka stories there is always a passage of identifying the persons in that particular previous life, i.e. who were who in that previous life. This applies to many different persons like Shariputra, Maudgalyayana, Maitreya etc, they are all identified as having been such and such persons in a past existence.
The issue seems to be a kind of magical use of the phrase "no-self". As I see it. People in a certain buddhist school are quite happy to say that they are the person who pays the taxes, who posses a passport, who has a personal indentification number, and who was a certain person in a past life. But they also say that they have "no self". And see no contradiction in it. Thus the "no-self" is used in a magical and ritualistic sense. The normal life, that is based on the fact that persons are identifiable as being such and such, is never disturbed by that ritualistic & magical use of language.

Malcolm wrote:
The Buddha also used such language, during such a time, under such a king, I was so an so, and yet he insisted there was no self, other a convenient designation for a group of aggregates, a name, in other words.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 6:46 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
javier.espinoza.t said:
do you remember any any text, quote, any mentioning in the Mahayana Sutras of a mandatory need of another teacher, condemning boddhisatvayana training in solitude, or condemning following another Boddhisatva for receiving training?

Malcolm wrote:
I just quoted you a number of sūtras and masters that indicate the need for a teacher.

If you want to find some commandment, well, that does not exist. But nevertheless, the need for a teacher is well understood in both sūtra and tantra.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 4:53 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


javier.espinoza.t said:
I recall the Buddha talking about this in the Lotus Sutra, essentially saying that the sutra itself would be the teacher.

Malcolm wrote:
No, I don't think so.

javier.espinoza.t said:
it means that the Sutras are the teacher.

Malcolm wrote:
What I mean is that the Lotus Sūtra does not make this statement.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 4:53 AM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
I still say its the mamos, and I am being absolutely serious. This is the explanation given in texts in the bka' 'gyur and bstan 'gyur of all genres for these kinds of epidemics.


Sādhaka said:
Are you framing conspiratorial thinking as an epidemic; or are you talking about literal epidemics?

Malcolm wrote:
Literal epidemics.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 4:07 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


javier.espinoza.t said:
I recall the Buddha talking about this in the Lotus Sutra, essentially saying that the sutra itself would be the teacher.

Malcolm wrote:
No, I don't think so.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 3:11 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


javier.espinoza.t said:
Any conditional sentence that determines whether boddhisatva practice nor boddhisatva realization depends on a teacher or mentor can be found, but wise advices.

In the Mahayana Sutras, did Buddha ever condemed not-relying on a teacher/mentor/preceptor/etc.?

Malcolm wrote:
Without a teacher, you will not meet the Dharma; without meeting the Dharma, no realization is possible.

javier.espinoza.t said:
Is it a quote from any Buddha's words in a Mahayana Sutra or your own words?

Malcolm wrote:
There is no example in the Buddha's sūtras where someone was without a teacher, since the Buddha is the teacher of all Buddha's sūtras.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 2:46 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:


javier.espinoza.t said:
Any conditional sentence that determines whether boddhisatva practice nor boddhisatva realization depends on a teacher or mentor can be found, but wise advices.

In the Mahayana Sutras, did Buddha ever condemed not-relying on a teacher/mentor/preceptor/etc.?

Malcolm wrote:
Without a teacher, you will not meet the Dharma; without meeting the Dharma, no realization is possible.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 2:23 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:
Könchok Thrinley said:
What are the qualities of a qualified teacher of Mahayana?

Malcolm wrote:
The Sutrālaṃkara:

Rely on a virtuous mentor who is disciplined, peaceful, pacified, 
diligent in the highest qualities, very learned,
understands the truth, eloquent, 
has a loving nature, and has abandoned regret.


The Bodhicaryāvatāra states:

The virtuous mentor 
skilled in the meaning of Mahāyāna and 
possessing the supreme disciplined conduct of a bodhisattva
should never be abandoned, even at the cost of one’s life.

The Ratnāvali states:

If you rely on those who
are content, compassionate, and disciplined, 
with discerning wisdom that removes afflictions,
through knowing them, give them respect.

Könchok Thrinley said:
And how is the relationship between disciple and teacher in mahayana compared to vajrayana?

Malcolm wrote:
Sapan states:

The texts of the Pāramitayāna 
state that the guru 
is to be seen as resembling a buddha,
but there is no statement that the guru is an actual buddha. 
Stating “the guru is an actual buddha”
comes after obtaining empowerment.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 1:47 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:


PadmaVonSamba said:
It might be argued that since it is self-grasping which propels rebirth in the first place, that this alone would make simultaneous multiple rebirths impossibly contradictory.

What do you think?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, this among the reasons such a phenomena is impossible.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 1:22 AM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:



javier.espinoza.t said:
without a teacher wouldn't be possible to engage in generosity according to wht the sutras say?

Malcolm wrote:
Below the pure bodhisattva stages, arya bodhisattvas have to regain their realization in every lifetime because they do not remember their last life. Realization does not carry over unconsciously. It is even more problematic for ordinary bodhisattvas.

javier.espinoza.t said:
I see. Still, such realization doesn't seems to be dependant on a teacher, even on a preceptor.

Malcolm wrote:
Of course it is. You need to read more sūtras.


javier.espinoza.t said:
Having found a speach of the Buddha, would a boddhisatva below the pure boddhisattva stages never engage in -any- boddhisatva practices without a teacher?


Malcolm wrote:
For example, the The Saṃcayagāthā states:

The excellent disciple with devotion to the guru
always relies on learned gurus.
If it is asked for what reason, the qualities of being learned arise from them

...................

The victor, the owner of the best of all qualities, has said:
“Rely on the Buddha, Dharma, and the virtuous mentor.”

The Tattvāvatāra states:

The all-knowing one praises reliance on a guru,
not the independence of a disciple. 
A blind person is not independent, 
unable to climb a mountain.


The Saṃcaya-gāthā states:

Just as a group of patients relies on medicine to be cured, 
one should rely unwaveringly upon a virtuous mentor.

The Sutrālaṃkara:

Rely on a virtuous mentor who is disciplined, peaceful, pacified, 
diligent in the highest qualities, very learned,
understands the truth, eloquent, 
has a loving nature, and has abandoned regret.


The Bodhicaryāvatāra states:

The virtuous mentor 
skilled in the meaning of Mahāyāna and 
possessing the supreme disciplined conduct of a bodhisattva
should never be abandoned, even at the cost of one’s life.

The Ratnāvali states:

If you rely on those who
are content, compassionate, and disciplined, 
with discerning wisdom that removes afflictions,
through knowing them, give them respect.

The Gaṇḍāvyuha sūtra states:

Young Manibhadra, bodhisattvas who correctly adhere to the virtuous mentor do not fall into lower realms; they realize the uniformity of all phenomena; they are shown the paths of bliss and misery; they are instructed in the conduct of Samantabhadra; they are shown the path to the city of omniscience; they are carried to the place of omniscience...

The Ratnamegha-sūtra states:

Now then, since virtuous qualities will increase and nonvirtue will decline if one relies upon the guru, the preceptor [mkhan po, upādhyāyaḥ] will generate the thought of teaching those with greater or lesser hearing, or those with discipline or corrupted discipline.

Ārya Śrisambhava teaches in the Gaṇḍāvyuha sūtra:

The virtuous mentor comprehends incorrect actions, correctly turns one away from shameless places, extracts one from the city of samsara…Child of a good family, since one always thinks in that way, serve virtuous mentors.

So you see, also those interested in Mahāyāna must always rely on a teacher.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 1:12 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
tatpurusa said:
BioCubaFarma guarantees production of 22 medications for the treatment of Covid-19

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2020-03-17/biocubafarma-guarantees-production-of-22-medications-for-the-treatment-of-covid-19

Malcolm wrote:
There is no evidence yet that interferon is of use in treating covid-19. It may help in early stages of infection, but we don't actually know this yet.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7138382/


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 12:49 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:


Grigoris said:
Nobody has furnished something of the sort.

Malcolm wrote:
No, not even when politely asked too. The problem here is an admixture of domains: one domain is that of the anthropology of religion, where one does not seek to validate this or that religious doctrine among a population group, but merely understand how this or that set of beliefs function for a given population. The other domain is specifically Buddhist, which is the prosecution of what is correct Dharma as opposed to adharma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 12:07 AM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
I still say its the mamos, and I am being absolutely serious. This is the explanation given in texts in the bka' 'gyur and bstan 'gyur of all genres for these kinds of epidemics.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 11:40 PM
Title: Re: Do a teacher is needed for practicing Mahayana?
Content:



javier.espinoza.t said:
once yes, but not in each lifetime.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, in every lifetime, until you are a bodhisattva on the pure stages.

javier.espinoza.t said:
without a teacher wouldn't be possible to engage in generosity according to wht the sutras say?

Malcolm wrote:
Below the pure bodhisattva stages, arya bodhisattvas have to regain their realization in every lifetime because they do not remember their last life. Realization does not carry over unconsciously. It is even more problematic for ordinary bodhisattvas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 10:48 PM
Title: Re: Practicing without possibility of physical contact with teacher
Content:
javier.espinoza.t said:
you don't need a teacher for training yourself in the boddhisatva path. wich is excelent and opens the gate to more specific teachings.

Malcolm wrote:
You always need a teacher, no matter what kind of dharma you want to practice.

javier.espinoza.t said:
once yes, but not in each lifetime.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, in every lifetime, until you are a bodhisattva on the pure stages.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 10:28 PM
Title: Re: Practicing without possibility of physical contact with teacher
Content:
javier.espinoza.t said:
you don't need a teacher for training yourself in the boddhisatva path. wich is excelent and opens the gate to more specific teachings.

Malcolm wrote:
You always need a teacher, no matter what kind of dharma you want to practice.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 10:21 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
While it may be up to each person to believe whatever they want, any Buddhism that does not adhere to the three or four seals is not valid buddhadharma. As for the answer to your question, nothing transferred from Tushita to Mayadevi’s womb. Serial continuity does not require any kind of transfer.

tkp67 said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Dharma_Seals

Please tell us how East Asian teachings can never lead to fulfilling the dharma seals.

You would have to have intimate knowledge of them Malcolm, I would love to hear you teach the lotus.

Malcolm wrote:
I never said that Sino-Japanese Buddhism was devoid of the four seals.

What I said what was "any Buddhism that does not adhere to the three or four seals is not valid buddhadharma." For example, the Pudgalavādins, a Buddhist school that existed prior to the fall of the Gupta empire, and perhaps beyond, asserted the existence of an inexpressible self that was different than the aggregates, because they were unable to conceive rebirth in anything other than substantialist terms. They were roundly refuted on all sides. You can read about this in the Refutation of the Self composed by Vasubandhu.

The point is that your contention that what others are calling a "soul" is just what Buddhists call "consciousness" is not a valid assertion.

These kinds of theories exist in many forms, some of them belong to indigenous traditions where Buddhism has spread, such as the Tibetan cultural idea of bla; others are like the Chinese cultural idea of shen, hun, and po; kami in Japan, etc., some of them are a result of philosophical speculation, like the Upanishadic atman, the Christian soul, and so on. These concepts are virtually impossible to reconcile with buddhadharma, end of story, no matter who bitterly complains about my assertion out of misplaced grudges and resentments.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 9:03 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
haha said:
It seems that earlier Buddhist literatures were more focused on “how rebirth” but not on “what rebirth”. As long as there is ignorance and mental formation, there would be becoming, birth, and death.

However, there are the concepts of transference of consciousness in Hindu literature as well as Daoist literature (in their own way). Not only that they could do multiple emanations from same individual continuum, and they have the theory of different categories of emanation. Even there is transference into another conscious being (i.e. only willingly). But, it does not mean that they have to believe in Transmigration of the Self.

Even in the earlier Buddhist literature, Bodhisattva (i.e. for Sakyamuni) descended from Tusita heaven and entered into his mother womb with full awareness. What was it that descended and what it was that entered? It is up to the individual what theory he/she knows and what he/she believes.

Malcolm wrote:
While it may be up to each person to believe whatever they want, any Buddhism that does not adhere to the three or four seals is not valid buddhadharma. As for the answer to your question, nothing transferred from Tushita to Mayadevi’s womb. Serial continuity does not require any kind of transfer.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 8:58 PM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
SonamTashi said:
Connected to this (and the last thing I will mention), is the general connection between New Ageism and Christianity. As the New Age movement is entirely a Western thing, it perhaps should not be surprising that it is strongly influenced by Christianity. What I've noticed is that the New Age movement is essentially just Christianity for people fed up with Christianity.

tatpurusa said:
I agree very much with this, Christianity is a strong component of New Age etc.
Another well known component is "Tantrism" channelled through Aleister Crowley.
Like this, for example:
https://nationalfile.com/microsoft-hides-video-featuring-spirit-cooking-guru-marina-abramovic/


SonamTashi said:
Oof. Don't show that video to the QAnon folks. They're obsessed with Marina Abramovic and her "spirit cooking." They're convinced that pretty much all politicians, religious leaders and celebrities take part in it, and they believe it involves raping and eating children.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, at a gay-owned pizza parlor basement near you.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 8:47 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:


tkp67 said:
No Malcom. This is an east asian forum and I am Nichiren buddhist. Your commentary projects wrongly interprets my tradition for me and to so is paramount to slander. The lack of compassion regarding other traditions is such that your authority is greatly undermined when inappropriately applied.

Malcolm wrote:
Well then, please carry on with your misconceptions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 12:56 PM
Title: Re: Soul vs Consciousness?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Well, because even the subtle consciousness, the mind of clear light in Geluk jargon, is relative and compounded.

PadmaVonSamba said:
Ahh! That makes sense.
Thanks

tobes said:
If the mind of clear light neither arises nor ceases, and is not comprised of parts, then how can it be compounded?

Malcolm wrote:
It’s momentary, and relative, in the geluk tradition.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 3:55 AM
Title: Re: What happened to Jordan Peterson?;
Content:
smcj said:
Being a psycholgist is no protection against addiction.

Malcolm wrote:
It's also not an immunity against poor thinking and worse politics.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 3:52 AM
Title: Re: Conspirituality - the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs
Content:
Könchok Thrinley said:
Yeah, I have noticed this too. It is really interesting. Seems like it has to do a lot with a dumb distrust towards authorities of any kind. Unwilling to believe anything somebody from the "establishment" says and they have to "discover it for themselves". Which can be a good attitude to a degree, but they often take it to extreme. And this egoism works well in both spiritual and mundane manners.

Malcolm wrote:
Conspiracy theories are the place where new age dipshits and the alt right meet for dates and eventual miscegenation, resulting in Fascist Deadheads.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 3:51 AM
Title: Re: What happened to Jordan Peterson?;
Content:
tatpurusa said:
This is what I call the all-pervading putridness of the healthcare system.

Malcolm wrote:
But you will go to a hospital, I presume, if you require major acute care, no?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 1:18 AM
Title: Re: What happened to Jordan Peterson?;
Content:
Brunelleschi said:
That's cool I guess, Peterson should stick to what he knows something about which is clinical psychology.

Malcolm wrote:
He is a Jungian, which means he is someone who peddles rehashed myths to his clients and makes good money off of selling them bullshit ideas as the solution to their problems.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 1:13 AM
Title: Re: What happened to Jordan Peterson?;
Content:
Grigoris said:
https://newrepublic.com/article/156829/happened-jordan-peterson
So it was something of a surprise to learn, in early February, that Peterson had spent eight days in a medically induced coma at an unnamed clinic in Russia. Peterson’s daughter Mikhaila, a 28-year-old food blogger, posted a brief but dramatic video claiming that she and her father had traveled to Russia in early January seeking an unorthodox treatment for his physical dependence on the drug clonazepam. Dependency goes against the core tenets of Peterson’s philosophical brand: stoicism, self-reliance, the power of the will over circumstance and environment. “No one gets away with anything, ever, so take responsibility for your own life,” he admonished in his bestselling self-help book 12 Rules for Life.
How the mighty have fallen...

Malcolm wrote:
Well, the answer is, to some extent, who cares. But beyond that, he apparently got really messed up in a Russian hospital trying to get off anti-anxiety meds.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 1:10 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:


tkp67 said:
Yet the term soul does not describe something that exists OUTSIDE of Buddhadharma because there is no soul accordingly. So what does it describe?

Malcolm wrote:
Answer: A false belief all people hold until they attain the level of a stream entrant, either in Hinayāna or Mahāyāna.

tkp67 said:
Does that phenomenon that they experience and are describing exist outside of Buddhadharma? Is the self that they are describing different than the self the buddha tries to liberate sentient beings from?

Malcolm wrote:
The false belief that there is a self or a soul is the false belief the Buddha defines as necessary to relinquish first in the process of becoming awakened.

Sometimes it seems you missed the Buddhadharma 101 course.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 1:06 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
tkp67 said:
Compassion is selfless regardless of how it is engaged

Malcolm wrote:
Compassion is selfless if it is compassion without reference to an object; but most kinds of compassion have objects as a reference, so they are not selfless at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at 4:55 AM
Title: Re: Is a Lung Sufficient?
Content:
Danny said:
Anyway is getting off topic, can someone practice , mother or father tantras or union of both, i.e. Kalachakra after receiving rigpai tsal wang with just the lung from outer, lower or inner, higher yoga tantra?


Regards

Malcolm wrote:
Depends on who your teacher is.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at 4:52 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:


tkp67 said:
This thing that some people call a soul, some call a spirit, some attribute to consciousness, some say is just the brain, etc all is the same thing.

Malcolm wrote:
No, this is not correct at all.

tkp67 said:
We use  different words describe an aspect of the same phenomenon.

Malcolm wrote:
The term "soul" does not describe anything in Buddhadharma. The referent to which "soul" refers is negated in Buddhadharma. It has no existence at all, other than as a name.

Consciousness is described in Buddhadharma, but it is explicitly denied by the Buddha that consciousness can be equated with something called a "soul" (atman).

Now, there are Buddhisms which entertain all sorts of wrong views; much of which falls under the rubric of "Buddhism" is not Buddhadharma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 17th, 2020 at 9:08 AM
Title: Re: Is a Lung Sufficient?
Content:



PeterC said:
I don't think a Sakya or Gelug lama would be ok with you practising a sarma yidam on that basis.

Of course you could, from a Nyingma perspective, conclude that it's ok; or you could use one of the methods to give yourself permission to read any text or do any practice that are out there. But then you're doing something that the living holders of that lineage would not consider to be right, and to my mind that is reason enough not to do it.

Josef said:
That's why I said nyingmapa.

PeterC said:
In practice, not even.  Suppose you had received a RTW from Nyingma lama A.  You then go to Nyingma lama B who happens to be a Dudjom Tersar lineage holder and ask if you can practice Troma if someone gives you the lung of the mantra.  Guess what the answer would be.

Malcolm wrote:
It depends on the lama. Kunzang Dechen Lingpa wouldn’t have hesitated even for a second, if he thought you should practice troma. The guru is the empowerment.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 16th, 2020 at 5:02 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
tingdzin said:
As long as there are dogmatic and arrogant Defenders of the Faith who think there is only one way to approach the vast ocean of Buddha's teachings insist on having the last word on any  subject, it is useless to attempt any kind of a  dialogue.

Malcolm wrote:
Umm, this doctrine is not part of the Buddha's teachings. So, you really don't have a valid point.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 16th, 2020 at 3:47 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:
LhakpaT said:
It is still a rigpa'i tsal wang, and one can work with the secondary practices to discover what was transmitted and to work with worldly conditions/obstacles?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 16th, 2020 at 3:45 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
LastLegend said:
Buddhas might hold views as Dharma for sentient because of their wisdom?

Malcolm wrote:
No.

LastLegend said:
How do define Dharma?
Everyday we still have views no?

Malcolm wrote:
Buddhas don't hold views.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 16th, 2020 at 3:15 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
LastLegend said:
Buddhas might hold views as Dharma for sentient because of their wisdom?

Malcolm wrote:
No.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 16th, 2020 at 3:15 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
Grigoris said:
Somehow I don't think we need to either!

Malcolm wrote:
Well, sure we do Greg. Otherwise, no one would have a thing to say.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 16th, 2020 at 2:08 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


smcj said:
How about the enlightened perspective, what you see when looking back from “the other shore“?

Malcolm wrote:
Any and all perspectives will be conventional.

smcj said:
Oh I see, “omniscience” isn’t a perspective per se.

Got it.

Malcolm wrote:
Omniscience cannot be a perspective, by definition, since if it were a perspective, it would be a view, and buddhas don't hold views. They don't need to.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 16th, 2020 at 12:41 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
SteRo said:
non-conventional perspective?

Malcolm wrote:
No such thing, actually.

smcj said:
How about the enlightened perspective, what you see when looking back from “the other shore“?

Malcolm wrote:
Any and all perspectives will be conventional.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 15th, 2020 at 11:02 PM
Title: Re: Are samays the only vows which have a time limit for restoration?
Content:
TMT said:
Do the refuge vows and bodhicitta vows have a time limit in which case they cannot be restored? I know Ive read at least once about the need to restore a transgression of the bodhisattva vows within four hours. Is there any time limit or any instance in which refuge or bodhisattva vows cannot be retaken?

Malcolm wrote:
All vows can be restored at any time. For example, bodhisattva vows are not truly lost unless one absolutely decides that one is not going to attain buddhahood, giving up the aspiration for buddhahood for the benefit of sentient beings.

Vajrayāna vows also can always be restored.

Pratimokṣa vows are never lost, unless one gives them up; monastic defeats only mean one has lost the pratimokṣa of monks and nuns, but it does not mean one has completely lost pratimokṣa vows.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 15th, 2020 at 9:25 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
SteRo said:
non-conventional perspective?

Malcolm wrote:
No such thing, actually.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 15th, 2020 at 9:24 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:



shankara said:
It doesn't seem possible from any ordinary perspective but even Trump is only under "adventitious obscurations", ultimately there's nothing actually wrong with him. Hard as that is to believe.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, we are acquainted with the basics of tathāgatagarbha theory. Doesn't make him any less harmful however.


shankara said:
Interestingly the US Congress recently passed the "Tibetan Human Rights Bill", as you may already know. I was quite shocked about any country, never mind the self-interested Yankee empire, doing anything with the welfare of the Tibetan people in mind. Perhaps it's just games against China, like the support for guerillas and CIA payments to the Dalai Lama back in the day, nonetheless perhaps it could actually be helpful to the Tibetans.

Malcolm wrote:
This bill was a sponsored by Democrats. It was convenient for Trump, as part of his anti-China platform.

shankara said:
As even the most destructive phenomena (Trump) are dualistic (e.g. is a nut, but hates China) so in a certain sense it's not possible to say that they are actually destructive (to try to keep this vaguely on topic, just like we cannot say we are either born or die, each being dependent on the other). It's impossible, except for a Buddha, to comprehend the vast causal network around anything which happens, and it could be that seemingly destructive things in fact have some effect of arresting potentially more destructive processes which could otherwise arise.

Malcolm wrote:
Specious reasoning at best.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 15th, 2020 at 1:53 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
It is not exactly a construction of your mind.  It's a reaction of an afflicted mind to an afflicted object.

Grigoris said:
I think you would be hard pressed currently to find a more afflicted object than Trump.

shankara said:
It doesn't seem possible from any ordinary perspective but even Trump is only under "adventitious obscurations", ultimately there's nothing actually wrong with him. Hard as that is to believe.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, we are acquainted with the basics of tathāgatagarbha theory. Doesn't make him any less harmful however.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 15th, 2020 at 1:07 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


Grigoris said:
It could be a puppy instead that elicits the same feeling, as it is all just a construction of my mind.

Malcolm wrote:
It is not exactly a construction of your mind.  It's a reaction of an afflicted mind to an afflicted object.


Grigoris said:
So the object must play some role.


Malcolm wrote:
Of course, but it is still part of your material aggregate for as long as it is within the range of any of your five physical senses.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 11:42 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


Grigoris said:
I think that this is a bit of a stretch though, to say we are getting mad at ourselves.

it would be tantamount to saying it is not fire that elicits the feeling of pain and mental anguish when it burns us, we are just feeling pain and mental anguish at ourselves.  Doesn't really make sense.

Malcolm wrote:
The material aggregate includes all ten of our physical sense organs and sense objects. Any physical sense object you perceive belongs to your material aggregate. Ergo, if you get mad when you see and hear the object, Donald Trump, you are in effect just getting mad at your own material aggregate.

From the point of view of the material aggregate, the physical senses and sense objects belong to it. This is the main reason the material aggregate is not a self and does not belong to a self.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 9:50 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
SteRo said:
You should really drop your view that "every phenomena relies on every other phenomena in existence, for it's own existence." or at least modify it to make it consistent in terms of conventional truth.

Malcolm wrote:
Conventionally, this is the case. It is called karana-hetu, creative cause; and the adipati pratyaya, the dominant condition.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 8:42 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
PeterC said:
Have you got a reference to a sutra in the Chinese canon that talks about the process master Hsuan Hua talks about in the original post?

tingdzin said:
Sorry, I'm away from my library for the foreseeable future, but I'll check and see if I can find something relevant on my  computer. I believe that many of the early translator (e.g. Dharmaraksa?) used Chinese hun and po terminology in their translations . The book I cited has some examples. More on this later today, I hope.

Malcolm wrote:
This mismatching of Daoist terms with Indian Buddhist terms in early Chinese translations is well known. It is also well known to have lead to a lot of problems in Chinese understandings of Buddhist texts.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 5:25 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
tingdzin said:
This is for the OP and those who are seriously interested in the question of how the apparent contradiction between anatman and the Chinese passage quoted arose, who have the wit not to get hung up on semantic issues based on bad translations, and who don't think they already know all there is to know: read Jungnok Park's book referenced above. No sense arguing with a stump.

Malcolm wrote:
It's an interesting book, but it does not really address the qualm the OP expressed. The fact is that a genuine, rather than an apparent, contradiction arose. That's the point.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 2:28 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Causes and conditions are either discrete or they are meaningless. For example, taking a seed as the cause of a sprout, that sprout's conditions will be fertile soil, sun, water.

Queequeg said:
No, you're just insisting on a deliberate analysis.

Each of those causes and conditions you describe as discrete, as you well know are also composed of causes and conditions. They are discrete as matters of convenience. We're using the word discrete differently.

Malcolm wrote:
They are discrete because they appear to us discretely, and then we give them labels.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 12:38 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
If something happens, all its causes and conditions were present, by definition.

Grigoris said:
Yes, of course.  I can agree with this.  But nichiren-123 said "ALL", which is why I asked what he meant by that.

nichiren-123 said:
What I meant was that every phenomena relies on every other phenomena in existence, for it's own existence.

For instance we would not exist on planet Earth in our form without the planet, the sun, the past nebula that caused the sun, the first stars of the universe which produced the elements in our body - in short, we wouldn't exist without everything else.

Malcolm wrote:
This is only one kind of cause, called karana-hetu, where everything is the cause of everything else but itself. This is also called the dominant condition. But you still have three conditions and five more causes to account for. Chapter II of the Kosha covers this.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 12:36 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


nichiren-123 said:
That they can be perpetuated based on 1 cause.


Malcolm wrote:
No, nothing arises from a single cause. But if a single cause is missing, a given entity will not arise.

nichiren-123 said:
So the conclusion of that would be that if that one condition ceases then that being ceases - at least in its current form.

So if body ceases then mind must cease (again, in its current form)

Malcolm wrote:
No, this is not the case, the body is only a condition for this life's sensations and cognitions; but the mind does not decay and perish like physical matter. It is momentary, and its principle causes and conditions are mental factors, etc. A body is necessary for sense cognitions, but is not necessary for the continuity of consciousness.

You should study Abhhidharma, Yogacāra, and Madhyamaka systematically, one after the other. Then you will understand perfectly.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 12:33 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:



Queequeg said:
six of one, half dozen of the other, as far as I'm concerned.


Malcolm wrote:
Well, everything that arises, arises conventionally and discretely, since things do not arise from themselves, from other than themselves, or causelessly.

If you say emptiness means nothing is discrete, this means that conventionally, everything is the same. But everything is not the same.

Queequeg said:
OK - from the naive perspective, discrete things arise. If we know about dependent origination, though, then we know no thing is really discrete, but rather a function of causes and conditions. This is what I mean by not being discrete.

Malcolm wrote:
Causes and conditions are either discrete or they are meaningless. For example, taking a seed as the cause of a sprout, that sprout's conditions will be fertile soil, sun, water.

Trying to understand these things from advanced Buddhist philosophical perspectives before one has understood and internalized abhidharma is sort of like trying to understand calculus before having mastered algebra.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 12:29 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


nichiren-123 said:
Yes but doesn't the existence of a phenomena depend on the combination of ALL causes and conditions? If even one cause or condition ceases then that would surely lead to the death of that phenomena?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, correct.

Grigoris said:
There are different types of causal and conditional relationships explained in the Abhidharma, but I have never read something that says ALL causes and conditions have to be present for something to happen.

Malcolm wrote:
If something happens, all its causes and conditions were present, by definition.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 12:28 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:



nichiren-123 said:
Just the idea of mindstreams and separate existence seems to directly oppose emptiness...

Grigoris said:
Why?  Mindstreams and seperate existences are dependent on causes and conditions and lack an essential nature.  What is so difficult to understand about that?

nichiren-123 said:
That they can be perpetuated based on 1 cause.


Malcolm wrote:
No, nothing arises from a single cause. But if a single cause is missing, a given entity will not arise.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 12:12 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:



Queequeg said:
emptiness is another way to view what is dependently originated. Emptiness just means nothing is discrete.

Malcolm wrote:
No, emptiness does not mean "nothing is discrete." Emptiness means that nothing arises inherently.

Queequeg said:
six of one, half dozen of the other, as far as I'm concerned.


Malcolm wrote:
Well, everything that arises, arises conventionally and discretely, since things do not arise from themselves, from other than themselves, or causelessly.

If you say emptiness means nothing is discrete, this means that conventionally, everything is the same. But everything is not the same.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 12:10 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
nichiren-123 said:
That seems to me to disagree with emptiness...

Malcolm wrote:
In this case, the ocean is emptiness, as a metaphor. Since all phenomena are empty, empty phenomena arise from empty phenomena.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 at 12:08 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:



Queequeg said:
emptiness is another way to view what is dependently originated. Emptiness just means nothing is discrete.

Malcolm wrote:
No, emptiness does not mean "nothing is discrete." Emptiness means that nothing arises inherently.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 10:13 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


nichiren-123 said:
Yes but doesn't the existence of a phenomena depend on the combination of ALL causes and conditions? If even one cause or condition ceases then that would surely lead to the death of that phenomena?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, correct.

nichiren-123 said:
But I'm arguing that the existence of form or the body is a VERY important condition for the existence of consciousness.

Malcolm wrote:
No, if this were the case, there could not be a formless realm where there are only consciousnesses and no bodies.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 10:09 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:



nichiren-123 said:
Can you link me to that text so I can read it? By the way, I know little to nothing about Tibetan Buddhism so I can't really engage in an informed discussion on those doctrines or how they relate to other traditions...

Would be helpful for me if you could tell me the best resources so I can expand my understanding of that part of Buddhism?

Malcolm wrote:
Abhidharmakośabhasyaṃ is by Vasubandhu, an Indian.

https://books.google.com/books?id=83tdAwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://books.google.com/books?id=zYddAwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false
Edited to substitute copyright compliant links

These are the two most important volumes. Chapter three is in volume two.

nichiren-123 said:
OK, so this is my understanding of what has been said so far:

Everything is empty with no real distinction
but consciousness gives the illusion of separateness and distinction.
Consciousness exists as a mindstream of karmic momentum
which is perpetuated by the habit of grasping.

The last two statements are where I have trouble of comprehension...

Malcolm wrote:
At the ultimate level, all things are empty in the same (Think heart sūtra). At the conventional level, all entities are appear as distinct and conventionally designated as such (tables, chairs, etc.)

Consciousness is a mindstream, and it has a mental factor associated with it called volition. All volitions are themselves karma. In its afflicted stated, the mind also appropriates a body for itself constantly.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 4:21 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
Grigoris said:
Can we get a scriptural source for this concept of "soul splitting"?

Malcolm wrote:
Nope, you can't, since none exists.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 4:19 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


nichiren-123 said:
I'm saying that they depend on each other mutually.

They affect each other.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, this relastionship is described as nāma-rūpa.


nichiren-123 said:
But I'm saying that the main attribute of consciousness, (which is to act and make decisions) may survive the physical death of the body and exist as some sort of subtle force which acts differently to posited 'pure material mechanics'.

Malcolm wrote:
No, this is an error. When one dies, the next moment of consciousness appropriates an apparitional birth as a so-called gandharva in the intermediate state. This being in the intermediate state has all five aggregates complete, including a so-called "subtle body" made of fine matter. It is completely capable of seeing, hearing, smelling and so on. The nature of this phase of the life cycle of sentient beings is described in detail in the beginning of the third chapter of the Abhidharmakośabhaṣyaṃ.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 4:02 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
Queequeg said:
In general, we closely associate life and death with our material body. In Buddhist terms, to keep this short, its because we abide in the realm of desire. Our perception of reality is tinted by this. So, when the material body is born from our mother's body, we take that as the start of our being, and when we die, we take that as the end of our being. But, actually, this is a limited view, circumscribed by the gross sensibilities limited by material substance they are composed of. We abide as a continuum that is more than the material, and is more fundamentally a sort of momentum of karma. This is called "mind stream".

nichiren-123 said:
I'd like to riff a bit on this topic. What follows is my own conjecture:

I could imagine a viewpoint where the material aspect is connected to the spiritual aspect. In other words, our mental form is completely reliant on our physical form, but to take inter-connectedness further, maybe the physical aspect relies on the spiritual aspect as well in some way. In which case when the physical form ceases and disperses then possibly there is still a subtle consciousnesses, which continues to exist - albeit in a less highly organized, more dispersed manner. But which can re manifest in some way as a higher order being again in the future???

Malcolm wrote:
Nāgārjuna's Verses on Dependent Origination state:

Though the aggregates are serially connected, 
the wise know that nothing transmigrates.
However, one who imputs annihilation
even to very subtle entities,
such unwise ones
never see the meaning of arising from conditions.

As your idea that consciousness depends on the material aggregate, this is completely wrong, it is the other way around. Without consciousness, the body begins to decay immediately.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 3:59 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Then you should criticize the translation,

tingdzin said:
These sutras include teachings on so-called "souls" (though, as has been discussed before on this website, "soul" is a sloppy word that can not really be usefully applied outside the Western context, and other words should be chosen to translate the Chinese terms), which seem to contradict the fundamental Buddhist teaching of anatman/annatta.
I did. You should read and absorb before you criticize.

Malcolm wrote:
I did, so should you. And this idea, as presented in the passage, does contradict anātman, completely.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 3:00 AM
Title: Re: Tsoknyi Rinpoche Question
Content:
swordfishontour said:
I hope everyone is safe and well.

Could I respectfully ask has anyone any experience of being on retreat with Tsoknyi Rinpoche in the USA? There doesn't seem to be much information online other than the topic.

I have many years Dharma experience but haven't been on a retreat in more than a decade. Due to family commitments going on a weeks retreat is a big deal so I want to choose carefully.

Any info or advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks,


Michael


Malcolm wrote:
Tsonknyi Rinpoche is a good teacher. You should go. You will not be disappointed.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 2:52 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
Ayu said:
So, the use of the mere word soul literally is misleading.
Therefore it is a good measure simply not to use it in order to minimize confusion.

tingdzin said:
Exactly my point. The Chinese words hun and po do NOT refer to EITHER a "soul" or a "self" in the Western sense, and there is an extensive academic literature discussing this matter; until one has familiarized oneself with this, it is unwise to comment on things that are outside one's ken.  The same is true of the Tibetan word La ( bla ), which has been discussed before here.

Malcolm wrote:
Then you should criticize the translation, rather than my objection to such ideas being represented as valid doctrines within Buddhadharma.

These ideas have nothing to do with Buddhadharma, they are foreign to it. The point is not making allowances for Chinese, Tibetan, etc.,  cultural ideas. The point is to clearly distinguish cultural ideas from core Buddhadharma.

Distinguishing Buddhadharma from Daoism, Confucism, etc. does not denigrate the latter. Pointing out that there is no holy ghost in Buddhadharma does not denigrate Trinitarian Christianity. Pointing out that there is no Allah in Buddhadharma does not denigrate Islam.

The hun is something that in Daoism, etc., was considered to leave the body at death. Whether one calls this a spirit or a soul does not matter much, since this idea is foreign in every way to Buddhadharma.

The Tibetan concept of bla (pronounced "la") is irrelevant here, which in any case receives very limited treatment in Tibetan Buddhism, apart from Tibetan Medicine, elemental calculation, and some Nyingmapa rites ( bla 'gugs, bla bslu ), which presumably have some Bon antecedents. Even so, the pre-Buddhist concept of bla is quite attenuated in Tibetan Buddhism, and is basically considered to be a support for srog, lifeforce, and a synonym of tshe, longevity.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 2:03 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
Aemilius said:
It is a subtle point, in this life you call yourself every day by the same name and the same identification number, it will not suddenly stop in the in-between state. People who have left their bodies, temporarily for some reason, still feel that they are themselves, even or especially when they are out of their body of this present life.

Malcolm wrote:
Nevertheless, you have no memory of your past life, let alone the name you were called by then, presuming you were even an human being or something similar in your immediate past life.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 2:00 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
Queequeg said:
Its probably too big a question for this thread, but what would be the consequence of developing an understanding derived by haphazardly mixing Theravada and Mahayana? Are there any significant areas where confusion might arise and lead to wrong view?

Malcolm wrote:
A person reading Nāgārjuna or Mahāyāna sūtras, or the tantras, who was ignorant of the Abdhidharma (rather than Abhidhamma), might not understand the context of what they were reading. The six causes and four conditions are regularly invoked in Indian Buddhist scholastic literature.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 1:10 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
Aemilius said:
It is unwise to latch on the word "soul" as a banned word, because there anyway is rebirth, and some words will be used for the enitity that transmigrates.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no entity that transmigrates from this life to the next. This is an incorrect understanding of rebirth which Nāgārjuna addresses in the Verses on Dependent Origination.

Though the aggregates are serially connected, 
the wise know that nothing transmigrates.
However, one who imputs annihilation
even to very subtle entities,
such unwise ones
never see the meaning of arising from conditions.


Aemilius said:
Nagarjuna uses the word Mahatma (Great soul) probably for this very reason, that we shoul not fear this word irrationally. Reason Sixty, verse Four: "Great souls are liberated by fully understanding being and nothing".

Malcolm wrote:
Candrakīrti clarifies what the term mahātma means in this text, "Since they abide in the objectless gnosis that is totally beyond such childish beings, they are called "mahātmas."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 12:41 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
This article is kind of irrelevant to Mahāyāna Buddhism, which is grounded in the Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma.

Astus said:
It touches on some differences between Sarvastivada and Theravada (mostly pages 8 & 15).

Malcolm wrote:
But we are discussing Madhyamaka, which barely references ideas which originate in Theravada circles at all. For example, the first chapter of the MMK systematically dismantles the six causes and four conditions taught in Sarvāstivāda, rather than the 24 conditions taught in Abhidhamma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 12:38 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
Aemilius said:
Nevertheless, in Indian Buddhism there is the supernormal power of multiplying one's body, "having been one, one becomes many".

Malcolm wrote:
Manomayakāya or emanations do not mean that one has split one's soul (which does not exist anyway) into multiples. Nor does the human "soul" split up into parts upon death for any reason at all. The point is that this assertion is a ridiculous assertion which has no place in Buddhadharma.

All conditioned phenomena are impermanent.
All contaminated phenomena are suffering.
All phenomena lack self.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 12:27 AM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
DNS said:
The idea of multiple souls, especially in animals and/or plants is found in Hinduism and perhaps Jainism, but not Buddhism.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, no matter how revered a master someone might be considered to be, this kind of teaching is total rubbish, from the perspective of Buddhadharma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 13th, 2020 at 12:07 AM
Title: Re: Can you tell me what does it mean
Content:
Almanji said:
Can someone translate it to English for me please?!
It is written on the back of the thanka I have seen and I am curious what is it.
I don't know how to rotate the picture, sorry.
Thank you for your help.
Aleksander

Malcolm wrote:
Oṃ
Whose speech fulfills the hopes of limitless migrating beings;

Āḥ
Whose mind sees all objects of knowledge just as they are;

Hūṃ
I prostrate with devotion to the chief of the Śākyas (Śākyamuni).


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 11:52 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
Astus said:
On the subject of dharmas, a highly recommended article:
http://www.abhidhamma.com/Dhamma_Theory_clear.pdf

Malcolm wrote:
This article is kind of irrelevant to Mahāyāna Buddhism, which is grounded in the Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma. When people use Theravadin Abhidhamma as a basis for trying to understand what Mahāyāna authors like Nagārjuna were getting at, a lot of unforced errors ensue.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 11:33 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


Queequeg said:
Taking your definition of dharmas as "elements of experience"...

Malcolm wrote:
Among the ten definitions of dharma, the definition of a dharma as a discrete entity is "that which bears (dhṛ) characteristics."

Not all "dharmas" are elements of experience, for example, space and the two kinds of cessation.

What Nāgārjuna does, in the MMK, is show that characteristics cannot be separated from the characterized, rendering these distinctions moot upon analysis, mere conventional artifices, as indeed, are all dharmas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 11:23 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
tingdzin said:
If you would have bothered to read and think about my reply, you would not jump to such a dogmatic conclusion. Anyway, I was writing for the OP, not for you.

Malcolm wrote:
I read your reply. It does not matter. This kind of cultural relativism is just not valid when it comes to distinguishing Dharma from adharma.

This, " The soul of a human being at death may split up to become many animals" is just stupid. It makes no sense whatever. It is not defensible as Buddhadharma in anyway at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 11:04 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
This is not a Buddhist idea at all.

tingdzin said:
This is not an Indian Buddhist idea at all. However, since Buddhism in China (and Tibet) has from its beginnings in those countries incorporated cultural themes and practices from those respective cultures, we should perhaps be wary of claiming that such ideas are "Buddhist"  or "non-Buddhist".

Malcolm wrote:
It is just not a Buddhist idea at all. Period. End of story. Done. Nothing more to add. It completely contradicts core Buddhist principles.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 8:43 PM
Title: Re: Soul Integration
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
This is not a Buddhist idea at all.

ShantiM said:
Hello all, I have a question regarding a teaching by Master Hsuan Hua mentionimg that animals are stupid because their souls are only a fraction or so of a human’s and that in order to reborn as an human, multiple of these animal souls needed to be re-integrated. There was also the idea of an individual having multiple souls and that if souls were kidnapped the person becomes retarted. Can anyone help to interpret the meaning behind this teaching?

http://www.dharmasite.net/BuddhaRootFarm/

The Venerable Master Hua replied: "On the body of one single animal are a hundred thousand, in fact, several million little organisms. These organisms are fragments of what was once an animal. The soul of a human being at death may split up to become many animals. One person can become about ten animals. That's why animals are so stupid. The soul of an animal can split up and become, in its smallest division, an organism or plant. The feelings which plants have, then, are what separated from the animal's soul when it split up at death. Although the life force of a large number of plants may appear sizable, it is not as great as that of a single animal or a single mouthful of meat. Take, for example, rice: tens of billions of grains of rice do not contain as much life force as a single piece of meat. If you open your Five Eyes you can know this at a glance. If you haven't opened your eyes, no matter how one tries to explain it to you, you won't understand. No matter how it's explained, you won't believe it, because you haven't been a plant!

"Another example is the mosquitoes. The millions of mosquitoes on this mountain may be simply the soul of one person who has been transformed into all those bugs. It is not the case that a single human soul turns into a single mosquito. One person can turn into countless numbers of mosquitoes.

http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/dharma_talks/kaishrlu-10/volume10-ce-06.htm
This shadow is also called “ghost soul” (people have three souls and seven spiritual faculties). For instance, if someone was a horse in his previous life, there will be the shadow of a horse following him.

.
.
.

What’s so bad about being divided into pieces? If the soul becomes fragmented like that, it’s very difficult to make it whole again. Probably those people won’t regain a human body again for billions of eons. When their nature is split and their souls are incomplete, they become dull and insentient, like plants. When their inherent nature is scattered, it’s hard to become a sentient being again. Even if they became a sentient being, they might be a mosquito. But one human body can transform into 84,000 mosquitoes, and it’s not easy to get all those mosquitoes back into one being. Most of the time, mosquitoes are reborn as mosquitoes. So they bob up and down in the cycle of birth and death, not understanding how to turn away from the dust and unite with enlightenment, or how to renounce confusion and return to the proper. It’s said, “Once the human body is lost, it cannot be regained in ten thousand eons.” If you truly understand this principle, how could you not be afraid?


一九八一年二月五日開示

A talk given on February 5, 1981


http://www.chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com/en/index.php/The_Shurangama_Sutra_With_Commentary_by_the_Tripitaka_Master_Hsuan_Hua:_Volume_8

Venerable Master: Our three souls and seven spirits are like children. But they each have only one sense faculty, not many. Because they control our bodies, we are able to speak and perform actions. They are gathered together, and when your cultivation is accomplished, they become what is known as a Buddha in Buddhism or an immortal in Taoism. Some have only eyes and some have only ears, so they help each other. The child who has ears and can hear will help the one who can see. They are interconnected.

So when you achieve the interchangeable functioning of the six sense faculties, your ears will be able to eat and talk. There are many states such as these that you cannot even conceive of.

Disciple: Venerable Master, you mentioned that you had a young disciple who went to the heavens to play and was captured by a demon king. He cried, "What can I do? I can't come back!" Did some of his souls and spirits go there?

Venerable Master: Among his three souls and seven spirits, maybe only one went, or maybe two went, or maybe three or four went. It's not for sure. Once they got there, they aggregated together. They were not seven or three separate entities. Once they go out, they unite into one. That's how wonderful and mysterious it is. It's a mass of efficacious energy!

Disciple: Is it because of different levels of cultivation that some people can send out more spirits than others?

Venerable Master: It's better not to send spirits out. If they always go out to play, they risk being caught by the demons. When the souls and spirits are captured, one becomes dumb. Retarded people and people who are that way because their souls and spirits have been seized by demons. Souls are ghosts, but with some cultivation, they can become spirits, which are yang in nature. With more cultivation, they can become immortals. Cultivated to the ultimate, they become Buddhas. All these states of cultivation are achieved by the same individual soul.

Disciple: If a person is in a "vegetable," or comatose, state or has lost some of his three souls and seven spirits, although his physical body is still intact, will the spirits and souls which have left him become another person?

Venerable Master: They don't become another person; they simply go with the demons. That's why the person is sometimes lucid, but sometimes very muddled.

Disciple: What if a cultivator who has sent out some of his three souls and seven spirits encounters Buddhas or Bodhisattvas?

Venerable Master: If a person is truly cultivating, there will be dharma protectors invisibly surrounding him. I have met a lot of strange people who can send spirits out of their bodies. Since you haven't encountered such states, you wouldn't recognize or understand them. For instance, the experience of those who act as mediums in Taiwan is described in the fifty skandha-demon states.

Thanks,

SM


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 10:31 AM
Title: Re: Order of teachings, five periods and the superiority of the Lotus - discussion
Content:
haha said:
Here is a presentation. It also explains how this five time periods are associated with Sakyamuni‘s whole lifetime teachings.

Malcolm wrote:
that’s one scheme, but as I pointed out, it has nothing to do with the historical traditions followed in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 8:23 AM
Title: Re: Order of teachings, five periods and the superiority of the Lotus - discussion
Content:


tkp67 said:
So superiority isn't in regards to the weight of the teachings alone but rather how well the teachings suits the recipient according to specific factors.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, then the discussion is already over, since the Vajrayāna tradition maintains that in this degenerate age, only the practice of Vajrayāna leads to full buddhahood because of its superior methods: because a) people are very defiled and b) more intelligent, as contradictory as that may sound.

But fruitful discussion of this kind cannot be predicated on the superiority of this or that since there will never be any agreement on such points, ever.

tkp67 said:
Nichiren teaches that in the degenerate age it is the superior method.

Now we can look at them as conflicting OR we can take a look at how the same origin expressed itself over the term and across different populations to a similar end.

Are the teachings really that different or are they simply relative?

Malcolm wrote:
They are quite different.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 2:57 AM
Title: Re: Sleeping sitting up
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Its is not a universal practice in Tibetan Buddhism.

Könchok Thrinley said:
Just curious, is there any significance/benefits to the 'sleeping lion posture' used in some dream yogas?

Malcolm wrote:
Dream yoga is a preliminary practice for the bardo. The Buddha passed away in lion posture.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 2:55 AM
Title: Re: naivety and nihilism
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
When you contemplate emptiness and impermanence, you have to recall that other sentient beings do not understand this and therefore they experience endless suffering in birth after birth—this is a much better basis for developing compassion than thinking about how nice your mom is to you.

Mirror said:
The reason you can even think about impermanence and emptiness is that your mother was unselfishly taking care of you.

Malcolm wrote:
Indeed, but you want to develop compassion based on emptiness, correct? The instructions below are how.


Even though you have only a theoretical grasp of emptiness and impermanence, you are in a far better position than other sentient beings. Self-grasping is only eradicated through understanding, and then realizing emptiness. If one has experiential understanding of emptiness, your personal suffering is over since you will no longer be deluded by the notion of a self to experience suffering.
Maybe we're speaking about different types of emptiness. I'm speaking about emptiness of things, that things are compounded. Maybe you're speaking about emptiness of mind as it's true nature. Based on what I read and heard, this kind of emptiness is realized by generating bodhicitta or other practices such as Mahamudra and Dzogchen. Maybe I'm just mixing up things.
Still you're right, knowing that others don't understand impermanence and emptiness makes me more compassionate towards others.
The best way to generate bodhicitta is to understand that the reason sentient beings suffer is that they do not realize emptiness. Emptiness is emptiness. The emptiness of the mind is the same as the emptiness of things. The main point is that you said, "Contemplating impermanence and emptiness makes my attitude nihilistic and that destroys my love and compassion." Therefore, I have given you a way to think about these things in a way that will enhance your compassion.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 2:18 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The latest on Trump's Pandumbic:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.html

Unknown said:
WASHINGTON — “Any way you cut it, this is going to be bad,” a senior medical adviser at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr. Carter Mecher, wrote on the night of Jan. 28, in an email to a group of public health experts scattered around the government and universities. “The projected size of the outbreak already seems hard to believe.”

A week after the first coronavirus case had been identified in the United States, and six long weeks before President Trump finally took aggressive action to confront the danger the nation was facing — a pandemic that is now forecast to take tens of thousands of American lives — Dr. Mecher was urging the upper ranks of the nation’s public health bureaucracy to wake up and prepare for the possibility of far more drastic action.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 1:45 AM
Title: Re: Bernie 2020
Content:
Queequeg said:
One of the best human beings who has run for President.

Malcolm wrote:
Yup.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 1:44 AM
Title: Re: Order of teachings, five periods and the superiority of the Lotus - discussion
Content:


tkp67 said:
So superiority isn't in regards to the weight of the teachings alone but rather how well the teachings suits the recipient according to specific factors.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, then the discussion is already over, since the Vajrayāna tradition maintains that in this degenerate age, only the practice of Vajrayāna leads to full buddhahood because of its superior methods: because a) people are very defiled and b) more intelligent, as contradictory as that may sound.

But fruitful discussion of this kind cannot be predicated on the superiority of this or that since there will never be any agreement on such points, ever.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 1:17 AM
Title: Re: Order of teachings, five periods and the superiority of the Lotus - discussion
Content:



tkp67 said:
All Buddhism isn't nature from end to end.

Malcolm wrote:
In that case, I have no idea what you mean by "nature."

tkp67 said:
The nature of the teachings, point to point, over the term. i.e. As they attenuate from the World Honored One, to the sentient mind processing this text.

Malcolm wrote:
I still do not understand what you are trying to say.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 1:17 AM
Title: Re: Order of teachings, five periods and the superiority of the Lotus - discussion
Content:
tkp67 said:
A similar topic had been created from the Nichiren perspective. Notice superiority is not in terms of practitioner but facilitating most effective liberation across a given demographic. This reflects the Lotus Sutra and the desire of the buddha to open the doors of liberation to all sentient beings.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, there are a lot of sūtras that assert that all sentient beings will eventually become buddhas, not merely one.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 1:14 AM
Title: Re: Order of teachings, five periods and the superiority of the Lotus - discussion
Content:


tkp67 said:
And curiously Malcolm what is your definition of "real"

Malcolm wrote:
In this case, I mean there is an aberrant sect of Nicherin Buddhists, who've decided to substitute Nichiren for Śakyamuni Buddha, the "real" or historical Buddha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 12:58 AM
Title: Re: Order of teachings, five periods and the superiority of the Lotus - discussion
Content:



tkp67 said:
Juxtapose scholarly views may not line up the same but there seems to be a parallel in their nature from end to end.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, its all Buddhism, apart from those crazy bastards who think Nicherin is the real buddha.

tkp67 said:
All Buddhism isn't nature from end to end.

Malcolm wrote:
In that case, I have no idea what you mean by "nature."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 12:27 AM
Title: Re: Mahayana Sutra references to 4 stages of Hinayana
Content:
DharmaSean said:
Hello,

I am very interested what Sutras have references (preferably more detailed explanations) regarding the 4 stages of enlightenment of the Hinayana.  Meaning the stages of stream entry, once returner, non returner, and arhat.  I am aware of a brief reference in the Diamond Sutra and the Lotus Sutra.

Thank you very much.

Malcolm wrote:
This is a concealed topic of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras in general, explicated by Maitreyanātha in the Abhisamaya-alaṃkāra and its commentaries.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 12:23 AM
Title: Re: Order of teachings, five periods and the superiority of the Lotus - discussion
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
So, this will be a hard to discussion to have, simply because the historical assumptions which are common in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism are not shared with the Sino-Japanese Buddhism and vice versa.

tkp67 said:
Juxtapose scholarly views may not line up the same but there seems to be a parallel in their nature from end to end.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, its all Buddhism, apart from those crazy bastards who think Nicherin is the real buddha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2020 at 12:14 AM
Title: Re: Bernie 2020
Content:
Queequeg said:
NEWS FLASH

OMG Human beings are shitty!

Malcolm wrote:
Yeah, especially to Indigenous People.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 11th, 2020 at 11:31 PM
Title: Re: Order of teachings, five periods and the superiority of the Lotus - discussion
Content:
nichiren-123 said:
So, I was brought up a Nichiren Buddhist by my parents.

Hence, when people talk about the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, a lot of the time, I’m like ‘well duh!!’  For instance that everyone can attain Buddhahood, That we all possess Buddha Nature and that life is eternal.
This means I don’t really appreciate the Lotus teachings and how the pre-lotus teachings prepare us for the revelation of the Lotus.

So, in order to grasp the value of the Lotus I'd like to discuss how the earlier teachings prepare us for the Lotus. I’d suggest we frame this conversation within Tient’Tai’s five periods doctrine.
how does each period progresses from the previous. What is learned from each period, and finally, why the Lotus Sutra is ultimately superior to all the other sutra’s.

These list of the five periods are:
Flower garland/avatamsaka Period
Agama Period
Correct and Equal/Vaipulya Period
Wisdom/Prajna Period
The Lotus and Nirvana sutra Period

If anyone can suggest a better way of classing the sutra's then let's consider that.

I’d like it if we could discuss this in-depth, if you guys are willing to?

Malcolm wrote:
Mahāyāna Sutras, in Indian Buddhism, were grouped by subject matter, rather than by presumed time of teaching. There are three major groupings: Prajñāpāramita, Tathāgatagarbha, and Yogacāra. Then there are miscellaneous sūtras that do not clearly fall into this or that category such as the Bodhisattvapitika, the Samadhirāja, the Lotus, the Ratnakuta sūtras, and so on.

Zhiyi's historical grouping has no precedent in Indian literature, and certainly is not how Tibetan Buddhists divide the teachings: which are generally divided into the three turnings: the first (Hinayāna), second (Provisional Mahāyāna), and third (Definitive Mahāyāna), based on a single passage from the Yogacāra Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra. Depending upon school, the second and third are considered defintive, and there is much debate around which sūtras are included in which turning. Then of course there are the tantras, which have no place at all in Zhiyi's scheme.

So, frankly, it is hard to have a conversation about this because the historical assumptions which are common in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism are not shared with the Sino-Japanese Buddhism and vice versa.

For example, as far as I am concerned, the Prajñāpāramita sūtras are the most important Mahāyāna sūtras. Others in the Indo-Tibetan Buddhism tradition feel the Tathāgatagarbha and Yogacāra sūtras are the most important, and while they certainly agree the Prajñāpāramita sūtras are important, they feel their full import cannot be understood in absence of  the Tathāgatagarbha and Yogacāra sūtras. I on the other hand, being a Mādhyamika, regard Yogacāra sūtras as provisional, and Tathāgatagarbha sūtras as conditionally definitive, providing they are correctly interpreted, since their incorrect interpretation is nothing more that atmavāda.

No one really reads the Lotus Sūtra in Tibetan Buddhism, it is just not that important in our tradition because it does not contain any doctrines that cannot be found in other sūtras as well. In fact, because of the heterogeneous nature of sūtras in general, these three main streams of sūtras were codified into the five treatises of Maitreya, which alongside the study of Nagārjuna's collection of reasonings, became the dominant focus of scholastic studies from the 6th century onward in India and then in Tibet.

We see a recent reengagement with the sūtra tradition in the teachings of Dzongsar Khyentse and Khenpo Sodar and so on, but this is a sort of a modern rediscovery of sūtra literature by Tibetans, it is not the focus of the Tibetan Buddhist system, which focuses more attention on the exegesis of tantric scriptures such as the Guhyasamāja, and so on. Sūtras are there mainly to be ritually recited once or so a year for merit. They are not generally studied. Part of the reason for this is that the language sūtras are translated into tends to be archaic Tibetan, since most of the sūtras were translated during the imperial period (prior to 840 CE), whereas the treatises that form the basis of the study of scholastic Buddhism in Tibet were constantly revised and updated through the 14th century and the final compilation of the Tibetan canon by Buton Rinchen Drup.

So, this will be a hard to discussion to have, simply because the historical assumptions which are common in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism are not shared with the Sino-Japanese Buddhism and vice versa.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 11th, 2020 at 6:04 AM
Title: Re: How important is sheel (Śīla) ?
Content:
madhusudan said:
Malcolm, between the two the primacy of emptiness makes sense, but in what situation would a choice between discipline and wisdom ever come to pass?

Not being argumentative, just curious.

Malcolm wrote:
When one has to choose between pratimokṣa and benefitting others, for example.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 11th, 2020 at 4:28 AM
Title: Re: How important is sheel (Śīla) ?
Content:
madhusudan said:
Ethics is the foundation of spiritual practice. Without it you're just a bad joke.

Malcolm wrote:
However, Āryadeva notes that if one must choose between discipline and emptiness, choose emptiness. Discipline will not lead to liberation without wisdom.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 11th, 2020 at 4:08 AM
Title: Re: naivety and nihilism
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
When you contemplate emptiness and impermanence, you have to recall that other sentient beings do not understand this and therefore they experience endless suffering in birth after birth—this is a much better basis for developing compassion than thinking about how nice your mom is to you.

Mirror said:
I don't have the experiential understanding of impermanence and emptiness, only the theoretical one. But I think even by having the experiential understanding, one isn't free from suffering. They suffer because of self-grasping.

Malcolm wrote:
Even though you have only a theoretical grasp of emptiness and impermanence, you are in a far better position than other sentient beings. Self-grasping is only eradicated through understanding, and then realizing emptiness. If one has experiential understanding of emptiness, your personal suffering is over since you will no longer be deluded by the notion of a self to experience suffering.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 11th, 2020 at 3:42 AM
Title: Re: naivety and nihilism
Content:
Mirror said:
Hello dharma friends,

Contemplating impermanence and emptiness makes my attitude nihilistic and that destroys my love and compassion. For example why should we help others, when pain and suffering are impermanent? It's only a question of time until we become enlightened.
On the other hand when I contemplate my mother's kindness and do tonglen, then I'm more attached to others and naive. Just acting like a kind person without any wisdom. Maybe that's because my love and compassion aren't all-embracing yet. Please can you give me any advice? Is the right path balance between these two? Or is my understanding just incorrect?
Thank you so much

Malcolm wrote:
When you contemplate emptiness and impermanence, you have to recall that other sentient beings do not understand this and therefore they experience endless suffering in birth after birth—this is a much better basis for developing compassion than thinking about how nice your mom is to you.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 11th, 2020 at 3:36 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


nichiren-123 said:
My interpretation is that truth is reality as it is.  seeing reality as it is, is enlightenment. That is why I assume it's called 'enLIGHTenment'. Because you SEE clearly you don't make ignorant actions.

Malcolm wrote:
The word "enlightenment" does not exist in any Buddhist scripture or text. The term is bodhi, awakening.

There are two truths, of course: the one ordinary deluded people operate from, and the one which is seeing how things really are.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 11th, 2020 at 3:01 AM
Title: Re: Bernie 2020
Content:
Minobu said:
Malcolm you are  using a  propaganda  narrative that does not exist ...

Malcolm wrote:
There is a legal dispute at the basis of this conflict which goes back your supreme court's decision 25 years ago, the https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/delgamuukw-case. The eight hereditary chiefs mentioned before maintain that the councils do not have the authority to give access to the Wet’suwet’en land, based upon the Delgamuukw Case:
Hoping to avert a repeat of last year’s much-criticized police action, Chief Hagwilnegh (Ron Mitchell) of the Wet’suwet’en’s Small Frog clan offered the deputy commissioner a piece of advice: consult the Delgamuukw decision.

“Read that, before you give out your orders,” he recalled telling her.
Canada's position towards Wet’suwet’en and other first nations, like that of the US and its first nations, is racist:
Mohawk policy analyst Russell Diabo, who was working with interior B.C. First Nations when the Delgamuukw decision came down, said the “continuities are clear” over the decades.

“The governments have shown their main aim remains keeping powerful business interests happy and containing the power of Aboriginal rights and title, rather than moving toward a respectful relationship.”

United Nations bodies have repeatedly criticized the Canadian government for trying to dress up old policies that have been rejected by First Nations.

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights noted in 2006 it “remains concerned that the new approaches, namely the ‘modified rights model’ and the ‘non-assertion model,’ do not differ much from the extinguishment and surrender approach.”
https://thenarwhal.ca/industry-government-pushed-to-abolish-aboriginal-title-at-issue-in-wetsuweten-stand-off-docs-reveal/

And Trudeau is a corporate shill:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/29/justin-trudeau-world-newest-oil-executive-kinder-morgan

Minobu said:
Justin Trudeau’s government announced on Tuesday that it would nationalize the Kinder Morgan pipeline running from the tar sands of Alberta to the tidewater of British Columbia. It will fork over at least $4.5bn in Canadian taxpayers’ money for the right to own a 60-year-old pipe that springs leaks regularly, and for the right to push through a second pipeline on the same route – a proposal that has provoked strong opposition.

...........

Now it’s Trudeau who owns the razor wire, Trudeau who has to battle his own people. All in the name of pouring more carbon into the air, so he can make the oil companies back at the Alberta end of his pipe a little more money. We know now how history will remember Justin Trudeau: not as a dreamy progressive, but as one more pathetic employee of the richest, most reckless industry in the planet’s history.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 11th, 2020 at 2:30 AM
Title: Re: Bernie 2020
Content:
Minobu said:
further reading Malcolm and it's like sheer propaganda...

Malcolm wrote:
You need to read more carefully.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 11th, 2020 at 2:24 AM
Title: Re: Bernie 2020
Content:


Minobu said:
Hopefully you realize Canada is not a racist country , we admit our mistakes and correct them...Government is spending billions on reconciliation .

Malcolm wrote:
I don't think Canada is a fundamentally racist country, but your gvt. treats the First Nations poorly. And  there are racists in Canada, and  Wet’suwet’en demonstrations brought them all out in droves.


Minobu said:
the point is that this one Chief decided for some reason to hold out on an oil pipeline that most indigenous peoples are happy to be a part of...Big money for them ...something they never would have gotten in the past...now they become partners in projects.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/understanding-wet-struggle-canada-200301200921070.html

Not just one chief. Eight chiefs out of nine:




Minobu said:
Well you are useing Al je zeera news ...which is false ..totally...


Malcolm wrote:
No, it isn't.

Minobu said:
here
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/wetsuweten-whos-who-guide-1.5471898

Malcolm wrote:
Councils are not chiefs. From your article:
Currently, four of the house hereditary chief positions are vacant, leaving nine hereditary chiefs. Eight of the hereditary chiefs have clearly opposed the pipeline and this group signed an eviction letter to CGL in early January ordering workers off unceded Wet'suwet'en territory.

The chiefs who signed the letter are:

Knedebeas (Warner William), Yex T'sa Wilk'us (Dark House)
Woos (Frank Alec), Cassyex (Grizzly House)
Madeek (Jeff Brown), Anaskaski (Where It Lies Blocking the Trail)
Gisday'wa (Fred Tom), Kaiyexweniits (House in the Middle of Many)
Hagwilnegh (Ron Mitchell), G'en Egh La Yex (House of Many Eyes)
Na'Moks (John Ridsdale), Tsa K'en Yex (Rafters on Beaver House)
Smogelgem (Warner Naziel), Tsaiyex (Sun House)
Kloum Khun (Alphonse Gagnon), Medzeyez (Owl House)

Minobu said:
here

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-second-wetsuweten-hereditary-wing-chief-voices-concerns-about/

Malcolm wrote:
"Subchiefs" are not chiefs.


Minobu said:
https://www.canadalandshow.com/reporting-gap-in-the-wetsuweten-crisis/

Malcolm wrote:
" The sixth declined to offer their support as they, in agreement with the hereditary chiefs, state that as an Indian Act band council, they do not have authority off reserve, and that only the hereditary chiefs can determine what happens to unceded, non-reserve lands like those through which TC Energy seeks to build."

So, you see, I am not incorrect, and neither is Al Jazeera.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 11th, 2020 at 12:22 AM
Title: Re: Bernie 2020
Content:


Minobu said:
Hopefully you realize Canada is not a racist country , we admit our mistakes and correct them...Government is spending billions on reconciliation .

Malcolm wrote:
I don't think Canada is a fundamentally racist country, but your gvt. treats the First Nations poorly. And  there are racists in Canada, and  Wet’suwet’en demonstrations brought them all out in droves.


Minobu said:
the point is that this one Chief decided for some reason to hold out on an oil pipeline that most indigenous peoples are happy to be a part of...Big money for them ...something they never would have gotten in the past...now they become partners in projects.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/understanding-wet-struggle-canada-200301200921070.html

Not just one chief. Eight chiefs out of nine:
The Wet’suwet’en Nation comprises five clans, under which there are the 13 house groups, each with a hereditary head chief position (four are currently vacant). Earlier this month, Herb Naziel became the first house chief to support the pipeline project, breaking ranks with eight men from other house groups who oppose it.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-wetsuweten-hereditary-chiefs-postpone-all-clans-meeting/


The Canadian gvt. is breaking their own laws to force this pipeline through:
The B.C. government and corporate lobbyists representing major resource industries sought the “surrender” of First Nations land rights immediately following the Delgamuukw decision, a precedent-setting legal ruling that established Aboriginal title to unceded land, according to Freedom of Information (FOI) documents obtained by The Narwhal.
https://thenarwhal.ca/industry-government-pushed-to-abolish-aboriginal-title-at-issue-in-wetsuweten-stand-off-docs-reveal/


People can decide for themselves about the Wet’suwet’en:

https://unistoten.camp/category/blog/


For myself, I am a Stand with Standing Rock kind of guy. So, I support the Wet’suwet’en chiefs, you know, the eight, some of whom were arrested, and have not sold out for $$$, unlike the one who did.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 11:36 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:



smcj said:
However I do take exception to the idea that Karma 8 and the Chinese were not similarly heretical.

Malcolm wrote:
Karmapa 8 wrote serious and detailed refutations of gzhan stong.

smcj said:
And Mipham R. wrote texts from a Shentong perspective.

Malcolm wrote:
He wrote one when he was quite young, the Lion's Roar of Extrinsic Emptiness.

The more mature texts he wrote concerning Yogacāra materials were an attempt to reconcile Yogacāra with standard Madhyamaka, in which he resorts to interpretations of phrases in such yogacāra texts as the Dharmadharmatāvibhaṅga in ways that are impossible in Sanskrit, such as substituting snang ba for rig pa in the term rnam par rig ( vijñāpti ). There is no Sanskrit equivalent for rnam par snang ba. Someone working with Sanskrit texts would never try this kind of linguistic sleight of hand. So Mipham's interpretation only works in Tibetan, not Sanskrit. Therefore, we can understand it is removed from the original source texts.

Khenpo Shenga's approach is more sound and conservative (though not as fun nor inventive) which is why he is the dominant influence in setting the curriculum for the Nyingma school in the early 20th century, and remains so up to this day.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 10:51 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:



smcj said:
However I do take exception to the idea that Karma 8 and the Chinese were not similarly heretical.

Malcolm wrote:
Karmapa 8 wrote serious and detailed refutations of gzhan stong.

smcj said:
They were sufficiently removed from classical India by time and geography

Malcolm wrote:
Hsuan Tsang (602-664), the main importer of Yogacara into China, just gives straight Indian Yogacāra according to the Yogacāra masters. He never interpreted Yogacāra material the way Tibetans did.  He stuck to the Indian script very faithfully, since he was expert in Sanskrit. Hsuan Tsang, lived in the 7th century, and studied Yogacāra and other subjects at Nalanda for at least two years during his 17 year pilgramage to India. So you cannot really claim that he was removed by time and geography. Even today, Hsuan Tsang remains the dominant figure in Chinese Yogacara.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 10:27 PM
Title: Re: Bernie 2020
Content:


Minobu said:
so yeah we got racists.


Malcolm wrote:
Oh definitely. For example, there was the recent demonstrations of the Wet’suwet’en really brought it out online. I was quite shocked at some of things I saw white Canadians saying about these people.



Minobu said:
"Rise in anti-Indigenous racism and violence seen in wake of Wet'suwet'en protests:

........

So in the last two weeks or so, with the Wet'suwet'en crisis and with the solidarity demonstrations happening across Canada, we've seen a marked uptick in far-right activity," said Balgord.

He's tracked multiple social media posts calling for the murder or assault of demonstrators, with the primary targets both Indigenous people and their allies.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/rise-in-anti-indigenous-racism-violence-requires-allyship-accountability-say-victims-advocates-1.5477383

Minobu said:
Online and on social media, racist comments have become even more rampant.
On globalnews.ca and its Facebook pages, social media journalists have had to delete hundreds of racist comments since the blockades began.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/indigenous-people-in-canada-facing-racism-over-wetsuweten-solidarity-blockade-action/ar-BB10I7Q1


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 10:17 PM
Title: Re: Does karma "infest" inanimate objects?
Content:
KiwiNFLFan said:
Ok then, so what is the case with so-called lucky charms? Is there a difference between a 'lucky charm' and Buddhist amulets/pendants, etc?

Can wearing an item blessed by a monk or that contains an image of the Buddha bring good karma that can protect you from harm or cause things to work out in your favour?

I have some Thai amulets - I bought one in Chiang Mai and was given others. The Thais believe that these amulets will protect them - some so much so that they do not wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle, believing the amulet will protect them.

Malcolm wrote:
I thnk you if asked an emergency room physician in Bangkok, they would shake their heads at that kind if stupidity.

Tibetans used to carry gaus filled with sacred things in order to protect them from bullets and so on. It still didn't stop Chinese machine guns from mowing them down in large numbers in 1959, when the Khampas tried to repell the Chinese invasion of Lhasa.

These kinds of things have a place, but one cannot rely on them at the expense of common sense. For example, during this corona virus many amulets are being distributed on line like this one:
D0FC4DC8-9608-4282-BAA6-F997669DC99B.jpeg (159.17 KiB) Viewed 4257 times
But if you walk into a covid ward without PPE, you are likely to become infected.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 10:07 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


Grigoris said:
I am just pointing out that the Three Natures is not exclusive to Shentong and I provided an in depth explanation from Sutra.

Malcolm wrote:
SMCJ is generally a good-nature person, but has trouble understanding why the Tibetan innovation called gzhan stong has prompted so much criticism from Nyingmapas, Kagyus (like Karmapa 8), Sakyas, and Geluks alike. Further, he has trouble understanding why similar understandings of Yogacāra doctrine did not flourish in India, China, Japan, etc. But its ok, he/she'll keep bringing it up, and some of us will keep shooting it down.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 10:02 PM
Title: Re: Bernie 2020
Content:
Queequeg said:
And on the other hand, the people Sanders' policies would have helped the most, just didn't show up to vote.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, and they didn't even have the excuse of GOP voter suppression in their states, CA, for example.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 8:32 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


smcj said:
Sometimes you are too much.

Malcolm wrote:
Facts are facts. Even Karl B. agrees this is the case.

smcj said:
“Original teaching”? I’m sure you’ve got some outlier reference to back it up. Not even going to ask.

“In Praise of Dharmadhatu” is attributed to Nagarjuna. Apparently Atisha and others believed there was only one Nagajuna. I’m not going to push that point because it’s such an outlier.

Malcolm wrote:
No need for outlier references, just read Mahayanasamgraha, etc., by Asanga.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 8:08 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


smcj said:
In the 3 Natures paradigm the Ultimate Nature is free of the Dependent Nature. I believe that’s true in both in Mind Only as well as Empty of Other interpretations.

Malcolm wrote:
No, that is only true in the gzhan strong interpretation. The original teaching is that the absence of the imagined in the dependent is the perfected.

smcj said:
Sometimes you are too much.

Malcolm wrote:
Facts are facts. Even Karl B. agrees this is the case.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 7:11 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
smcj said:
"Conventional" or "relative" reality is not separate to "ultimate" reality.
In the 3 Natures paradigm the Ultimate Nature is free of the Dependent Nature. I believe that’s true in both in Mind Only as well as Empty of Other interpretations.

Malcolm wrote:
No, that is only true in the gzhan strong interpretation. The original teaching is that the absence of the imagined in the dependent is the perfected.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 9:11 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Grigoris said:
The best way to get quinine into your system is with a gin and tonic.

Malcolm wrote:
But you don't drink...

Grigoris said:
I can make an exception for medical purposes!


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 3:05 AM
Title: Re: PTSD and Mahayana Buddhism
Content:
monkishlife said:
But they don't believe in this " *oneness* of emptiness"

Malcolm wrote:
Emptiness is free from diversity and unity, because of dependent origination's not ceasing, not arising, not annihilated, not permanent, not going, not coming, not different, not the same...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 2:14 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Grigoris said:
The best way to get quinine into your system is with a gin and tonic.

Malcolm wrote:
But you don't drink...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 1:47 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:



nichiren-123 said:
Nagarjunas eight negations.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, this from the mangalam. That which arises in dependence does not cease, arise, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 1:10 AM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:


nichiren-123 said:
Principally I'm confused about the statement "no birth no death"

Malcolm wrote:
What statement?

In the MMK there is a passage that says, "Not ceasing, not arising," etc. This framed in terms of dependent origination being "the pacification of proliferation."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 12:56 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Nemo said:
Chloroquine is very dangerous. If you get nightmares the night after taking it stop immediately. If you don't your brain may never recover.

Grigoris said:
I can't base my decision on that symptom, I have nightmares every night...

Malcolm wrote:
You should base your decision on the fact that there is no proof chloroquine has any effect on covid-19. There are only anecdotes. Taking it prophylactically is incredibly stupid, IMO. Nemo is correct, this shit is dangerous. And now this:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8199477/Swedish-hospitals-stop-prescribing-chloroquine-coronavirus-patients-adverse-effects.html

Grigoris said:
Swedish hospitals abandon trial of promising malaria drug chloroquine for coronavirus patients after it caused them blinding headaches, vision loss and agonising cramps:

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-doctors-at-coronavirus-hub-cast-doubt-on-chloroquine-as-cure-11586448660

Grigoris said:
WUHAN, China—Chinese doctors who have for months treated coronavirus patients with chloroquine say there is no clear evidence the anti-malarial drug is effective against the deadly pathogen, raising questions about a remedy President Trump has touted as a potential cure.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-cdcguidance/cdc-removes-unusual-guidance-to-doctors-about-drug-favored-by-trump-idUSKBN21P39R

Grigoris said:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed from its website highly unusual guidance informing doctors on how to prescribe hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, drugs recommended by President Donald Trump to treat the coronavirus.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 12:53 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Nemo said:
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3051853/there-was-no-vaccine-sars-or-mers-will-there-be-one-new
Of the 33 vaccine candidates for Sars, only two reached clinical trials on humans, the rest stopped at the preclinical stage. For Mers, just three of the 48 vaccine candidates went to clinical trials on humans while the others only made it to the preclinical stage.

Malcolm wrote:
From the article you posted.

Nemo said:
That's a really long way from a finished vaccine. There are no numbers on efficacy versus side effects in humans. So no finished vaccines in 17 years. A couple of candidates in the freezer.

Malcolm wrote:
Not sure. Fauci says there is a SARS vaccine. But this isn't SARS. Can't see how speculating about a covid-19 vaccine is useful, other than that we know several have already gone to human trials and we should know by june/july which if any are effective. Otherwise, it is all just FUD.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 12:24 AM
Title: Re: Does karma "infest" inanimate objects?
Content:
n8pee said:
Then he is participating in the theft. But if he does not know, then not. The karma does not adhere to the object, it is a function of intention and knowledge.
I've read stories of masters who receive offerings that may have been obtained through less-than-honest means and their practice is negatively affected. Would this not be in conflict with your statement?

Malcolm wrote:
No, not in the slightest. Karma is not something that attaches to material objects.

Stories are stories. One hears all kinds of stories.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at 11:52 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Nemo said:
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3051853/there-was-no-vaccine-sars-or-mers-will-there-be-one-new
Of the 33 vaccine candidates for Sars, only two reached clinical trials on humans, the rest stopped at the preclinical stage. For Mers, just three of the 48 vaccine candidates went to clinical trials on humans while the others only made it to the preclinical stage.

Malcolm wrote:
From the article you posted.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at 11:47 PM
Title: Re: Bernie 2020
Content:
Könchok Thrinley said:
I am not an american, but Bernie stepping down feels like a personal loss. It just sucks. This whole election just exposed the democratic party...

Malcolm wrote:
What happened is that Americans, particularly older African-Americans, decided they don't want Bernie. It is not a conspiracy, it's just a fact.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at 11:45 PM
Title: Re: Sleeping sitting up
Content:
Mirror said:
I'm really interested in this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETbsfcTcj68&feature=youtu.be&t=3090&fbclid=IwAR2Hl_5OB_dhiqCZEbtUAC1Q-4-3dbChIfM8NrRxSUBjnSkOyoTzfGK12fg
Please do you know any details about it? I know that during some retreats one is not supposed to sleep lying down. Do you have any experience with it? Is it important to have a back support? What should be the position of your legs?

I'll be very grateful for any information.



Namo Amitabha Buddha

Malcolm wrote:
Its is not a universal practice in Tibetan Buddhism.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at 11:31 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Nemo said:
We have 435 for the entire country.

Malcolm wrote:
That's because lockdowns work. With a disease that has an R0 of 5.7, it's necessary until there are vaccines.

Nemo said:
We can't lock down for 2 years. It kills significantly more. We are on the green line of this never ending. There is no painless option. You are actually sacrificing the poor and elderly who need medical treatments that are now suspended in a very cavalier fashion. Good  luck with Corona virus vaccines. They have all done more harm than good so far. We've been making them and utterly failing since 2005.

Malcolm wrote:
That is not true. There is a tested vaccine for SARS 1, but it never rolled out because public health measures proved sufficient to contain it. It is in the US national stockpile. Dr. Fauci, 2017:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at 10:49 PM
Title: Re: What does Madhyamaka say about birth and death?
Content:
nichiren-123 said:
How does it explain the apparent appearance and disappearance of each human life?

Malcolm wrote:
Dependent origination.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at 10:46 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Nemo said:
We have 435 for the entire country.

Malcolm wrote:
That's because lockdowns work. With a disease that has an R0 of 5.7, it's necessary until there are vaccines.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at 10:43 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Grigoris said:
Okay, they treat the symptoms of the infection, not the infection itself.

Malcolm wrote:
The effectiveness of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine has not been proven. Thus far there is only anecdotal evidence they have any impact on outcomes.

There are proper trial studies underway in the US to see of this is the case. Until the data is in, don't believe the hype.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at 2:05 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:



Vasana said:
Yep. And there's Sweden.

Has Sweden Found the Right Solution to the Coronavirus?
https://tinyurl.com/wgefk5o

Malcolm wrote:
Right, but you know the clowns who wrote this are Republicans, right? Because after all, money is more important that people...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at 1:39 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0282_article?fbclid=IwAR13tZkYM_a8tE5FMq15E0h9bHFnQYo4o4HOt-WcmCbv2Q6ozq29Nm_KaF0

Unknown said:
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is the causative agent of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease pandemic. Initial estimates of the early dynamics of the outbreak in Wuhan, China, suggested a doubling time of the number of infected persons of 6–7 days and a basic reproductive number (R0) of 2.2–2.7. We collected extensive individual case reports across China and estimated key epidemiologic parameters, including the incubation period. We then designed 2 mathematical modeling approaches to infer the outbreak dynamics in Wuhan by using high-resolution domestic travel and infection data. Results show that the doubling time early in the epidemic in Wuhan was 2.3–3.3 days. Assuming a serial interval of 6–9 days, we calculated a median R0 value of 5.7 (95% CI 3.8–8.9). We further show that active surveillance, contact tracing, quarantine, and early strong social distancing efforts are needed to stop transmission of the virus.

Malcolm wrote:
R0 of 5.7 in Wuhan!

Unknown said:
We found R0 is likely to be 5.7 given our current state of knowledge, with a broad 95% CI (3.8–8.9). Among many factors, the lack of awareness of this new pathogen and the Lunar New Year travel and gathering in early and mid-January 2020 might or might not play a role in the high R0. A recent study based on structural analysis of the virus particles suggests SARS-CoV-2 has a much higher affinity to the receptor needed for cell entry than the 2003 SARS virus (21), providing a molecular basis for the high infectiousness of SARS-CoV-2.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at 12:54 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Queequeg said:
I guess we're starting to see the "See, it was all overblown after all" crowd after the social distancing has done what it was intended. There's no arguing with that level of willful ignorance.

Malcolm wrote:
Nope.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at 12:23 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Lucas Oliveira said:
More than 300,000 people have recovered from coronavirus worldwide
https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-more-300000-people-have-recovered-worldwide-20200408-b6dywybnkjhvzpazzgov4axlcu-story.html

More than 300,000 have recovered from coronavirus worldwide
https://abc11.com/health/300000-have-recovered-from-covid-19-worldwide/6086781/

Over 300,000 people have recovered from coronavirus across world, according to Johns Hopkins
https://www.fox13news.com/news/over-300000-people-have-recovered-from-coronavirus-across-world-according-to-johns-hopkins


Malcolm wrote:
Yes, and 83,000 people have died so far (and a lot more not accounted for in the stats). And at this point, there are nearly 80,000 newly reported cases just today alone, and have been for the past 5 days or so, though there is a slight dip for the past couple of days.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 9:28 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Queequeg said:
No official reports as far as the MA State Police can actually confirm.
may have occurred in central Mass.
Exactly.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s good enough for me.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 4:49 AM
Title: Re: Quieting mind-chatter
Content:


kausalya said:
In various ways, I've been confounded by my inability to escape suffering on my own, and I have found it next-to-impossible to rely on the real Arya Sangha, which are all of you, to help resolve my ground-level doubts about the nature of dukkha.

Malcolm wrote:
No one here, to my knowledge is a first stage bodhisattva, certainly not me. So, no one here is part of the Ārya Sangha at all.

kusulu said:
Nonetheless it is highly possible to quiet mind-chatter, and in this case judgements that have no basis in anything at all. If your retreat has unearthed some skeletons of buried and hidden unskillfulness, as sometimes happens, they will wither and die as your awareness grows around them. The Path itself does not increase suffering. You yourself point to the way out of your own dilemma.

Malcolm wrote:
The point was to correct a usage of a term. The Ārya Sangha in Mahāyāna is strictly bodhisattvas in the stages, and specifically, the eight great sons, Mañjuśṛī, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 4:45 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
in Massachusetts, people are going around in Hazmat suits claiming to be from the health departments, ripping people off in their homes while the crooks take false vitals and so on:

Queequeg said:
May be true. May just be an urban legend. No official reports as far as the MA State Police can actually confirm.
We looked into it and determined that at least one such incident may have occurred in central Mass.

Malcolm wrote:
???


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 2:30 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Queequeg said:
"Overreact" depends on what one considers an acceptable outcome. This virus is really contagious. That is a fact. There are some who think it is more important to keep the economy humming and so were willing to let the disease run its course without regard to the human toll. That would have been a disaster and would have been anything but normalcy, and that consequence still looms if we lift the stay-home orders and try to go back to "normalcy".

Nemo said:
Imagine 30% unemployment in some states. Look at prison populations, the average life of the poor and the long term effects of tripling the number of poor children in America. The economic dislocation on a global level is near where food supply chains are disrupted and inflation spirals up. Ignoring the murderous and life destroying effects of poverty is normal, but it shouldn't be. They are always the easiest to sacrifice as they are deliberately kept invisible. They are the ones who will pay the price.

Malcolm wrote:
in Massachusetts, people are going around in Hazmat suits claiming to be from the health departments, ripping people off in their homes while the crooks take false vitals and so on:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 2:27 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
tkp67 said:
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=SKELL
Possible origins for the word include:

The 17th century English slang word skelder, a noun and verb which referred to a professional beggar, especially one who falsely pretended to be a wounded former soldier to gain sympathy; more generally, it could be used for a swindler or cheat. An early recorded use is by Ben Jonson, from his play Poetaster, written in 1601: 'An honest decayed commander, cannot skelder, cheat, nor be seene in a bawdie house.' In an older military connection, the term skelder seems to have been used in early Medieval England to mean 'shield-maker' (Old Norse 'skjoldur'?), the supposed derivation of the streetname Skeldergate in the city of York.
The Dutch schelm, a word meaning a villain or rogue.
The Latin scelus, meaning a wicked deed or wickedness.

Malcolm wrote:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skell


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 2:22 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
That's a dehumanizing word, no? And since it is slang local to NYC, not sure many people understand it is a reference to chronically homeless people.

Queequeg said:
It is. I shouldn't have used it.
But to clarify - its more than just chronically homeless. Its a particular type of chronically homeless person. Its someone who for whatever reason has ceased all self care and hygiene except staying alive. Skell, I've been told, is short for skeleton.

Malcolm wrote:
It is likely from scelus, latin for wicked.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 2:02 AM
Title: Re: Approaching the ultimate
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
Oh dear. There is no thread connecting Prasangika Madhyamaka, or any kind of Madhyamaka, to Advaita Vedanta. They cannot be reconciled, not matter how hard one tries.

Sakya Pandita would be very unhappy with this idea.



kausalya said:
A pandit's life and a yogin's life are qualitatively different, yet they sleep beneath the same field of stars.

Grigoris said:
Advaita Vedanta posits an ultimate (unified) existent, Prasangika Madyamaka considers this position as one of the four extremes.

Malcolm wrote:
Indeed.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 2:02 AM
Title: Re: Approaching the ultimate
Content:



kausalya said:
A pandit's life and a yogin's life are qualitatively different, yet they sleep beneath the same field of stars.

Grigoris said:
Advaita Vedanta posits and ultimate existent, Prasngika Madyamaka considers this position as one of the four extremes.

kausalya said:
Yes, but we must let people try to find samadhi within their own mandala palace, regardless of the words they appear to state to describe the dukkha they feel. It's all the same dukkha, but the greater dukkha is a burden we all bear for love of ourselves & each other.

Malcolm wrote:
Samadhi is just not the point. Samadhi without insight does not lead one to freedom from samsara. Insight does not share the same weakness.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 2:00 AM
Title: Re: Approaching the ultimate
Content:
kausalya said:
For me, as a result of 10 years of faithful service to my guru, I've discovered that the Diamond Cutter sutra completely reconciled my doubts concerning the "red thread" connecting prasamghika madhyamika and advaita vedanta as one unified theory of life, & how to preserve & prepare us for the future as

Malcolm wrote:
Oh dear. There is no thread connecting Prasangika Madhyamaka, or any kind of Madhyamaka, to Advaita Vedanta. They cannot be reconciled, not matter how hard one tries.

Sakya Pandita would be very unhappy with this idea.



kausalya said:
A pandit's life and a yogin's life are qualitatively different, yet they sleep beneath the same field of stars.

Malcolm wrote:
A yogi of advaita will never realize the meaning of Madhyamaka for a million years, even if they sleep under the same stars as a buddhist pandita.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 1:52 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Queequeg said:
might find yourself in a car with a skell, soaked in urine and crawling with bed bugs.

Malcolm wrote:
That's a dehumanizing word, no? And since it is slang local to NYC, not sure many people understand it is a reference to chronically homeless people.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 1:30 AM
Title: Re: Quieting mind-chatter
Content:


kausalya said:
In various ways, I've been confounded by my inability to escape suffering on my own, and I have found it next-to-impossible to rely on the real Arya Sangha, which are all of you, to help resolve my ground-level doubts about the nature of dukkha.

Malcolm wrote:
No one here, to my knowledge is a first stage bodhisattva, certainly not me. So, no one here is part of the Ārya Sangha at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 1:29 AM
Title: Re: Approaching the ultimate
Content:
kausalya said:
For me, as a result of 10 years of faithful service to my guru, I've discovered that the Diamond Cutter sutra completely reconciled my doubts concerning the "red thread" connecting prasamghika madhyamika and advaita vedanta as one unified theory of life, & how to preserve & prepare us for the future as

Malcolm wrote:
Oh dear. There is no thread connecting Prasangika Madhyamaka, or any kind of Madhyamaka, to Advaita Vedanta. They cannot be reconciled, not matter how hard one tries.

Sakya Pandita would be very unhappy with this idea.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at 1:24 AM
Title: Re: Does karma "infest" inanimate objects?
Content:
KiwiNFLFan said:
Is it possible for karma to "infest" or "adhere" to inanimate objects?  For example, someone buys a computer that he is told is stolen property,

Malcolm wrote:
Then he is participating in the theft. But if he does not know, then not. The karma does not adhere to the object, it is a function of intention and knowledge.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 7th, 2020 at 11:51 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
smcj said:
The question is about how close we are to herd immunity...

Malcolm wrote:
Nowhere near close.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 7th, 2020 at 11:26 PM
Title: Re: 2020 Poll
Content:
tingdzin said:
No matter who is running WHO, it is undeniable that under pressure from Communist China (whose deisre to keep face far outweighs their concern over the spread of the disease), they deliberately excluded Taiwan from important consultations on the pandemic.


Malcolm wrote:
The WHO is completely feckless when it comes to confronting China.

https://www.thenation.com/article/world/taiwan-who-coronavirus-china/


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 7th, 2020 at 2:33 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


smcj said:
1,000,000 x .03 = 30,000 (Greg’s percentage)
1,000,000 x .015=15,000 (Malcolm’s)

I used the calculator on my phone to make sure.

Malcolm wrote:
My numbers are 1.5, not .015. This is a rough average of fatalities against known cases. Right now, in US, there are 333,000 cases, and 10,000 fatalities, i.e., 3%.

The fatality rate of known infections world wide is 5% (72k out of 1.3 million). But as I said, the reported cases are not reliable, since there has been no uniform testing, not even in S.Korea, outside of Iceland.

Nemo said:
NJ pop is 8.9 million. Positive randomized serology 42% deaths 917 so 0.02% fatality rate so far.
NY pop 19.5 million, positive randomized lgG/lgM  36% deaths  4758 so 0.067% fatality rate.
This is much less deadly than originally thought. 0.04% is still a reasonable estimation.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, I understand that when we account for unknown cases, it seems much lower.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 7th, 2020 at 12:40 AM
Title: Re: Justin Trudeau
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Corporate shill.

Minobu said:
You could be seeing yourself in him,

Malcolm wrote:
He is in the pocket of big oil:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-election-energy/trudeaus-oil-pipeline-tarnishes-his-climate-credentials-ahead-of-canadian-election-idUSKCN1VR0E1


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, April 7th, 2020 at 12:32 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
smcj said:
1 million people are currently with the new virus. The fact is that in 15 days:

80% (800 thousand) will have mild symptoms ..

20% (200 thousand) will have severe symptoms.

3% (30 thousand) will die
Your numbers are off. 1.5 percent of infected people die. This means that in 15 days, 150,000+ people will die.
1,000,000 x .03 = 30,000 (Greg’s percentage)
1,000,000 x .015=15,000 (Malcolm’s)

I used the calculator on my phone to make sure.

Malcolm wrote:
My numbers are 1.5, not .015. This is a rough average of fatalities against known cases. Right now, in US, there are 333,000 cases, and 10,000 fatalities, i.e., 3%.

The fatality rate of known infections world wide is 5% (72k out of 1.3 million). But as I said, the reported cases are not reliable, since there has been no uniform testing, not even in S.Korea, outside of Iceland.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 6th, 2020 at 10:40 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Nemo said:
USA is getting it's shit together with serological testing.

Malcolm wrote:
Barely. And this does not account for reinfections, which are on the rise, apparently.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2020-02-26/14-of-recovered-covid-19-patients-in-guangdong-tested-positive-again-101520415.html


In other news:
New Delhi (CNN)One of Asia's biggest slums has confirmed its first coronavirus death as top Indian doctors warn that the country must prepare to face an "onslaught" of cases that could cripple the health system to levels far beyond what Europe and the United States are experiencing.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/asia/india-doctors-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 6th, 2020 at 9:13 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Lucas Oliveira said:
Over 250,000 patients recover from coronavirus globally
China has highest number of recovered people
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/latest-on-coronavirus-outbreak/over-250-000-patients-recover-from-coronavirus-globally-/1793133

Italy reports fewest coronavirus deaths in weeks
https://thehill.com/policy/international/europe/491243-italy-reports-fewest-coronavirus-deaths-in-weeks

Italy, France record lower coronavirus deaths: Live updates
France records 357 deaths, lowest daily increase in a week; Italy reports 525 deaths, the lowest in over two weeks.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/trump-warns-lot-death-covid-19-battle-live-updates-200404232003006.html

Spain Daily Coronavirus Deaths Fall for Third Day to 674
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-05/spain-daily-coronavirus-deaths-fall-for-third-day-to-674




Malcolm wrote:
These numbers are not real. It is much worse than this:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/us/coronavirus-deaths-undercount.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/us/politics/cia-coronavirus-china.html

Lucas Oliveira said:
But American intelligence agencies have concluded that the Chinese government itself does not know the extent of the virus and is as blind as the rest of the world. Midlevel bureaucrats in the city of Wuhan, where the virus originated, and elsewhere in China have been lying about infection rates, testing and death counts, fearful that if they report numbers that are too high they will be punished, lose their position or worse, current and former intelligence officials said.

More than 250 thousand people recovered ... they took the test, proved that they had the new type of virus and after 15 days they took the test again and proved that they no longer had the new virus .. This is a Fact!

Malcolm wrote:
It is a fact that number of people were tested, but the number and manner of testing is inadequate to state anything about the scale of the pandemic. And that is also a fact. And it is a fact that these numbers you provide are not real numbers for all the reasons listed in these articles.

Lucas Oliveira said:
The numbers from Italy, Spain and France show that the number of deaths is falling and the number of infected people has also decreased a lot ... that's another Fact!

Malcolm wrote:
No, this is not a fact. We have no idea of how many people are infected, since as many as 50% of the infected population shows no symptoms. That's a fact.

Lucas Oliveira said:
if some authorities think that these numbers are not real and that the number can be much worse ... this is a theory ... it is not a fact!

Malcolm wrote:
It's a fact, since we cannot test universally, and no one is testing systematically, and that's a fact.

1 million people are currently with the new virus.

Lucas Oliveira said:
The fact is that in 15 days:

80% (800 thousand) will have mild symptoms ..

20% (200 thousand) will have severe symptoms.

3% (30 thousand) will die

Malcolm wrote:
Your numbers are off. 1.5 percent of infected people die. This means that in 15 days, 150,000+ people will die.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 6th, 2020 at 12:32 PM
Title: Re: Practical difference between Bön and Nyingma Dzogchen
Content:



lelopa said:
Not what I've heard/read!

Your source?

pawel said:
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Yongdzin Rinpoche, Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung - their oral teachings and the published materials, numerous times and John Myrdhin Reynolds' books on Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud, and Samten Karmey's. On Drenpa Namkha from Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche.
Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche also once gave teachings from text belonging to the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud cycle and mentioned the lifestory of Tapihritsa.

lelopa said:
thank you very much....
but now i can't find my source anymore.
I thought it was ChNN but cannot find it...
it was like:" Tapihritsa was fom the early 6th century and manifested later as a teacher of the 7th, or  8th century N.L."
something like that.
I'll keep on searching!

I've heard about the 3 Drenpa Namkhas


Malcolm wrote:
Gyerphung is considered in the Derge edition of the ZZ, in the Rje ta pi hri tsa'i lung bstan, to be a contemporary of Trisong Deutsan. This places Tapihritsa and Gyerpung in the 8th century, "When the Ligmincha, the kind of the land of Zhangzhung lived, and when Trisong Deutsan, the king of Tibet lived, at that time, the teaching of Eternal Bon was in decline. The way it declined can be understood from the line of chronicles like the index. At that time, Gyerphung Chenpo Nangsher Lodpo...etc."

There is a problem with this text however, as it places Ligmincha as a contemporary of Trisong Deutsan, but this, as ChNN and other scholars have shown, is historically wrong. Ligmincha was in fact a contemporary of and assassinated by Srongtsan Gampo.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 6th, 2020 at 12:20 PM
Title: Re: Practical difference between Bön and Nyingma Dzogchen
Content:
tatpurusa said:
Also the identification of Zhang Zhung Garab and Garab Dorje does exist within Bon...

Malcolm wrote:
No, this is just ChNN's early speculation, which he raised in Necklace of Zi, but dropped later on.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 6th, 2020 at 12:18 PM
Title: Re: Practical difference between Bön and Nyingma Dzogchen
Content:
pawel said:
It stopped to be considered when Namkhai Norbu discovered the text which lists 13 ancient Dzogchen teachers, and one of them is also Tonpa Shenrab.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no traditional text which includes Tonpa Shenrab as one of the buddhas, beginning with Nangwa Dampa, that taught Dzogchen in this great eon.

Further, the Bonpos do not share this tradition of 12 teachers.

According to ChNN Tonpa Shenrab lived between Ngondzog Gyalpo and Śakyamuni, but it is soley ChNN's idea to include Tonpa Shenrab in this list, which comes originally from the Nyinthig teachings. No one else does this.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, April 6th, 2020 at 11:07 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Lucas Oliveira said:
Over 250,000 patients recover from coronavirus globally
China has highest number of recovered people
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/latest-on-coronavirus-outbreak/over-250-000-patients-recover-from-coronavirus-globally-/1793133

Italy reports fewest coronavirus deaths in weeks
https://thehill.com/policy/international/europe/491243-italy-reports-fewest-coronavirus-deaths-in-weeks

Italy, France record lower coronavirus deaths: Live updates
France records 357 deaths, lowest daily increase in a week; Italy reports 525 deaths, the lowest in over two weeks.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/trump-warns-lot-death-covid-19-battle-live-updates-200404232003006.html

Spain Daily Coronavirus Deaths Fall for Third Day to 674
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-05/spain-daily-coronavirus-deaths-fall-for-third-day-to-674




Malcolm wrote:
These numbers are not real. It is much worse than this:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/us/coronavirus-deaths-undercount.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/us/politics/cia-coronavirus-china.html

Lucas Oliveira said:
But American intelligence agencies have concluded that the Chinese government itself does not know the extent of the virus and is as blind as the rest of the world. Midlevel bureaucrats in the city of Wuhan, where the virus originated, and elsewhere in China have been lying about infection rates, testing and death counts, fearful that if they report numbers that are too high they will be punished, lose their position or worse, current and former intelligence officials said.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 4th, 2020 at 6:03 AM
Title: Re: Justin Trudeau
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Corporate shill.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 4th, 2020 at 4:27 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
tkp67 said:
My wife did make a particular comment which was part of a group observation (her peers) that it seemed the people exhibiting emotional distress went downhill fast while those who remained calm and reserved seemed to fare much better.

Seems pandemonium and pandemic don't do so well together.

Malcolm wrote:
This is because emotional distress is connected with the vata dosha, and all fevers are driven by vata. So it is not surprising the slightest.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 4th, 2020 at 4:25 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
tkp67 said:
This virus is a cause for humanity to see its own collective behavior and take real ownership of it both on an individual and collective level.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, but since this pandemic is being driven by nonhuman beings (specifically a class of malevolent entities called "matrikas") who have been disturbed by our collective actions, these epidemics and pandemics will not stop until we reverse course and change our behavior toward each other and the environment world-wide.

well wisher said:
Interesting take.

Malcolm wrote:
It is not my take. This is discussed in the tantras and also in Ayurveda and Tibetan Medicine. While epidemics are discussed in sūtra, their causes are not discussed. The basic point is that the nonvirtuous behavior of human beings in general, and Dharma practitioners in particular, disturbs these classes of entities, causing them to become enraged, and then strike out at humanity as a whole.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 4th, 2020 at 2:39 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
tkp67 said:
This virus is a cause for humanity to see its own collective behavior and take real ownership of it both on an individual and collective level.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, but since this pandemic is being driven by nonhuman beings (specifically a class of malevolent entities called "matrikas") who have been disturbed by our collective actions, these epidemics and pandemics will not stop until we reverse course and change our behavior toward each other and the environment world-wide.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 4th, 2020 at 12:22 AM
Title: Re: 'Life-bearing Orbs'
Content:
Aemilius said:
In the Acchariya abbhuta dhamma Sutta, the Buddha spoke of `the black, gloomy regions of darkness, between the world systems, where the light of our moon and sun, powerful and majestic though they are, cannot reach' or what we would call intergalactic space. Then he said that there are beings there (M.III,123-4)..."

Malcolm wrote:
This actually refers to the oceans.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 3rd, 2020 at 11:19 PM
Title: Re: Karling shitro complete sadhana english trans
Content:
bhava said:
Thanks for your answers. Yes, zab chos zhi khro dgongs pa rang grol, Dr.Gyurme Dorjes complete translation is fine, however it does not seem to contain the liturgy or kyerim.
Perhaps I m wrong, but I have been expecting that in kyerim there is a standard meditation procedure of 3 samadhis, invoking deities, offerings, praises, mantras of deities etc etc. Instead there seem to be only shagpa or extended conffession entitled "bag chags rang grol" in terms of kyerim.

In terms of dzogrim in the complete cycle of karling zhitro there are so many things which are not included in Gyurme Dorjes complete translation..

Malcolm wrote:
Tsgog chen duspa is Anuyoga.

The daily sadhana begins on page 58. It is complete in every respect.

Generally, when this teaching is given, there is a very short sadhana which is handed out.

There are many teachings associated with this. The long sadhana is generally used for giving the empowerment. He did not include any of the empowerments, nor did he include the long sadhana. But other than that, his presentation is complete in terms of the standard texts which are used liturgically.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 3rd, 2020 at 5:03 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


justsit said:
I was told that reincarnation continues with the same mindstream, and rebirth does not.

Malcolm wrote:
Whoever told you that is mistaken. In Sanskrit, there is only one word for both: punarbhāva (yang srid).


justsit said:
But there is no conscious awareness while in the womb, correct?

Malcolm wrote:
It depends on whether you are a sentient being, a bodhisattva on the impure stages, or a bodhisattva on the pure stages, or in the last existence.

The first is unconscious at death, aware during the bardo, and unconscious after conception.

The second is aware at death, aware during the bardo, but unconscious after conception.

The third is aware at death, in the bardo, and after conception.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 3rd, 2020 at 4:58 AM
Title: Re: Karling shitro complete sadhana english trans
Content:
bhava said:
Does anyone know of an english translation of the full, complete sadhana of Karling shitro? Eventually Guhyagarba tantra sadhana?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, the late Gyurme Dorje;s Complete Tibetan Book of the Dead.

The Guhyagarbha does not have just one sadhana.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 at 11:26 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:



smcj said:
If I am reading your post correctly that is an insane statement.

Maybe your spellcheck was too aggressive. Want to try again?

Malcolm wrote:
An abortion, by definition, is the ending of an unwanted pregnancy.

smcj said:
Yes, that is the way I was reading it.
I think that’s an insane take on unwanted pregnancies. Sort of like, “The more people Covid 19 kills the less sick people we will have.”

Malcolm wrote:
These are both statistical facts; but they are unrelated to one another, completely.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 at 11:59 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


smcj said:
The fewer unwanted pregnancies there are the fewer abortions there will be.

That’s a fact.

Malcolm wrote:
And the facts show that where women have access to safe abortions, the fewer unwanted pregnancies there are, by definition.

smcj said:
If I am reading your post correctly that is an insane statement.

Maybe your spellcheck was too aggressive. Want to try again?

Malcolm wrote:
An abortion, by definition, is the ending of an unwanted pregnancy.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 at 11:57 AM
Title: Re: You can't wipe out this virus
Content:
PeterC said:
Of all the absurdities about this episode, panic buying of toilet paper is probably the silliest.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s contagious.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 at 11:43 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


smcj said:
Saying abortion is acceptable undercuts that message.

Malcolm wrote:
No, it does not. This is an instance where Buddhists ought to put aside what they imagine they read in books and look at facts and data.

smcj said:
The fewer unwanted pregnancies there are the fewer abortions there will be.

That’s a fact.

Malcolm wrote:
And the facts show that where women have access to safe abortions, the fewer unwanted pregnancies there are, by definition. Public health concerns override religious beliefs.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 at 9:57 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


smcj said:
Saying abortion is acceptable undercuts that message.

Malcolm wrote:
No, it does not. This is an instance where Buddhists ought to put aside what they imagine they read in books and look at facts and data.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 at 5:45 AM
Title: Re: ཁོང་ང་རང་གི་གྲོགས་པོཉིང་པོ་རེད། meaning
Content:
climb-up said:
“They and I are your old friends?”

Malcolm wrote:
Simply put, "He/she is an old friend of mine."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 at 5:44 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
Grigoris said:
https://www.routledge.com/Birth-in-Buddhism-The-Suffering-Fetus-and-Female-Freedom-1st-Edition/Langenberg/p/book/9781138201231?fbclid=IwAR26hKADpCaDcDah12OL3__zZqKFUClbCfikYgd2kjdEMf38R3Bfc1l4FJc

Birth in Buddhism - The Suffering Fetus and Female Freedom
Recent decades have seen a groundswell in the Buddhist world, a transnational agitation for better opportunities for Buddhist women. Many of the main players in the transnational nuns movement self-identify as feminists but other participants in this movement may not know or use the language of feminism. In fact, many ordained Buddhist women say they seek higher ordination so that they might be better Buddhist practitioners, not for the sake of gender equality.

Eschewing the backward projection of secular liberal feminist categories, this book describes the basic features of the Buddhist discourse of the female body, held more or less in common across sectarian lines, and still pertinent to ordained Buddhist women today. The textual focus of the study is an early-first-millennium Sanskrit Buddhist work, "Descent into the Womb scripture" or Garbhāvakrānti-sūtra. Drawing out the implications of this text, the author offers innovative arguments about the significance of childbirth and fertility in Buddhism, namely that birth is a master metaphor in Indian Buddhism; that Buddhist gender constructions are centrally shaped by Buddhist birth discourse; and that, by undermining the religious importance of female fertility, the Buddhist construction of an inauspicious, chronically impure, and disgusting femininity constituted a portal to a new, liberated, feminine life for Buddhist monastic women. Thus, this study of the Buddhist discourse of birth is also a genealogy of gender in middle period Indian Buddhism.

Offering a new critical perspective on the issues of gender, bodies and suffering, this book will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience, including researchers in the field of Buddhism, South Asian history and religion, gender and religion, theory and method in the study of religion, and Buddhist medicine.
A sample of the content can be viewed here: https://www.amazon.com/Birth-Buddhism-Suffering-Routledge-Critical-ebook/dp/B0723CSG1F/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=amy%20langenberg&qid=1585686924&sr=8-1&fbclid=IwAR22pAA9B9_HpB2L8tNyfXX5oYfuNG2CfbuOBLndQ6LR793pl_jeb7LCcGk

A bit of an eye-opener maybe for people that believe that Buddhism is somehow free of political and social influence?

Malcolm wrote:
I thought Buddhism was conceived in a vacuum, free of any cultural influence. Hmmmmm...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 at 4:19 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
smcj said:
No, this is not the point. I am not arguing that abortion is "ok." I am arguing that Buddhists have to negotiate a secular culture, 1) where not everyone has the same faith as we do and 2) where we Buddhists should not support legislation which embeds religious doctrines into secular law.
For some reason you seem obsessed with law.

I believe in the separation of church and state. I do not want to see Christian law, Sharia law, Jewish law, Hindu law, Mahayana law, or Vajrayana law. (Can you imagine a court case where a lama claims a “crazy wisdom” defense?)

However this website is not about political, cultural, or legal issues. Although those discussions are allowed the focus is on Buddhism. And as such it is appropriate to address an issue from a buddhist perspective here, and even prioritize the buddhist perspective over how secular affairs are managed.

Malcolm wrote:
Do you want to be able to tell Buddhist women what to do with their bodies or not? Do you respect that they may make choices that you might find "wrong?" I never met a woman in my life who was happy and content with having had an abortion. I am sure there are some out there, but I have never met one.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 at 3:15 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
Brunelleschi said:
Question: Can there be a clarification of when a viewpoint is rooted in political/cultural views and when it is rooted in Buddhist scriptures/teachings?

It seems those with a progressive/leftists leaning will argue that abortion is OK. Whilst, those with more conservative/right wing views will argue it's not.

Malcolm wrote:
No, what I am saying is that we cannot take away women's rights under secular law merely because we think something is wrong. In this case, the beginning of human life is debatable, depending on criteria.

smcj said:
That is the political/cultural view you were asking about Brunelleschi.

Malcolm wrote:
No, this is not the point. I am not arguing that abortion is "ok." I am arguing that Buddhists have to negotiate a secular culture, 1) where not everyone has the same faith as we do and 2) where we Buddhists should not support legislation which embeds religious doctrines into secular law.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 at 2:37 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
Brunelleschi said:
Question: Can there be a clarification of when a viewpoint is rooted in political/cultural views and when it is rooted in Buddhist scriptures/teachings?

It seems those with a progressive/leftists leaning will argue that abortion is OK. Whilst, those with more conservative/right wing views will argue it's not.

Malcolm wrote:
No, what I am saying is that we cannot take away women's rights under secular law merely because we think something is wrong. In this case, the beginning of human life is debatable, depending on criteria.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 31st, 2020 at 8:57 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
smcj said:
Reading above posts, it sounds like killing an ant makes small karma and produces small vipaka, whereas killing an elephant makes huge karma and produces huge vipaka. What a theory of the size!
I don’t think it’s size. I think it’s level of awareness or intelligence.

Karmic consequence increases by awareness.
ant<monkey<human<Bodhisattva<Buddha

Malcolm wrote:
No, it is measured by four things; the object; the afflcition; the deed itself; and the resultant satisfaction. If there is no satisfaction in the deed, then the vipaka of the karma is considerably weaker, and may never ripen. See chapter 4 of the Abhidharmakośabhaṣyaṃ for a full detailing of karma and is results.

It is true that killing an animal of any kind is a nonvirtue, but that is not what the first root precept concerns: it only concerns killing human beings. If a lay person kills an ant, they have not broken the first precept, even though they have committed a nonvirtuous deed.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 31st, 2020 at 5:07 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


smcj said:
My understanding is that aborting a human fetus is the negative karma of taking a human life. As such I believe there will be negative experience because of it.

Malcolm wrote:
This is a common understanding, but there are a couple of texts in the bstan 'gyur by Sūnyaśṛī (upāsakasaṃvarāṣṭaka and its autocommentary) that do not completely support this. If you look at the paper by David Reugg I posted above, you will see the exceptions mentioned.

In short, some Indian Buddhists commonly accepted that feticide was only a homicide after a certain number of weeks, generally after the stage of six sense organs, and as long as 19 weeks, if one was following the Ayurvedic understanding of the periods of gestation.

YMMV.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 31st, 2020 at 2:56 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
smcj said:
But I am saying that our discussion around abortion needs to included a Mahāyāna understanding that even nonvirtuous deeds can be confessed, purified, etc.,
Well nice to see you concede that it is negative karma.

Malcolm wrote:
So is driving a car, and much more damaging to a lot more sentient beings.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 31st, 2020 at 2:38 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community Naga Rite
Content:


Mantrik said:
Well, we burn substances ritually - incense and other materials for Riwo Sangcho, for example.
And I was also thinking of burning flesh, such as cremation of corpses.
It's a bit off topic, I know, but came to mind because of the current virus problems and the rituals being performed re. Mamos.

javier.espinoza.t said:
there is a text, divine blue water, in lotsawa house that maybe you'll like. but i think that for offering specific things one must be capable to adress the specific group since some things are liked by some but disliked by others; it's a bit more complicated.

there are general things like medicines (clove, cardamom, etc.), semi precious stones (tuquoise, carnelian, citrine, etc.), metals (copper, iron/steel, bronze, silver, gold) that are more "safe", powdered. and it goes quite well, it helps supporting various offerings, etc.

Mantrik said:
Hi.
Yes, I have seen the practice and the list of substances.
I was just asking about substances which we should NOT burn as it would specifically annoy Mamos.

Malcolm wrote:
Corpses in large numbers, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 11:55 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
smcj said:
Luckily, if we have a precious human birth, we can do something about remaining in the six realms.
Correct. That starts with refraining from non virtuous actions of body, speech, and mind. And being dismissive of the karma involved with violently ending a human life is on my personal list of negative actions of speech to be avoided.

If you’re ok with being hoisted on your own petard that’s on you.

Malcolm wrote:
I am not dismissive of it, I just understand that there is a wider context, and I have equanimity around the issue. I am not saying "Go have an abortion, consequences be damned!" But I am saying that our discussion around abortion needs to included a Mahāyāna understanding that even nonvirtuous deeds can be confessed, purified, etc., even the five so-called heinous deeds which result in immediate rebirth in the hell realms. Not only this, but for nonbuddhists, this is all totally irrelevant, especially atheists, and that religious beliefs should not be enshrined in secular law, because that leads, in this country, to a fundamentalist Christian theocracy, ala The Handmaid's Tale.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 11:50 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


Queequeg said:
If the determination depends on the premise that our society is a patriarchal society, and therefore every social interaction in the society is conditioned by that, then I have no option but to agree that every interaction is patriarchal, unless I want to argue against the premise that our society is patriarchal, which I won't because that is beyond dispute.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, that is the real point.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 11:00 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/dbdf/9f05bb77c3325583d172257338d9fa82cc16.pdf:
After 1969 (Ling), the scholarly interest on the Buddhist view of abortion has been steadily growing. This interest is not just historico-philological, but is related to the contemporary debate on legislation about abortion in many countries. In this paper I confine myself to historico-philological matters. My first aim is to present unambigous evidence showing that at least one ancient school of Indian Buddhism made a clear distinction between abortion and homicide. My second aim is to contextualize this evidence, which unfortunately entails some degree of speculation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 10:58 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
Every social interaction between men and women in our society is conditioned by the fact that men are given preferential treatment over women and children, whether we can observe that conditioning at play in a given, specific interaction or not.

Queequeg said:
This society. Might well be.
I'm thinking of a situation where I'm paying my tax bill at the village hall. The clerk is a woman. I say, "Hi," pass the bill and a check across the counter. She stamps the bill, and I'm on my way.

Where is the patriarchy in that interaction?

I'd like to know how others see this interaction as an expression of patriarchy.

Malcolm wrote:
She is paid, on average, 20 percent less than a man who would have taken the bill. The very social situation is patriarchal. Its like living in a polluted city, every breath you take is toxic.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 10:57 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:



justsit said:
..., said the man.


Queequeg said:
Is it? If I'm missing something, I'd really like to know.

Humor me. The implication here is that as a man I am blind to patriarchy in some circumstances because the underlying assertion is that it is present in all social interactions.

Seems then what we're talking about is a matter of definitions then.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, just as there is white privilege, there is male privilege, with white male privilege being the worst, if you are not a white man.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 10:08 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
Queequeg said:
Not every social interaction between a male and female human being is an expression of patriarchy. smh.

Malcolm wrote:
Every social interaction between men and women in our society is conditioned by the fact that men are given preferential treatment over women and children, whether we can observe that conditioning at play in a given, specific interaction or not.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 10:03 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


smcj said:
Remember, unless this is your last lifetime you are totally at risk for having this happen to you.

Malcolm wrote:
Its already happened to all of us countless untold gazillions of times, it's the nature of samsara. Hence, the practice of Buddhadharma. Luckily, if we have a precious human birth, we can do something about remaining in the six realms.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 10:01 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Nemo said:
So we needed to do this in a radically different way. We needed to quarantine the entire at risk population(2% to 5%) immediately and give them the available ppe and a 2000$ a month stipend. Under 50 with no comorbidity back to work and kids in school. Every day between 7am and 9am the at risk can shop, get medical treatments and receive deliveries. Then we take over the city and get infected. Every night we disinfect the entire city and do it again the next day. Sweden is likely doing this correctly.

Malcolm wrote:
This assumes competent leadership—in very short supply during the Trump Administration.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 8:05 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
smcj said:
Again: NOBODY HERE IS ARGUING FOR ABORTION, WE ARE ALL ARGUING FOR THE RIGHT OF A WOMAN TO CHOOSE ABORTION IF THEY FEEL THAT IT IS NECESSARY.
Correct. And that being the case, for entirely selfish reasons, I do not want to create the karma of giving my permission in advance when I may be the fetus in question.

I generally try to not mix my religious beliefs with political ideas. All I am saying here is “Please do not do that to me in any of my future lives.” I assume most people that have a belief in literal reincarnation would feel the same way.

Malcolm wrote:
You better wear a little sign in the bardo then.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 8:03 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
smcj said:
As someone who believes in reincarnation, all I can say is that the next time I am a fetus I hope that doesn’t happen to me. And since I believe in karma I don’t want to create the seeds for it to happen.

Anyone here think it would be okay if it happens to them?

Malcolm wrote:
Considering all the terrors of samsara, there are far worse sufferings.

smcj said:
So you’d be okay with it happening to you?

Malcolm wrote:
Everything has happened to me already, that’s the way living the six realms works.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 11:20 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
smcj said:
As someone who believes in reincarnation, all I can say is that the next time I am a fetus I hope that doesn’t happen to me. And since I believe in karma I don’t want to create the seeds for it to happen.

Anyone here think it would be okay if it happens to them?

Malcolm wrote:
Considering all the terrors of samsara, there are far worse sufferings.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2020 at 10:59 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
tkp67 said:
The right for a child to be born with equal social protection...

Grigoris said:
No. That is not what it says.  Remove the tinted glasses and read it again.


tkp67 said:
Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Your reference.

Malcolm wrote:
Antiabortion sentiments are rooted in patriarchal property relations, where women and children are considered chattel property with no rights. We live in a different time.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 29th, 2020 at 10:07 PM
Title: Re: Causation and emptiness in Madhyamaka
Content:


Aemilius said:
The question is whether consciousness is dependent on the sense organ and the sense object in the same way as form or body is dependent on the elements. Consciousness is not composed of sense organs

Malcolm wrote:
Consciousness (manas, vijñāna, citta) is an indriya, or a sense faculty, one of the twenty-two listed in chapter two of the Abhidharmakośabhaṣyaṃ.

Aemilius said:
and sense objects in the same manner as body or form is composed of the elements.

You cannot have a concept or an image of a snake without there first being an actual material snake. The image or concept of a snake depends on the existence of snakes.

In the Abhidharmakosha-bhashyam there are lots of references to dravya or substance.

Malcolm wrote:
For Vasubandhu, consciousness is included among the dravyas. In the Abhidharmakośabhaṣyaṃ model, yes, you must have a real sense object in order to have a sense impression and a sense consciousness.

For Nāgārjuna, however, causation is merely a convention, therefore Richard Hayes' objection does not hold. In other words, Mādhyamikas conventionally accept the notion that a sense consciousness will not arise in absence of the sense organ and sense object, but they do not accept that any of these things are substantially real or exist independently of one another.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 29th, 2020 at 8:54 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community Naga Rite
Content:
Mantrik said:
If burning incense with animal products such as musk annoys the Nagas, how should we regard butter-lamps?
Butter being an animal product, I wondered.
Burning chemical laden tea lights is probably not too wonderful either.

Malcolm wrote:
It is musk in particular, which nagas find toxic.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 29th, 2020 at 9:50 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community Naga Rite
Content:
Grigoris said:
Does the DC practice have a torma?

Malcolm wrote:
No, not a shaped one.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 29th, 2020 at 1:40 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:



PadmaVonSamba said:
This thread, and as far as I know, this forum isn’t about 93% of the world. It’s specifically about the Buddhist view of the topic.

Malcolm wrote:
As HH Dalai Lama pointed out, religious ethics are largely incapable of dealing with issues such as this in this time period.

So at this time, secular ethics are more important than what Buddhists might believe, and every Buddhist who has their head squarely on their shoulders should just accept this.

PadmaVonSamba said:
While that certainly may be true, this is specifically a buddhist forum.

Malcolm wrote:
Thanks for restating the obvious.



PadmaVonSamba said:
You can’t really argue that framing things in terms of Buddhist “abstraction” is a problem in a Buddhist forum which itself is probably meaningless to even more than 99.93% of the rest of the world.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, I can, and I have.

PadmaVonSamba said:
Besides, if you want to talk about liberation in the non-Buddhist context, then I’d argue that most women who want the right to choose a safe abortion are very much interested in liberation, as the term is used generally.

Malcolm wrote:
You mean they have identified and wish to be free of the three afflictions which cause rebirth in samsara? Doubtful.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2020 at 11:46 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
Könchok Thrinley said:
their body, their choice.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2020 at 11:40 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


tkp67 said:
In summation does avoiding life really eliminate suffering and facilitation of liberation?

Malcolm wrote:
Generally, speaking, women who have abortions are not that concerned with liberation, in this life or any other. One of the problems here is that we keep framing this issue through Buddhist abstractions such as "liberation," which are completely meaningless to the 93 percent of the world population who are not Buddhists.

PadmaVonSamba said:
This thread, and as far as I know, this forum isn’t about 93% of the world. It’s specifically about the Buddhist view of the topic.

Malcolm wrote:
As HH Dalai Lama pointed out, religious ethics are largely incapable of dealing with issues such as this in this time period.

So at this time, secular ethics are more important than what Buddhists might believe, and every Buddhist who has their head squarely on their shoulders should just accept this.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2020 at 10:17 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


tkp67 said:
In summation does avoiding life really eliminate suffering and facilitation of liberation?

Malcolm wrote:
Generally, speaking, women who have abortions are not that concerned with liberation, in this life or any other. One of the problems here is that we keep framing this issue through Buddhist abstractions such as "liberation," which are completely meaningless to the 93 percent of the world population who are not Buddhists.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2020 at 12:54 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
tkp67 said:
It is not a binary, women's rights should come first. It's their bodies, after all.
Yes but I still the middle way is for women to have the right to choose...

Malcolm wrote:
I am glad you agree.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2020 at 4:07 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
tkp67 said:
Down throttling the potential of human birth as represented by a group of cells in the womb because science and policy add to the complexity of the issue doesn't seem to honor the potential for precious human birth.

Grigoris said:
How far down do we want to reduce this apparent potential?


tkp67 said:
Respecting women's rights and respecting the conditions that contribute to human life need not be in contest with one another.

Making this a binary absolute seems a samsaric endeavor and denies the complexity of the issue.

Malcolm wrote:
It is not a binary, women's rights should come first. It's their bodies, after all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2020 at 4:06 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2020 at 3:05 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Well, we know what the orange-haired dipshit with a bad comb over and a spray-on tan has been doing:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2020 at 2:22 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
Otherwise, it is just a precursor of an ordinary human birth, such as birth as a Christian, Muslim, Jew,Hindu, Atheist, etc., since those eighteen conditions are missing.

PadmaVonSamba said:
Nobody is born as a follower of any religion

Malcolm wrote:
People are born into families. Those families live in countries. Those countries tend to have dominant religions.

In any case, my point still stands, if someone is born lacking the eighteen freedoms and endowments, they do not have a precious human birth. In case anyone does not know the eight lack of freedoms, they are described by Nāgājruna:

Birth as one holding wrong views, as animals, pretas, and hell beings, 
as one without the teaching of the victor, or in a border country,
birth as a barbarian, as one stupid and dumb,
or birth as any of the long-lived gods
are the eight faults of lacking freedom.

The ten endowments are divided into five personal endowments, and five external endowments. The personal endowments are:

A human born in the central country, complete sense organs, 
not engaging in wrong livelihood, faith in the object.

The external endowments are:

The Buddha has arrived, he has taught the Dharma, 
the doctrine exists, there are followers of that, 
and there is kindheartedness towards others.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2020 at 1:41 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
In Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, a human birth is not termed "precious" unless it has the eighteen freedoms and endowments that permit the practice of Dharma.

tkp67 said:
I would be indebted to you to read a citation that says the precursor to precious human birth is absolutely meaningless. Putting the carrier of those cells ahead of the cells themselves is one thing. Treating that collection of cells as something other than the precursor to precious human birth is a denial of reality. I don't believe that is a feature of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism but perhaps you will enlightenment me here.

Malcolm wrote:
That collection of cells is only a precursor to a precious human birth if it was conceived in a situation where all eighteen conditions for a precious human birth have been met.

Otherwise, it is just a precursor of an ordinary human birth, such as birth as a Christian, Muslim, Jew,Hindu, Atheist, etc., since those eighteen conditions are missing.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2020 at 12:54 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
In short, restricting women's access to safe abortions is both short-sighted and lacking in compassion.

tkp67 said:
No where did I discuss the rights themselves as being valid or invalid (because they are simply conceptual) but rather questioned treating conceptual proliferation as a set of policies and those making proliferation as policy makers.

Malcolm wrote:
You might be making sense to you, but you are not making sense to me.




tkp67 said:
Your last statement is made from the perspective of a man arguing over women's health issues.

Malcolm wrote:
Correct, it was an observation grounded in the irony of the situation.



tkp67 said:
Down throttling the potential of human birth as represented by a group of cells in the womb because science and policy add to the complexity of the issue doesn't seem to honor the potential for precious human birth.

Malcolm wrote:
In Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, a human birth is not termed "precious" unless it has the eighteen freedoms and endowments that permit the practice of Dharma.


tkp67 said:
I don''t see why this needs to come at the expense of the other. Why can't they coexist since that is our experiential reality as some choose abortion as best choice and some choose life as best choice, and both decision can be regrettable and sometimes they are not.

Malcolm wrote:
The sentiment which opposes abortion is perfectly fine. But it has nothing to do with the reality that millions of women die every year around the world from botched, illegal abortions .


tkp67 said:
I don't see any of this setting policy either but it is reasonably disingenuous to frame arguments like this with a definitive right or wrong.

Malcolm wrote:
I think it is morally wrong to restrict women's access to safe abortions.

You and others may have different opinions on this issue.

I think that people who want to restrict women's access to safe abortions are morally wrong, and suffer from a lack of vision and compassion.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 11:55 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
tkp67 said:
isn't championing women's rights in opposition to the right to respect life even on a cellular level the same as the converse?

Malcolm wrote:
First of all, here in "the right to respect life even on a cellular level," I think you mean "obligation."


tkp67 said:
No and the statement was contextually unpacked.

Malcolm wrote:
It was unclear, despite your attempt to unpack it because failed to included the antecedent "champion."

In any case, one cannot advocate for the rights of cellular life. Cells are property and have no rights of their own.

Had you written "isn't championing women's rights in opposition to championing the right to respect life even on a cellular level the same as the converse?"

My answer would have been the same in all respects. You can champion the right to respect cellular life, but it is meaningless cause. What are you going to do, go out and hold up posters in front of drug companies and demand that they respect cellular life?

In short, restricting women's access to safe abortions is both short-sighted and lacking in compassion.

And as usual, a bunch of men are arguing over women's health issues. I think women pretty much have made up their respective minds in this score.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 11:28 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
tkp67 said:
isn't championing women's rights in opposition to the right to respect life even on a cellular level the same as the converse?

Malcolm wrote:
First of all, here in "the right to respect life even on a cellular level," I think you mean "obligation."

If this were true, Buddhists would need to stop using antibiotics, antivirals, and and antiamoebic drugs.

Thus, we don't have an obligation to respect life on a cellular level. Cells have no independent consciousness, and thus they do not suffer pain. As far as anyone knows, bacteria, viruses, and amoeba also are not sentient life.

Further, a monk developed the clairvoyance to see small creatures in the water, finer than the water filter monks are provided with to strain their drinking water. The monk had a problem because now he felt he could not drink water at all because he could perceive these lifeforms in his water, invisible to the naked eye. When he presented this problem to the Buddha, the Buddha advised him to stop looking so deeply.

So, this objection is quite irrelevant to the discussion of abortion.

As far as the right for a woman to choose, this is public health issue. A modern society needs to provide access to safe abortions. These are the stats:
Between 2010–2014, on average, 56 million induced (safe and unsafe) abortions occurred worldwide each year.

There were 35 induced abortions per 1000 women aged between 15–44 years.

25% of all pregnancies ended in an induced abortion.

The rate of abortions was higher in developing regions than in developed regions.

Around 25 million unsafe abortions were estimated to have taken place worldwide each year, almost all in developing countries (1).

Among these, 8 million were carried out in the least- safe or dangerous conditions.

Over half of all estimated unsafe abortions globally were in Asia.

3 out of 4 abortions that occurred in Africa and Latin America were unsafe.

The risk of dying from an unsafe abortion was the highest in Africa.

Each year between 4.7% – 13.2% of maternal deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortion (2).

Around 7 million women are admitted to hospitals every year in developing countries, as a result of unsafe abortion (3).

The annual cost of treating major complications from unsafe abortion is estimated at US$ 553 million (4).

Safe abortion must be provided or supported by a trained person using WHO recommended methods appropriate for the pregnancy duration.

Almost every abortion death and disability could be prevented through sexuality education, use of effective contraception, provision of safe, legal induced abortion, and timely care for complications
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preventing-unsafe-abortion

In short, restricting women's access to safe abortions is both short-sighted and lacking in compassion.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 10:58 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
In any case, If one accepts rebirth, abortion is just not that big a deal.

Minobu said:
this sounds monstrous from someone who teaches Buddhism.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, you have to take into account that the whole debate about abortion comes from Christians who believe they only have one life, this one, after which the soul goes to heaven or hell.

They also believe in original sin; so, from their religious point of view, abortion is extremely serious.

Now, from our point of view, we believe in rebirth. If a being in the intermediate existence is conceived and aborted, this does not ruin that beings's chance at a human rebirth.

Also, as long as the abortion is performed prior to 19 weeks, the fetus will suffer no pain because, in Buddhist texts, it is stated that a fetus will only have operational sense organs from 19th week onward.

Stating that something is or is not permissible by a strict rule is not the Mahāyāna way. In Mahāyāna, motivation is more important than the action.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 9:43 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:



Minobu said:
why do you ignore the fact that i keep explaining that i'm not opposed to abortion. One would think your deflecting from your lack of belief in actual Buddhism and want to change it to a religion and something along your own  narrative , that changes with your political whims .

or it's just trolling.

Malcolm wrote:
Sorry, minobu, but what you said is just dumb. You are not the arbiter of “actual Buddhism.” You subscribe to certain beliefs which are found in some kinds of Buddhism and ignore others.

Minobu said:
Malcom there is a thing called polite conversation.

As far as your assessment of me as a Buddhist...i don't make it up as i go to suit some agenda.

You have been very duplicitous,  in this thread.

Like a politician you weave a narrative about the person and avoid the actual content.

I'm tired of your deflection , you don't take kindly to criticism for some reason. And never admit when you are trolling.

Malcolm wrote:
Polite? You’ve been everything but polite in this exchange.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 8:30 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:



Minobu said:
So is the group of cells containing all human DNA also the vessel for some sentient that has been human before?
ot maybe this is their first rodeo. or is this some intellectual game where we say nothing really exists anyway...

unreal...who would argue the point that at the moment of conceptual like malcolm used to say, is a human being.

Malcolm wrote:
Conception is not restricted to human beings. For example, do you oppose aborting the fetuses of cats or dogs? Do you oppose all intervention in all gestational processes of living beings, or only humans? In any case, If one accepts rebirth, abortion is just not that big a deal.

Minobu said:
why do you ignore the fact that i keep explaining that i'm not opposed to abortion. One would think your deflecting from your lack of belief in actual Buddhism and want to change it to a religion and something along your own  narrative , that changes with your political whims .

or it's just trolling.

Malcolm wrote:
Sorry, minobu, but what you said is just dumb. You are not the arbiter of “actual Buddhism.” You subscribe to certain beliefs which are found in some kinds of Buddhism and ignore others.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 11:45 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
tkp67 said:
Wife is a ER nurse on LI NY and yesterday she had to put another ER nurse to ICU. 44 and no prior health problems and on the brink of death. She said it is starting to get overwhelming and the next 3 weeks will be very rough. I have been doing my best to stay away.

Malcolm wrote:
Your wife is a hero.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 11:40 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
madhusudan said:
"Is the fetus in your uterus?" deliberately frames the debate in language taking a particular side while ignoring that this is the entire crux of the issue.

It's as sincere as asking, "Are you the mother blessed with this child?"

Is the entity merely a collection of cells or a human life? When exactly does life begin?

Since it is FACT that this in contention. and the consequences are of the utmost importance, it makes sense to act in an overabundance of caution.
This is my reasoning for opposing abortion.

PeterC said:
No, not at all. Nobody disagrees about the definition of a fetus.  That is neutral language. Also nobody disagrees that a fetus is, in a sense, alive, and I hope nobody disagrees about the definition of uterus (leaving aside ectopic pregnancies).  This is neutral language, not taking a side.  When someone starts to call this a person, a life, etc and in other ways starts to equate it with someone who has already been born, there is an understandable difference of opinion.

Minobu said:
So is the group of cells containing all human DNA also the vessel for some sentient that has been human before?
ot maybe this is their first rodeo. or is this some intellectual game where we say nothing really exists anyway...

unreal...who would argue the point that at the moment of conceptual like malcolm used to say, is a human being.

Malcolm wrote:
Conception is not restricted to human beings. For example, do you oppose aborting the fetuses of cats or dogs? Do you oppose all intervention in all gestational processes of living beings, or only humans? In any case, If one accepts rebirth, abortion is just not that big a deal.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 5:41 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Nemo said:
In Canada this will peak at an unemployment rate of 20 to 25%. In my military training 20% is where civil order inevitably breaks down.

Malcolm wrote:
Mnuchin already has predicted 20% unemployment before this is over:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/18/steven-mnuchin-coronavirus-unemployment-treasury-secretary


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 4:52 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Queequeg said:
Been on American football chat boards... the delusion of these people thinking there will be a season... Its an interesting mix because politics generally takes a back seat. I know who the MAGA-heads on the board are, but its glaringly obvious what lens they're looking through when they insist "Oh, the virus will be gone in like 60 days. Preseason might be short, but we'll have a season. We can't just live in fear. I mean, this isn't how we won world war 2!" My face hurts from palming it so hard.

Nemo said:
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. If the fatality rate drops to 0.4% more will be killed by financial dislocation at 2008 levels of economic damage in OECD countries. Financial dislocation is incredibly deadly. The spike in cancer deaths alone in the OECD after '08 was 500,000 dead in 2 years. It needs to be discussed.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, sure, but we cannot discuss it until we have facts. And we don't have facts and stats right now. But the flu never fills up hospital beds with thousands of people of all ages all at the same time, who require ventilators to survive this illness. You may have read about malignant entities who steal the breath in various ritual manuals and so on. This is that.

As long as the gvts. respond with the proper Keynsian spending, we will all be fine financially. If they don't, we will be looking a world depression that makes 1929 look easy peasy.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 4:48 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
madhusudan said:
"Is the fetus in your uterus?" deliberately frames the debate in language taking a particular side while ignoring that this is the entire crux of the issue.

It's as sincere as asking, "Are you the mother blessed with this child?"

Is the entity merely a collection of cells or a human life? When exactly does life begin?

Since it is FACT that this in contention. and the consequences are of the utmost importance, it makes sense to act in an overabundance of caution.
This is my reasoning for opposing abortion.

Malcolm wrote:
You can oppose abortion, and since I assume you are male, your opposition to it on religious principles really does not matter one iota to anyone but you. You just don't have a say in the matter, even if the women you impregnated is your wife or partner.

And if you perchance are female, and oppose abortion, then you also can choose to carry a pregnancy full term; but you still do not have the right to tell any other women what choices they should make with their body.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 4:13 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Queequeg said:
https://nypost.com/2020/03/25/woman-coughs-on-35k-of-goods-at-pennsylvania-grocery-store-in-very-twisted-prank/

I just don't get it. If this is true, I'm at a loss.

We haven't had a real serious gut punch in a while to remind us that life is not a joke.

Boo! Reality is coming for a visit!

Malcolm wrote:
It is completely true.Then there was the white terrorist who was killed in Missouri Tuesday after the FBI tried to arrest him for procuring an IDE. He was on nazi chat groups, accelerating his plans to bomb hospitals, because Jews.

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/489603-suspect-killed-by-fbi-during-investigation-into-plot-to-bomb-medical


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 2:24 AM
Title: Re: Leaving Buddhism
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
That's a relief

monkishlife said:
What role does sarcasm have in the Holy Dharma?

Malcolm wrote:
I wasn't being sarcastic. I would very much prefer it if you were "done going on about this." But apparently, you are not.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 1:31 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
Grigoris said:
pro choice.jpg


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 1:30 AM
Title: Re: Leaving Buddhism
Content:


monkishlife said:
Listen, I am done going on about this.

Malcolm wrote:
That's a relief.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 1:27 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Lucas Oliveira said:
A Coronavirus Explosion Was Expected in Japan. Where Is It?


Malcolm wrote:
Here it is:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-in-japan-could-spike-as-tokyo-cases-jump-today-2020-03-26/

Lucas Oliveira said:
Tokyo — The Japanese capital registered 47 new coronavirus cases Thursday, its biggest single-day rise, as the metropolis of 13.9 million people prepares for a weekend indoors. The worrying jump in infections prompted Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike to hold a video conference with her counterparts in neighboring prefectures, asking them to help the greater Tokyo region to isolate itself.

..................

But the spiraling stats are so troubling an expert government panel released its most dire analysis ever today, saying it is "highly likely" Japan will see "rampant" infections.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 12:44 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


Minobu said:
you look to Buddhism as some religion.


Malcolm wrote:
I recognize that to those who are not Buddhists, Buddhism is just another religion. Unlike you, I do not want to force my beliefs on others who do not share those same beliefs.

Have some humility, and recognize that you are not omniscient and do not know what is best for everyone.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 12:10 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


Minobu said:
again laws are man made.. laws were made at one time that as lo9ng as you planted a flag on some heathen's land all the resource are yours because you will teach them the bible and they shall be saved by Christ and should be grateful.

Malcolm wrote:
Right, and we don't want your religious opinions being forced on women's bodies. That's all.

No one here is arguing for abortion. We are arguing that is just as wrong to impose Buddhist beliefs on non-buddhists as it is to impose Christian beliefs on non-christians.

Those who support a woman's right to choose are not imposing beliefs on anyone, since any woman who believes abortion is wrong is free to choose not to have an abortion should they do not want one.

It's pretty simple and has nothing with what the Buddha may or may not have said on the issue.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 26th, 2020 at 4:50 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:
Presto Kensho said:
The Buddha's teachings for both monastics and laypeople forbid abortion as the taking of an innocent human life:

++++++++++++++++++++

So now we have the Buddha’s clear instructions on this and how serious of an offense it is.
https://essenceofbuddhism.wordpress.com/2017/02/23/what-the-buddha-said-about-abortion/

Having said this, why should someone who believes in traditional Buddhist teachings be forced to pay for an abortion through their tax dollars?

Malcolm wrote:
It is not so clear. While it is true that if a monk causes an abortion after the 19th week, it is a parajika, prior to the 19th week it is not.

As far as paying for abortions. It is interesting you mention abortion, but not war.

The fact is, that your belief that abortion is wrong is only a belief, and it is not shared by others.

We do not pay taxes based on what personally believe. I don't like the fact that Christians get massive federal subsidies for their charter schools, but our taxes get spent on that too.

Basically, you are entitled to believe in whatever you like, but you are not entitled to force your religious beliefs on others. It is a violation of the establishment clause of the first amendment to do so.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 26th, 2020 at 3:29 AM
Title: Re: Practices for epidemics and pandemics
Content:
pemachophel said:
The Covid-19 pandemic may have started in China, but it is clear that this is not just a Chinese problem. If, in fact, the Mamo are upset, they are upset with all of us. Certainly here in the U.S., we are far from exempt from culpability.

Malcolm wrote:
Indeed, we live on one planet. We destroy it at our own peril.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 25th, 2020 at 11:02 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
PeterC said:
But we still have a problem explaining Italy.

Malcolm wrote:
Mexico is the next major disaster area. They are totally unprepared, and they also have a complete douche as a leader.

PeterC said:
Russia may not have got the memo either

Malcolm wrote:
They got it, but are ignoring it, and worse, are actively spreading disinformation about it.

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-russia-doctors-say-government-is-covering-up-cases-2020-3


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 25th, 2020 at 9:59 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
PeterC said:
But we still have a problem explaining Italy.

Malcolm wrote:
Mexico is the next major disaster area. They are totally unprepared, and they also have a complete douche as a leader.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 25th, 2020 at 3:13 AM
Title: Re: Practices for epidemics and pandemics
Content:
Toenail said:
When we want to accumulate the Nubchen Sangye Yeshe Degyed Serkyem, is there a special way to do it? I remember if in hurry there was an instruction to just do the last stanza. Would it be appropriate to do the whole text one time and then accumulate the last paragraph many times?

Malcolm wrote:
yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 25th, 2020 at 12:39 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
I usually balk at comparing average right wingers to Nazis, but now we have people saying that essentially we should kill off a percentage of the population for the economy...absolutely disgusting.

Malcolm wrote:
Talk about "picking winner and losers."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 24th, 2020 at 2:37 AM
Title: Re: Corona conspiracy theories
Content:



PeterC said:
Is it him or his son that has it?

He should be ashamed citing nonsense numbers like that.  The morality numbers in the US are meaningless.  You are only classified as dead from this is you were diagnosed premortem.

From the perspective of risk to any individual life - he is right, other things kill more people.  But as a doctor he should understand the implications of the healthcare system simply being overwhelmed by cases of a highly contagious disease.

Malcolm wrote:
His son, but Ron Paul is an asshole of major proportions.

Nemo said:
That's actually worse. His negligence helped to sicken his own son.

Malcolm wrote:
Yeah, it just keeps getting better.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 24th, 2020 at 2:24 AM
Title: Re: "Mahayana Buddhism is based on a lie"
Content:
Könchok Thrinley said:
I have so many problems with this article... it has some interesting points, but still. What are your takes?
https://thetattooedbuddha.com/2017/04/23/wanna-be-a-buddhist-put-down-the-books-go-live-buddhism/?fbclid=IwAR3LijO2bDNCqR_zktt9dUChyIBX9zhlx31AYyc02brwx0TkkbqisoYjy8Q

Malcolm wrote:
Know nothing Buddhism for know nothings.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 24th, 2020 at 12:28 AM
Title: Re: Corona conspiracy theories
Content:
PeterC said:
Nemo, that’s absurd.  How could something like that be possible in our well-regulated economy?  It’s about as likely as, say, companies demanding money from the government in return for not firing workers, then handing that money to their shareholders and firing the workers anyway.  Things like this simply can’t happen in our entrepreneurial democracy.

Nemo said:
This article by Ron Paul did not age well now that he is infected.
http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2020/march/16/the-coronavirus-hoax/?fbclid=IwAR3AwyFTvuHvz21yhxw7FB8vm2qPvcuwiM5d_n95-BtuvpEYIaRMDlHtcRY

PeterC said:
Is it him or his son that has it?

He should be ashamed citing nonsense numbers like that.  The morality numbers in the US are meaningless.  You are only classified as dead from this is you were diagnosed premortem.

From the perspective of risk to any individual life - he is right, other things kill more people.  But as a doctor he should understand the implications of the healthcare system simply being overwhelmed by cases of a highly contagious disease.

Malcolm wrote:
His son, but Ron Paul is an asshole of major proportions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 23rd, 2020 at 4:13 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Virgo said:
How far is the US behind Italy, two weeks?

Virgo

Malcolm wrote:
two or three. it is going to be really bad.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 23rd, 2020 at 3:17 AM
Title: Re: Political Compass - International
Content:


Grigoris said:
As for Ortega...  Well, actually, he was democratically elected to the position of president in 2016.

Malcolm wrote:
So? Trump was democratically elected, as as Dutarte, Erdogan, etc. Just because one has been democratically elected does not mean one is immune from corruption and nepotism. Ortega is just as corrupt and nepotistic as Trump.

Grigoris said:
I didn't say that he wasn't.  But the scale has do do with authoritarianism, not corruption.

We could add a third axis: Corrupt-Honest.

I think you will find that most systems will cluster around one end of that scale!

Malcolm wrote:
I think you will find that all authoritarian states, right and left, are rife with corruption. It's the main reason for going authoritarian in the first place, so that one can practice corruption without impediment or consequences.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 23rd, 2020 at 2:49 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
DNS said:
Senator Rand Paul (KY) tests positive for Covid-19.

Malcolm wrote:
I don't like the fellow, but I hope he does not have any comorbidity which can cause complications, etc.

Nemo said:
Our reaction to the virus was slow until the wife of our PM contracted it while in England. It helps a lot when rich assholes realize they have skin in the game.

Malcolm wrote:
However, they have one line, and we have another. Trump even said as much on Wed, unapologetically, when asked why the rich and famous were getting tested and others were not.

If this does not convince the American people that we need a better health care system, nothing will.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 23rd, 2020 at 2:43 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
DNS said:
Senator Rand Paul (KY) tests positive for Covid-19.

Malcolm wrote:
I don't like the fellow, but I hope he does not have any comorbidity which can cause complications, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 23rd, 2020 at 2:41 AM
Title: Re: Political Compass - International
Content:
Grigoris said:
I am talking about the FSLN when it was actually a Liberation movement (in it's early phase).  Either way, compared to the Somozas and the Contras, the FSLN are rank amateurs on the authoritarian scale...

Malcolm wrote:
Hello to the new boss, same as the old boss:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 23rd, 2020 at 2:39 AM
Title: Re: Political Compass - International
Content:


Grigoris said:
As for Ortega...  Well, actually, he was democratically elected to the position of president in 2016.

Malcolm wrote:
So? Trump was democratically elected, as as Dutarte, Erdogan, etc. Just because one has been democratically elected does not mean one is immune from corruption and nepotism. Ortega is just as corrupt and nepotistic as Trump.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 23rd, 2020 at 2:21 AM
Title: Re: Political Compass - International
Content:


Grigoris said:
A number of examples come to mind:  The Sandinistas of El Salvador,  The EZLN of Chiapas.  The Kurds of Rojava, etc...

Malcolm wrote:
Sandinistas are in Nicaragua, and Ortega is just as corrupt as any right wing dictator.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/world/americas/nicaragua-uprising-protesters.html


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 22nd, 2020 at 10:54 PM
Title: Re: Victims of Communism
Content:
Dan74 said:
https://reut.rs/2xZmhsw?fbclid=IwAR0aJZncqWrzOukt3XEbPO1uyhmc9qknCA7-pMl3MjHf_X9LJS85SFqTXGQ

Malcolm wrote:
Obviously, covid-19 is a communist plot to take over the world. Everyone who is infected will be strong advocates for socialized medicine, UBI, and a lot of free stuff.

Meanwhile in America, citizens are buying up all the guns and ammos they can, in order to defend themselves against the corona zombies.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 22nd, 2020 at 10:11 PM
Title: Re: Political Compass - International
Content:
Grigoris said:
Authoritarian to Darwinian as an axis???  What does that even mean?  Darwin was a biologist.

Kim O'Hara said:
Sorry - my shorthand for the "nature red in tooth and claw" trope, the brutal, amoral battle for survival. I do know Darwin didn't think like that but radical libertarians have appropriated the notion and blamed it on him.
Have you got a better word for what I want to say?


Kim

Malcolm wrote:
The theory of natural selection and Spencer's Social Darwinism are entirely different animals.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 22nd, 2020 at 10:10 PM
Title: Re: Political Compass - International
Content:
Kim O'Hara said:
I suggested in "The Crisis of Capitalism" that an international political compass of some kind could be useful in our political discussions and - avoiding other work, tbh - I've drafted one myself because no-one else did.
It's very much a first draft, relying almost entirely on my own general knowledge and (unavoidably) prejudices. It will be far better when you have all laughed a bit (or screamed in outrage, as the case may be) and reposted it with suggested changes. Print it, scribble on it and scan it, or just say "Japan should be lower down" etc.


political-compass-version-1-0.jpg


Note that the horizontal axis is purely about ownership of property - it has nothing to do with political organisations. Also that a few blue boxes are reference points with no real-world equivalents.

Have fun with it - but please keep it pleasant and respectful.


Kim

Malcolm wrote:
Your chart is wrong when it comes to Trump and the Tea Party. Trump is the Tea Party president.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 22nd, 2020 at 10:08 PM
Title: Re: The limit of compounded phenomena
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
There is a limit to how far you can decompose a particle. The point is that Madhyamaka and Yogacara reject the limit proposed by Sautrantika, i.e. partless particles. The point which I mentioned holds true: when the particle one is decomposing ceases to be perceived through analysis, that perceived absence is the emptiness of that particle.

Grigoris said:
Which is like saying that the atmosphere around us is empty of phenomena, because we cannot perceive them, which technically is not correct.

But emptiness ultimately refers to the fact that phenomena arise on the basis of causes and conditions.  If we posit that there is a limit to their existence, then you have something arising from (absolutely) nothing.  That contradicts Nagarjuna's teachings.

It is one thing to say that we cannot PERCEIVE the causes and conditions beyond a certain point and another to say that there ARE no causes and conditions beyond a certain point.

Malcolm wrote:
"Arising from conditions" is simply a convention. The whole first chapter of the MMK is a proof that "arising from conditions" is not real, that it is merely a convention.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 22nd, 2020 at 2:48 AM
Title: Re: Victims of Communism
Content:
Grigoris said:
In recent years, the newspaper has also been noted for favorable coverage of the Trump administration, the German far right and the French far right.

Malcolm wrote:
As I said elsewhere, American "conservatives" under Trump = National Front. AdF, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 22nd, 2020 at 12:46 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Sādhaka said:
Then why are they, including Trump, trying to shut down people’s livelihood so aggressively?

Malcolm wrote:
People are dying, and going to die, in large numbers.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 21st, 2020 at 11:11 AM
Title: Re: 2020 Poll
Content:



Nicholas Weeks said:
Then pick Not voting or Not voting for President, unless you have a party outside of Dem & Rep on the ticket in your state.

Malcolm wrote:
Nemo is a Canadian. But the Canadians should be given a vote, since what we decide affects them tremendously. But still, he is Canadian.

Queequeg said:
They should have joined in the revolution.

Malcolm wrote:
They still can, as PeterC points out. Not sure they want to though. Our health care system is a cluster$&*# of major proportions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 21st, 2020 at 10:17 AM
Title: Re: Jobless claims
Content:



Queequeg said:
Good luck with it.

Malcolm wrote:
There is an easy solution to this: reduce interest rates to minus 2 percent; make loans at this rate to the USG, and those loans won't have to be paid back literally for centuries. Give the money to the people.

Queequeg said:
That would need to be paired with robust public's works, no? That's what seemed the correct answer the last go round. Instead we got nothing but Tarp and QE.

And with this I mean... To get out of this without just inflating the asset bubble again.

Malcolm wrote:
In an ideal world.

This isn’t that.

This, right now, is a complete shit show.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 21st, 2020 at 10:07 AM
Title: Re: 2020 Poll
Content:
Nemo said:
Where is the "building a new world on the ashes of the old" poll option?

I'm just not feeling choosing between assholes who will turn the economy back into a casino for the rich after all this is over.

Nicholas Weeks said:
Then pick Not voting or Not voting for President, unless you have a party outside of Dem & Rep on the ticket in your state.

Malcolm wrote:
Nemo is a Canadian. But the Canadians should be given a vote, since what we decide affects them tremendously. But still, he is Canadian.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 21st, 2020 at 5:23 AM
Title: Re: Jobless claims
Content:
Queequeg said:
How does an employer pay employees when all revenue stops in a matter of hours? The entire world economy is seizing. Laws like that are worth the paper they're written on. Symbolic at best.

Grigoris said:
How?  Because the government also froze all loan, insurance and tax payments for companies.

And, let's get serious for a second:  most companies (with employees) generally have a stock of money large enough to keep them afloat for a couple of weeks.

You also have to remember that in Greece; except for food and drink outlets, gas stations and tech firms, everything else is closed.  There is not really anywhere one can spend their money anyway.

Queequeg said:
Good luck with it.

Malcolm wrote:
There is an easy solution to this: reduce interest rates to minus 2 percent; make loans at this rate to the USG, and those loans won't have to be paid back literally for centuries. Give the money to the people.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 21st, 2020 at 5:22 AM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
BTW, Even sites like The Intercept - which is no friend of the Bidens, (and is known for excellent fact-based Journalism, regardless of it's politics) found there was no "scandal". Unlike most right-wing sources, which are simply bad journalism riddled with poor thinking.

https://theintercept.com/2019/05/10/rumors-joe-biden-scandal-ukraine-absolute-nonsense-reformer-says/

https://theintercept.com/2019/12/07/joe-biden-iowa-voter-hunter-damn-liar/

As you can see, The Intercept is hardly pro - Biden, and even they admit there's not a lot there....basically it was ethically questionable but not illegal.

So, this is pretty small potatoes compared to...geez, so many thing from the Trump admin. I mean, he has basically appointed his friends (who typically know nothing) to government posts, many of whom stand to profit nicely from slashing the budgets of the departments they've been placed a the head of.

If you want scandal, Biden is small potatoes.

Malcolm wrote:
Peanuts, not even potatoes, no matter how small.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 21st, 2020 at 2:38 AM
Title: Jobless claims
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Goldman Sachs predicts 2.25 million people filed jobless claims this week

Unknown said:
"They predict the report will show 2.25 million Americans filed for their first week of unemployment benefits this week — eight times the number of people who filed last week and the highest level on record.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/economy/unemployment-benefits-goldman-sachs/index.html


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 21st, 2020 at 2:13 AM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:


Fa Dao said:
And you dont think that being POTUS would be stressful..like..every single day?

Malcolm wrote:
Yeah, because stuttering is such a national security issue.


Fa Dao said:
If I would have meant every journalist thats what I would have said..I said they, in general, are biased

Malcolm wrote:
Biased towards what? You think Fox, etc., is "fair and impartial?" Name me a single newspaper or news outlet you think is unbiased. Then share with me what your standard for determining what "bias" is.

Fa Dao said:
So that Biden didn't make his presidency look corrupt of course he would cover for his son. You really dont find it questionable that Hunter Biden with no corporate or energy experience lands an $83 k/month job and his fathers connections didnt have anything to do with it?

Malcolm wrote:
As for your first response, this is just ridiculous. As Joe Biden would say, "C'm on, man."

As for the money, it is 50k a month, and all kinds of people are brought onto corporate boards for all kinds of reasons, experience in a given field is not necessarily a desiderata. Sorry, this just does not rate as a) corruption b) a scandal. It's what they call a nothing burger, grasping at straws.

Everyone gives the Bidens a hard time, but what about the McConnell-Chaos?

Fa Dao said:
President Trump’s transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, and her husband, Senator Mitch McConnell, are being accused of having profited from their commercial ties to Beijing. In 2004, the two had a net worth of about $3.1 million, according to public disclosures. Three years later, the range was $3.1 million to $12.7 million. The next year, their net worth rocketed to $7.3 million to $33.1 million.

What changed? In 2008, Ms. Chao’s father, James Chao, gave the couple a “gift” of $5 million to $25 million (politicians are required to report money in ranges, not exact amounts). Certainly, their wealth has continued to grow.

Mr. Chao’s generosity was made possible by the fortune he has amassed through his shipping company, Foremost Group, which has thrived in large part because of its close ties with the Chinese government. In late 1993, Mr. Chao and his son-in-law, Mr. McConnell, traveled to China as guests of the state-owned shipyard conglomerate and military contractor, China State Shipbuilding Corporation. There they met with an old classmate of Mr. Chao’s, the former Chinese president Jiang Zemin.

Mr. McConnell’s once hard-line condemnations of China softened in the years to follow. For example, as The New Republic has noted, Mr. McConnell went from telling University of Louisville students that America would never forget Tiananmen Square, in the late 1980s, to hosting the Chinese ambassador at the same school several years later, even as the ambassador publicly defended the regime’s suppression of the Falun Gong.

All along, the Chaos continued to gain influence. Mr. McConnell’s sister-in-law, Angela Chao, and James Chao sat on the board of the holding company for China State Shipbuilding. While Elaine Chao was secretary of labor under George W. Bush, Foremost Group ordered several enormous cargo ships from a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding. Secretary Chao and her father also appeared in several tandem interviews with Chinese media, and in at least one, they sit in front of the Department of Transportation’s emblem and alongside images of a book written by Mr. Chao. Today, Angela Chao sits on the board of the Chinese government’s Bank of China.

Last month, the House Oversight and Reform Committee started an investigation into whether Secretary Chao has leveraged her government positions to benefit her family. But so far there is no investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden. Defenders claim there must first be proof that a law was broken to open an investigation. That’s exactly backward. Congress can and should conduct an inquiry to determine whether anything illegal occurred.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/opinion/what-hunter-biden-did-was-legal-and-thats-the-problem.html

See any corruption here?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 10:18 PM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:


Fa Dao said:
Yes, and the sources you mention...they have no bias involved at all, do they? Gimme a break.. a stuttering problem due to stress? Thats the best they can come up with?

Malcolm wrote:
No, this is my personal observation. When Biden is not in a stressful situation, he is perfectly clear and lucid. His problem with stuttering is well known.


Fa Dao said:
And I had forgotten about the Anita Hill, 96 crime bill, and NAFTA..thanks for the reminder in case I was tempted to vote for him.
I suppose you get all your info from CNN, the NYT, and the Huff Post...no bias there..except they are all neoliberal establishment hacks.

Malcolm wrote:
So, you mean that every journalist who writes an article for these news sources are to be systematically disbelieved? That is some serious paranoia, friend.

Looks like you have taken the authoritarian bait, hook, line, and sinker. When you absolutely cease to trust the press on any level, then you really are out in the wilderness. At that point, you are at the total mercy of fascists.

And no, I do not get any news from Huffpo. CNN is just outrage of the day. It is not news, really, at least not the cable news show. They get all their news from the papers.

I get my news from FT, WSJ, NYT, Post, Guardian, Al Jazeera, SCMP, etc. I strictly avoid Russia Today.


Fa Dao said:
And you're right..it wasn't just Biden threatening to withhold money from the Ukraine..Obama knew about it..

Malcolm wrote:
Of course Obama knew about it, it was his policy and Joe Biden was just carrying it out—but it had nothing at all to do with Hunter Biden. You just defeated your own argument.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 9:34 PM
Title: Re: How To Deal with Homeless People?
Content:


Presto Kensho said:
Why are so many Californians fleeing to Texas, where the cost of living is lower?

Malcolm wrote:
Asked and answered. Of course, Texas is going blue too...slowly but surely.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 9:33 PM
Title: Re: How To Deal with Homeless People?
Content:
Presto Kensho said:
The Washington Post is hardly a bastion of right-wing propaganda, and yet it's noticed the difference in homelessness between red states and blue states:

Malcolm wrote:
From the same article:

This is in part because the state with the largest homeless population is California, where it’s much easier to be unsheltered than it is in, say, New York City. New York City is the area (referred to as a “continuum of care” by HUD) with the largest homeless population, but Los Angeles, San Jose and San Diego had the largest shares of the unsheltered population in January 2018.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 9:07 PM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


Simon E. said:
The advocates of such a view seem unaware that they have fallen into the trap of positing an atta.

Malcolm wrote:
Indeed.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 9:06 PM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:



Fa Dao said:
I guess we will have to wait and see on that. That being said a vote for Biden is a vote for the same old same old neoliberal democan/republicrat policies of Clinton. Bush, and Obama that we have had for nearly 30 years. And you are right...4 more years of Trump will be chaos in DC...not necessarily a bad thing. Some believe it could lead to a breaking of the stalemate of our supposed two party system..we could end up with a viable 3rd or even 4th party to choose from.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, but, at least it will be a sane Dem prez, house, and senate, unlike the shit storm we have today.

Fa Dao said:
Seriously? have you not been watching Biden obviously mentally deteriorate over the last year or so?

Malcolm wrote:
Biden is sane, and most of his gaffs are stress-related stuttering issues. He is not a liar on the scale of Trump.


Fa Dao said:
Not to mention his, shall we say, questionable business dealings with the Ukraine and China. As well as his history of screwing regular working people over in favor of credit card companies...and the list goes on. He bragged on national TV that he forced the Ukraine to fire the lead prosecutor in charge of investigating Burisma and his son.

Malcolm wrote:
Nonsense.

In an interview with Reuters in September, former Ukraine prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko said Hunter Biden’s position on the board when his father was vice-president raised no red flags. “From the point of view of Ukrainian law, (Hunter Biden) didn’t violate anything,” Lutsenko said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hunter-biden-ukraine/what-hunter-biden-did-on-the-board-of-ukrainian-energy-company-burisma-idUSKBN1WX1P7

In the sworn depositions of Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent, Lutsenko’s name appears two hundred and thirty times, nearly twice as often as Trump’s. Lutsenko, sometimes referred to simply as “the corrupt prosecutor general” of Ukraine, has been portrayed, hardly without reason, as an unscrupulous politician prone to telling lies to further his personal ambitions. As those closely following the news have learned, Lutsenko fed information to Giuliani, which Giuliani, Trump, and their allies spun to smear the reputations of the Bidens and of Yovanovitch, whom Trump fired in April. One of the House’s star witnesses told me, of Lutsenko, “I don’t think we’d be here if not for him.”

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/23/the-ukrainian-prosecutor-behind-trumps-impeachment

There are a lot of things about Biden that people ought not admire, like his treatment of Anita Hill, his support for the 1996 crime bill, NAFTA, and so on, you can even toss in his cozy relationship with the credit card companies, but the Burisma thing is complete bollocks, no more valid (i.e. totally invalid) than the Benghazi smear against HRC.


Fa Dao said:
He did exactly what they tried to impeach Trump over...admitted proudly to it on national TV. He's almost as bad as Hillary. And like I said, you watch..Hillary will be chosen as his running mate.

Malcolm wrote:
No, he did nothing like what Trump did. You have been paying too much attention to far-right extremists such as Fox News, RT, etc.

The facts are just not on your side. You can believe what you like, but your beliefs about this are not grounded in reality, sorry to say. Here are the facts:

“The position regarding getting rid of Shokin was not Vice President Biden’s position; it was the position of the U.S. government, as well as the European Union and international financial institutions,” said Amos J. Hochstein, former coordinator for international energy affairs at the State Department and one of the few administration officials who directly confronted Mr. Biden at the time about his son.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/10/us/politics/joe-biden-ukraine.html


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 7:32 PM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:


Fa Dao said:
Biden isnt picking anyone. The choice was made a long time ago. Hillary will be the VP and less than a year later Biden will step down and she will be POTUS. She and the DNC screwed Bernie and then lost to Trump when all the polls said Bernie could win. I didn't even vote last time because of it...(well I did vote for Bernie in the primaries) Bottomline...a vote for Biden will put Hillary in office and we will be back to the same old neoliberal crap of Obama, Bush, and Clinton.

Malcolm wrote:
Nope,  VP will either be Klobuchar or Harris, probably Klobuchar.

Fa Dao said:
I guess we will have to wait and see on that. That being said a vote for Biden is a vote for the same old same old neoliberal democan/republicrat policies of Clinton. Bush, and Obama that we have had for nearly 30 years. And you are right...4 more years of Trump will be chaos in DC...not necessarily a bad thing. Some believe it could lead to a breaking of the stalemate of our supposed two party system..we could end up with a viable 3rd or even 4th party to choose from.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, but, at least it will be a sane Dem prez, house, and senate, unlike the shit storm we have today.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 7:28 PM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
Beyond that, witnessing the fact that a bunch of (probably overwhelmingly poor) people here may very well frak die soon (possibly my parents) due to years of whittling away at our social safety net and meager public health system makes me really unsympathetic to people who somehow feel the conservative viewpoint isn't being properly represented on this forum, and that somehow this is an important issue to bring up right now. It just seems so trivial compared to well, my mother dying due to lack of available equipment, etc. Friggin' people should go hang out on another forum if they don't like or aren't willing to put up with the political demographics here, seriously. We aren't trying to make anyone believe anything or pushing any agenda, the demographics are what they are.

PeterC said:
Well as we've seen, the modern 'conservative' movement in the US doesn't believe that the majority of people should decide who governs, how government works, or what is acceptable in public discussion.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, we know who the real snowflakes are, and they are not on the left.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 11:28 AM
Title: Re: 2020 Poll
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Whether abortion is legal or not, women will continue to seek abortions. Where it is outlawed, or where access to abortion is restricted, women’s lives are placed in danger. So, one either chooses to understand that women need to be able to make this choice on their own, and wrestle with their own conscience, or keep dying because of illegal and botched abortions performed in back ally clinics. It’s more of a public health issue than anything else. And all arguments against abortion are religious in origin, none are based in science.

Presto Kensho said:
If all you want is for the government to stay out of abortion, why should taxpayers fund abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, like all the major 2020 Democratic presidential candidates propose? I didn't have doubts about the Democratic Party until recently, when it became the official position to support repealing the Hyde amendment.

Malcolm wrote:
Because sometimes nonviable pregnancies require late term abortions, and because abortion is generally illegal after the second trimester in virtually all jurisdictions. Again, it is a public health issue, not a moral one. And because it is a public health issue, some women need public funding.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 11:16 AM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
American “far left” = British Labour Party
American “left” =  British Liberal Democrats
American liberal = British Conservative Party
American Conservative  = National Front, AdF, etc.

Just saying...

Presto Kensho said:
Are there moderators on this forum with right-of-center political views? Comparing the American Republican Party to European Neo-Nazi parties is beyond the pale. This Tricycle article dispels the myth that all Buddhists share leftist political views:
https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/voting-buddhist/

Malcolm wrote:
I should have clarified, I meant Trump “conservatives,” people like Steve King, Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon, etc. Never Trump people are by constrast, “liberals.” If one still supports Trump, one is a racist, or at best, an enabler of racism. Since Trump now defines the GOP, suck it up.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 11:10 AM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:
DNS said:
I don't like Biden, but I'd vote for him if he picks Tulsi.

If he doesn't pick Tulsi, then I'd have to wait and see who he picks.

Malcolm wrote:
You ought to vote for him no matter what. We can't take four more years of chaos in our gvt.

Fa Dao said:
Biden isnt picking anyone. The choice was made a long time ago. Hillary will be the VP and less than a year later Biden will step down and she will be POTUS. She and the DNC screwed Bernie and then lost to Trump when all the polls said Bernie could win. I didn't even vote last time because of it...(well I did vote for Bernie in the primaries) Bottomline...a vote for Biden will put Hillary in office and we will be back to the same old neoliberal crap of Obama, Bush, and Clinton.

Malcolm wrote:
Nope,  VP will either be Klobuchar or Harris, probably Klobuchar.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 11:06 AM
Title: Re: Practices for epidemics and pandemics
Content:
quad said:
Fair enough. Though I don't remember that addendum in the Medicine Buddha sutra either.

Malcolm wrote:
In Buddhist medicine, there are “404” kinds of diseases; one hundred and one require little or no treatment; one hundred and one come from provocations and need to be treated with the proper rite; one hundred and one require medical treatment; and one hundred and one are karmic and can’t be treated at all in this life. This is a condensed list, and is not exhaustive. Medicine Buddha recitations will help the first three, but not the last.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 10:50 AM
Title: Re: Practices for epidemics and pandemics
Content:
quad said:
Any evidence that any of this is even remotely helpful?

The Medicine Buddha sutra says I should've been healed of my disease by now, after years of practice. It never did. Still sick. So either it's wrong, or I somehow practiced it incorrectly.

I've seen scores of people NOT be healed from whatever ailed them, doing medicine buddha practice, doing practices recommended to them by their gurus. I've seen lamas get sick and die, trying all these same practices. All the while, many of those sutras explicitly stated IT WOULD heal them. So is everyone, including the lamas, practicing it incorrectly, or are the sutras just plain wrong?

I'm pretty sure everyone who has spent some significant time in a Tibetan Dharma center can attest that none of the health related tantric practices work for anything that placebo and time couldn't have reasonably fixed alone.

I'm not going to disparage the entire Tibetan dharma here, but I think it's wildly magical thinking to suggest that mantras that couldn't even slightly help my autoimmune disease and brain tumor might help someone with coronavirus.

Malcolm wrote:
Karmic diseases can’t be helped by anything. How do we know we have a karmic disease? Nothing will cure it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 9:50 AM
Title: Re: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


Presto Kensho said:
Buddhism has always taught that abortion is the taking of an innocent human life.

Malcolm wrote:
Your statement is false.

In Buddhism, abortion is only considered the taking of a human life after the 19th week. How do we know this? A bhikṣu etc., only commits parajika, a complete defeat, if he causes an abortion after the 19th week. Prior to that, causing an abortion is not considered killing a human being.

All of the arguments against abortion hinge on religious beliefs. Therefore, they violate the establishment clause of the first amendment.

Minobu said:
From the moment of conception there is only way for that to develop into something......a human being...

cause and effect...you purposely kill even the embryo it's murder of a human being.

Maybe some Buddhist schools have it other wise but in 2020, it's not just life but we know it is human life form.
All of the arguments against abortion hinge on religious beliefs.
I was an atheist and never looked to any religion to help me judge whether the embryo is a human life form or not. Or whether it was murder or not.



Maybe to you in your mind it's all about religion to everyone with opinion on abortion, but it is not mine.


also unrelated to your post, i find the arrogance of basing abortion opinion on roe vs wade as spurious opinion .

Malcolm wrote:
Whether abortion is legal or not, women will continue to seek abortions. Where it is outlawed, or where access to abortion is restricted, women’s lives are placed in danger. So, one either chooses to understand that women need to be able to make this choice on their own, and wrestle with their own conscience, or keep dying because of illegal and botched abortions performed in back ally clinics. It’s more of a public health issue than anything else. And all arguments against abortion are religious in origin, none are based in science.

I, for one, do not want to have other people’s religious opinions, principally the opinions of men, turned into laws that affect a woman’s right to treat her own body as she needs.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 9:38 AM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:



Presto Kensho said:
Most people from the right, aside from radical libertarians, support some sort of social safety net.

Minobu said:
First i had to get used to the American use of the words "your a Liberal " , like it is a bad thing .

Now they look at libertarians as right wing  radicals.

Libertarians are social bent lefties.

carry on.....

Kim O'Hara said:
First, "left" and "right" have been used in so many different ways - and were so vague to begin with - that they are almost useless. "Liberal" and "conservative" are nearly as bad.
Second, the American political landscape and language is seriously weird from the viewpoint of the rest of the world, and even from the viewpoint of some Americans. (Americans on this site are far more aware of the weirdness than average, because they hang out here with foreigners who have told them about it for years. And they all have good values, too - they are Buddhists, right?)

Someone with a bit of spare time on their hands (coronavirus social distancing time, for instance) should compile a chart showing international equivalents of American political terms.


Kim

Malcolm wrote:
American “far left” = British Labour Party
American “left” =  British Liberal Democrats
American liberal = British Conservative Party
American Conservative  = National Front, AdF, etc.

Just saying...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 4:02 AM
Title: Corona conspiracy theories
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
This shit is totally nuts:

https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/pro-trump-oan-pushes-wild-conspiracy-theory-novel-coronavirus-was-created


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 3:42 AM
Title: Re: 2020 Poll
Content:


Presto Kensho said:
The coronavirus originated in China and the Chinese government actively suppressed health officials from alerting the public.

How is it different from using the term Spanish Flu? Before they decided to accuse Donald Trump of being racist against Chinese people, these same members of the media referred to the virus by its national or geographic origin.

I think Donald Trump should be doing more to denounce hate crimes committed against Asian people during this crisis, but it's a problem that won't be solved by repeating talking points from the Chinese government.


Malcolm wrote:
The Spanish flu did not start in Spain. It was called "the Spanish flu" because the Spanish papers were the first to report it since Spain had not imposed wartime censorship as they were not involved in the WWI.

The reason Trump is calling it "The Chinese Virus" is to counter claims made by a member of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, that it had been brought to Wuhan during some military athletic competitions in Oct.

However, it is about as accurate as the English calling syphilis, "The French Pox," and just as rooted in xenophobia.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 3:18 AM
Title: Re: How To Deal with Homeless People?
Content:
Presto Kensho said:
Why is it that areas of the country like Seattle and San Fransisco, which have been run by Democrats for decades, also have the country's worst homeless crises?

Malcolm wrote:
Simple answer. It's warm, not many biting insects, chiggers, ticks, and so on. It has nothing to do with Democrats or "liberal" policies—after all, this level of homelessness is the largely the result of 2008 financial crisis combined with the housing shortage caused by the success of Silicon Valley. Now it will get much, much worse, because "the beer virus."

Presto Kensho said:
I am not trying to advocate for one political party over another, but I left a liberal metropolitan area because the cost of housing was becoming so high.

Malcolm wrote:
That's called capitalism, something which you espouse.

Presto Kensho said:
I also wonder why we can't go back to the old days, when mentally ill people on the streets were put in mental hospitals. I know that mental hospitals have a bad reputation today, but they can be reformed and improved, and it would be a more humane alternative to leaving them on the streets.


Malcolm wrote:
Yup, the old "out of sight, out of mind" approach. or as they also used to say back in the old days,  "If thine eye offends thee, pluck it out."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 3:10 AM
Title: Re: 2020 Poll
Content:
Queequeg said:
A new combatant in the ring.


Malcolm wrote:
True, the Buddhism/politics ratio here is about 1:10.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 3:08 AM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:


Presto Kensho said:
Most people from the right, aside from radical libertarians, support some sort of social safety net. When Republicans are criticized for wanting to cut programs like Medicare and Medicaid, they are usually attempting to slow the rate of growth in these programs, rather than cutting the amounts currently spent.

Most people from the right, aside from radical libertarians, also support some form of taxation and regulation, but not so much that it ends up costing jobs.


Malcolm wrote:
“I can safely say that Americans will let you get awful hungry but they never quite let you starve.”

-- Woody Guthrie


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 2:58 AM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:



Presto Kensho said:
How well did the nationalization of major industries work out for Venezuela?

Malcolm wrote:
That was done by a nationalist government under Perez, in 1976.

Presto Kensho said:
Mixed economies tend to work out best in the real world, not blind ideology.


Malcolm wrote:
So you are Keynesian. Good. So was FDR, and so is Bernie Sanders.

Presto Kensho said:
And how is nationalization working out for Venezuela today?

Malcolm wrote:
I explained that already -- it worked out fine as long as oil prices were high.


Presto Kensho said:
Most people from the right, aside from radical libertarians, support some sort of social safety net.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, they are very good at ensuring corporations have a safety net. Regular folks? Not so much.


Presto Kensho said:
When Republicans are criticized for wanting to cut programs like Medicare and Medicaid, they are usually attempting to slow the rate of growth in these programs, rather than cutting the amounts currently spent.

Malcolm wrote:
Please.

Presto Kensho said:
Most people from the right, aside from radical libertarians, also support some form of taxation and regulation, but not so much that it ends up costing jobs.

Malcolm wrote:
Please.


Presto Kensho said:
The Democratic Party of today is not the party of FDR, John Kennedy, etc. Please remember the famous words of Ronald Reagan, that he didn't leave the Democratic Party behind, but that the Democrats left him behind.

Malcolm wrote:
For most Republicans of today, the GOP of Eisenhower would be communist.

Presto Kensho said:
Bernie Sanders has a long history of praising communist regimes.

Malcolm wrote:
Not exactly true. But Bernie is a die-hard leftist, and particularly when Reagan was funding the Contras, etc., he criticized our foreign policy. And, guess what? Cuba has produced excellent doctors for a long time now, as well as very good scientists and so on.  Much of the oppression of the Cuban Gvt. could have been prevented by us, if we were willing to work with the Cubans rather than isolating them as much as possible during the cold war.

And guess what? We still routinely oppress Native Americans, etc. So, we are not clean. Remember the Spanish-American War? The Mexican-American War before that? Vietnam? Iraq?

Presto Kensho said:
He even had his honeymoon in Soviet Russia.

Malcolm wrote:
False. His "honeymoon" was a business trip, actually. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bernie-sanders-honeymoon-russia/

Presto Kensho said:
Sanders now claims to be a Nordic-style democratic socialist, while appearing to be uninformed about how much Nordic countries have moved away from socialism in recent decades.

Malcolm wrote:
So Thomas Friedman claims.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 2:20 AM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The moral of the story is not the valorization of naked, Ayn Rand-style capitalism over socialism; the moral of the story is don't base your economy on a material assert. This is the reason the US dollar left the gold standard in 1971.

Presto Kensho said:
How well did the nationalization of major industries work out for Venezuela?

Malcolm wrote:
That was done by a nationalist government under Perez, in 1976.

Presto Kensho said:
Mixed economies tend to work out best in the real world, not blind ideology.


Malcolm wrote:
So you are Keynesian. Good. So was FDR, and so is Bernie Sanders.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 2:11 AM
Title: The Great Abortion Debate
Content:


Presto Kensho said:
Buddhism has always taught that abortion is the taking of an innocent human life.

Malcolm wrote:
Your statement is false.

In Buddhism, abortion is only considered the taking of a human life after the 19th week. How do we know this? A bhikṣu etc., only commits parajika, a complete defeat, if he causes an abortion after the 19th week. Prior to that, causing an abortion is not considered killing a human being.

All of the arguments against abortion hinge on religious beliefs. Therefore, they violate the establishment clause of the first amendment.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 2:05 AM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
It doesn't make her any better. Opportunist to the max. All my friends who live in HI think she is an idiot, and they are glad she is not running for her seat again.

DNS said:
Pretty much all politicians are opportunists.

* Look at Warren, she was a Republican well into her 40s.
* HRC campaigned for Goldwater.
* Bloomberg has been Republican, Democrat, and independent.
* Sanders is an independent, except when he runs for POTUS, then he becomes a Democrat.

I know, doesn't make it right, though.

Malcolm wrote:
HRC was a teenager.
Warren was a republican because her family was, until she encountered the real world.
Bloomberg only ran as a Republican to become mayor.
Sanders isn't a Democrat at all. They have to let him run as a Dem because he gets enough Dem signatures in VT.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 1:54 AM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:
DNS said:
I don't like Biden, but I'd vote for him if he picks Tulsi.

If he doesn't pick Tulsi, then I'd have to wait and see who he picks.

Malcolm wrote:
You ought to vote for him no matter what. We can't take four more years of chaos in our gvt.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 1:53 AM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:
DNS said:
Tulsi ends her campaign.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/politics/tulsi-gabbard-ends-2020-campaign/index.html

She endorsed Biden.

Malcolm wrote:
It doesn't make her any better. Opportunist to the max. All my friends who live in HI think she is an idiot, and they are glad she is not running for her seat again.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 1:43 AM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:


Presto Kensho said:
Just look at the situation in Venezuela today, which Bernie Sanders at one time praised as a better place for achieving the American dream than the United States:
https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/must-read/close-the-gaps-disparities-that-threaten-america

Malcolm wrote:
Actually, Sanders mentioned several S. American countries in that statement.

Some context: In 2011, oil prices were between 94.88 and 113.39. Venezuela was doing just fine at that time. The Venezuelan economy began to slowly collapse along with oil prices in 2014. The Maduro regime could not successfully navigate the sharp loss of oil revenues which began in 2014, etc. The Maduro gvt. then embarked on an antidemocratic path, supported by the Chavistas, and what we have now is the present situation.

The moral of the story is not the valorization of naked, Ayn Rand-style capitalism over socialism; the moral of the story is don't base your economy on a material assert. This is the reason the US dollar left the gold standard in 1971.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 12:22 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
It is fairly well known that non-steroidal anti-inflammatories mildly compromise the immune response.

Norwegian said:
Yep. Another doctor commenting on this news suggested that corticosteroids like Prednisolone should also be avoided in the same context, for the same reasons.

Dan74 said:
I am completely guessing at any connection here, but it did remind me of Reye Syndrome:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reye_syndrome

Malcolm wrote:
This also means that Chinese licorice too should probably be avoided, as well as turmeric in large quantities, and so on.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 20th, 2020 at 12:10 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Virgo said:
According to the WHO advil and other ibuprofin may be an aggravting factor in COVID-19:

https://news.yahoo.com/avoid-taking-ibuprofen-covid-19-symptoms-202007508.html

Just a note: there doesn't seem to be any concrete explanation at the moment as to why this may be the case, but this does come form health officials.

Virgo

Malcolm wrote:
It is fairly well known that non-steroidal anti-inflammatories mildly compromise the immune response.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 19th, 2020 at 9:12 AM
Title: Re: Small Sang Offering in a Flat
Content:
Könchok Thrinley said:
Hi,

due to many crises and general problems and conflicts, I would like to try offering sang at my home. However, I live in a flat on the 1st floor. Is there some way to offer small sang? I have just watched a video by Hun Lye and it seems possible. Does anybody else have any suggestions? My main deal is basically that I would hate to bother people too much, however at the same time a small amount of juniper smoke might not hurt right?


Malcolm wrote:
You can use a small amount of juniper, or even just regular incense


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 19th, 2020 at 9:10 AM
Title: Re: Why?
Content:




PadmaVonSamba said:
That’s silly.
The planting of karma is dependent on causes.
The continuation of karma is also dependent on causes.
The fruition of karma is likewise dependent on causes.
Eliminate causes anywhere along the way, and you eliminate the results.

Pull a sprout from the ground and it will never grow, unless replanted.

Malcolm wrote:
Karma is unerring. When one engages in an afflicted action, it will ripen when it meets its causes for ripening. The only way to prevent the ripening of karma is to remove its conditions for ripening. But since sentient beings are generally incapable of that...

Fortyeightvows said:
The what is repentance and four opponent powers?
Don’t they effect the cause ? Or only the condition?

Malcolm wrote:
Only the condition, never the cause.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 19th, 2020 at 8:58 AM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:



tkp67 said:
Funny how people who prescribe to labels deny the totality of human institutions as a representation of the whole of reality as formed by the expression of human nature.

The reality we all experience consists of such variation and variety. Some choose to shape it through conceptual proliferation some seek to come to understand its nature sans the nature of self and report what they see.

And the beat goes on ...

Malcolm wrote:
I think you mean "subscribe to labels." Reality is not merely an expression of human nature.

tkp67 said:
Yes thank you for the correction. I don't believe I equated human expression as defining reality but I do agree that it does not. Observing in light of an empty reality seems revealing.

Malcolm wrote:
You ought to reread what you wrote.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 19th, 2020 at 1:00 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Fortyeightvows said:
One lady I met at the store told me that she works for a hospital and that it should be at least 70 or 75 percent to work.

Malcolm wrote:
Maybe. There is no hard data on hand sanitizers.

Fortyeightvows said:
She was just talking about regular liquid alcohol

Malcolm wrote:
There is still no hard data on that. Like Nemo pointed out, soap is more reliable.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 19th, 2020 at 12:59 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:



Fortyeightvows said:
One lady I met at the store told me that she works for a hospital and that it should be at least 70 or 75 percent to work.

Malcolm wrote:
Maybe. There is no hard data on hand sanitizers.

Nemo said:
Soap works great on viruses. It inactivates them.

Malcolm wrote:
Yup, that is true. There is hard data for that.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 19th, 2020 at 12:58 AM
Title: Re: Why?
Content:


javier.espinoza.t said:
once it begins to ripen, karma can't be stopped.


PadmaVonSamba said:
That’s silly.
The planting of karma is dependent on causes.
The continuation of karma is also dependent on causes.
The fruition of karma is likewise dependent on causes.
Eliminate causes anywhere along the way, and you eliminate the results.

Pull a sprout from the ground and it will never grow, unless replanted.

Malcolm wrote:
Karma is unerring. When one engages in an afflicted action, it will ripen when it meets its causes for ripening. The only way to prevent the ripening of karma is to remove its conditions for ripening. But since sentient beings are generally incapable of that...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 19th, 2020 at 12:33 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:



Fortyeightvows said:
One lady I met at the store told me that she works for a hospital and that it should be at least 70 or 75 percent to work.

Malcolm wrote:
Maybe. There is no hard data on hand sanitizers.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 10:48 PM
Title: Re: Why?
Content:
Fa Dao said:
It is my understanding that prior to Padmasambhava coming to Tibet the Tibetans were very war-like and had conquered many smaller Asian countries as well as China...just a guess but that might account for their troubles now with China.

Malcolm wrote:
Nah, the Tibetan Gvt.,  religious, and aristocratic establishment was throughly corrupt and brutal. And, Tibetan politics had been dominated by China since the mid 18th century, apart from a 40 year or so hiatus after the fall of the Qing dynasty, and the inevitable war between the Kuomintang and the PLA.

The disintegration of the Tibetan Empire was partly an outcome of the reasons you mention, though Tibet's role as a conquerer has always been overstated, both by themselves and by some lazy historians. They were more like raiders than conquerers.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 10:42 PM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:
tkp67 said:
When capitalism is not tempered by democracy it becomes unbridled.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s funny how capitalists never notice their economic religion was first described by Karl Marx.

tkp67 said:
Funny how people who prescribe to labels deny the totality of human institutions as a representation of the whole of reality as formed by the expression of human nature.

The reality we all experience consists of such variation and variety. Some choose to shape it through conceptual proliferation some seek to come to understand its nature sans the nature of self and report what they see.

And the beat goes on ...

Malcolm wrote:
I think you mean "subscribe to labels." Reality is not merely an expression of human nature.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 12:14 PM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:
tkp67 said:
When capitalism is not tempered by democracy it becomes unbridled.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s funny how capitalists never notice their economic religion was first described by Karl Marx.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 9:49 AM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:
Nemo said:
What I'm hearing here is that we should build a wall and get America to pay for it.

Just kidding. Our PM asked Trump 3 times to let us close the border. He said nope.

Malcolm wrote:
China just expelled US journalists, so info out of China is going to sparse for the foreseeable.

PeterC said:
The US newspapers’ China coverage is, objectively, pretty awful.  For English-language coverage, the SCMP, Al-Jazeera and the Economist are way better.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s the principle of the thing.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 2:21 AM
Title: Re: Weird times
Content:


tkp67 said:
There is a chance with the world being hyper connected that a good portion of the world comes to know this, succinctly enough that it can be a basis for open mindedness in the future.

Malcolm wrote:
If history is any indication, it won't go like this.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 2:16 AM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:



tkp67 said:
If only American academia was completely (or even reasonably) abstracted from capitalism.

PeterC said:
You think everything modern comes from America?

tkp67 said:
How did you make stretch? How does the presentation of reality from one perspective automatically ensure that some converse perspective exists in contrast?

Malcolm wrote:
No up without down, no front without back, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 1:42 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/nyregion/coronavirus-new-york-update.html

It is going to be a long slow haul.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 1:33 AM
Title: Re: Weird times
Content:
Simon E. said:
Now in self isolation due to underlying health issues. At the risk of oversharing I intend to spend the entire time in my underpants.

Malcolm wrote:
Boxers? Just so I have a good picture.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 1:30 AM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:
Nemo said:
What I'm hearing here is that we should build a wall and get America to pay for it.

Just kidding. Our PM asked Trump 3 times to let us close the border. He said nope.

Malcolm wrote:
China just expelled US journalists, so info out of China is going to sparse for the foreseeable.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 at 11:18 PM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
200 nurses in CT are ill with the virus.

Queequeg said:
Holy shit. Source?

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/conn-gov-200-nurses-furloughed-due-to-lack-of-coronavirus-testing-danbury-hospital-at-capacity-80736325731

I misspoke, they are furloughed because they cannot get tests. The effect on capacity is the same.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 at 11:16 PM
Title: Re: Practices for epidemics and pandemics
Content:
dharmafootsteps said:
Malcolm, if we have transmission for multiple of these practices, would you recommend simply focusing more intensively on one, or is good to come at it from multiple angles so to speak e.g. sang and Tara in the morning, a wrathful practice and dorje kotrab in the evening?

Malcolm wrote:
Sang is for general purification of environment.

For personal protection, pick one.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 at 11:14 PM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:
tkp67 said:
wonder what the situation would like like if the existing medical and information technology that capitalism brought to the table didn't exist. Not that I am trying to sell people on capitalism but it seems it has brought benefit to the table regardless of shortcomings.

Nemo said:
Name one discovery created purely by private funds. And good luck. All they do is monetize research the public funds.

Even the mask shortage is capitalism's fault. Instead of developing reusable pandemic masks that could be disinfected in an autoclave we listened to 3M who told us that disposable single use masks were better. Or how to save money all hospital laundries were closed for private centralized geographic locations that served hundreds of institutions.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, Cuomo pointed out yesterday that the private health care system in the US has no incentive to built up excess inventory of anything in case of a pandemic, therefore he called on the Trump Admin to allow Army Corp of engineers to start building extra beds anywhere they can. However, 200 nurses in CT are ill with the virus. We are frak for the forseeable.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 at 10:23 AM
Title: Re: How does a country close down?
Content:
PeterC said:
This isn’t a close down. Power, water, emergency services, basic logistics, municipal waste and communications are all working everywhere.

In a complete closedown you have about 2-3 days before the roaming gangs of cannibals appear

Malcolm wrote:
People are stocking up on guns and ammo here.

shaunc said:
That may be true but it's also probably the only country in the world where people are stocking up on guns and ammunition.
In most other countries they're stocking up on non perishable foods and other grocery items.

Malcolm wrote:
I am aware.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 at 10:00 AM
Title: Re: How does a country close down?
Content:
PeterC said:
This isn’t a close down. Power, water, emergency services, basic logistics, municipal waste and communications are all working everywhere.

In a complete closedown you have about 2-3 days before the roaming gangs of cannibals appear

Malcolm wrote:
People are stocking up on guns and ammo here.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 at 9:58 AM
Title: Re: The Crisis of Capitalism.
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
You know capitalism is in a crisis when Mitt Romney actually proposes UBI.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 at 5:11 AM
Title: Re: How does a country close down?
Content:



DNS said:
Okay, good to hear. I guess my employees are safe and won't be forced to stay inside.

Malcolm wrote:
Hopefully you are offering them full pay if they do get sick.

DNS said:
Yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 at 4:56 AM
Title: Re: plages and the local guardians
Content:
javier.espinoza.t said:
Hi,

Does the plages, such as flu, covid, and alike, does affect the local guardians?

Thanks.

Malcolm wrote:
No.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 at 4:26 AM
Title: Re: How does a country close down?
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
people with vital jobs are authorized to continue working, etc. in Italy. That's how it's working here too on a more voluntary level (because we aren't as bad as Italy..yet). My wife works in the legal system and she is still working, some types of cases are suspended, lots of safety precaution etc. The bare bones stuff to keep society running (albeit at a very reduced rate) continues.

DNS said:
Okay, good to hear. I guess my employees are safe and won't be forced to stay inside.

Malcolm wrote:
Hopefully you are offering them full pay if they do get sick.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 16th, 2020 at 10:22 PM
Title: Re: The essence of the Buddhist schools in one sentence
Content:
seeker242 said:
Seon: Who are you? What is this?


Malcolm wrote:
Hasn't this man ever seen an orange before?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, March 16th, 2020 at 2:42 AM
Title: Re: Practices for epidemics and pandemics
Content:
XXIlluminatingVoid72 said:
Thanks for this Malcolm.

Could you remind us what vajrayana dieties control the Mamo class? Senge Dongma? Or is it best to practice dieties that are said to control all 8 classes. I've been practicing Garuda, Vajrakila, Dorje Drollod, and Tukdrup Barche Kunsel

Malcolm wrote:
This is fine.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 15th, 2020 at 11:29 PM
Title: Re: Practices for epidemics and pandemics
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
There has been a lot of recommendations one sees in various places on line for what kinds of practices one should be doing during this time. Here is my list of essential practices. Most of these are concerned with pacifying the eight classes, In particular, these diseases are spread by Mamos.


Orgyen Menlha/Medicine Buddha-- best to do for people when they are ill.

Chod practice for those who are ill.

Preventative practices:

Riwo Sangchod-- this or any general rite of Sang is important for everyone to do during this time because these outbreaks are always a result of our general contamination and disrespect of the environment, as well as violation of our three vows. This practice is used to purify ourselves, and in this way, acts as a rite of repelling.

Wrathful pratices such as Takhyung Barwa, Guru Dragpgur, Dorje Drollo, Vajrapani, and so on, which are used to pacify and control the eight classes.

The Golden Libation for the Eight Classes by Nubchen (degyed serkhyem), again, used to appease local deities, etc.

Parnashavari is particularly effective in this time.

Dorje Gotrab, but one needs to do a three day silent retreat on this practice.

Tārā, especially the 20th Tārā mantra.

Reciting Barche Kunsel and Sampa Lhundrup.

For those who do not have Vajrayāna empowerment, reciting the Heart Sutra with the repelling rite is effective.

Obtain and wear a Nagpo Gujor pill. Consult your guru for how to use it best.

Wash your hands frequently, reciting the Seven Line prayer to Padmasambhava slowly while doing so = three happy birthdays.

Stay home and practice.

Punya said:
In order to recite the Parnashavari mantra do you need a specific empowerment or is any HYT Tara empowerment sufficient?

Malcolm wrote:
You need the oral transmission, at minimum.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, March 15th, 2020 at 10:43 PM
Title: Re: Weird times
Content:
Dan74 said:
It seems people are panicking a little quieter here at the moment. The shelves are getting emptied out but then restocked. On Friday the Federal Council announced closures of all schools and tertiary institutions and border controls and I think that finally tilted the balance somewhat towards panic. But I was shopping just afterwards and while the trolleys were a bit fuller than usual, the people didn't seem overly frazzled. In the meantime, individual Cantons (States) introduce harsher measures such as closure of all non-essential shops. It feels like we are not too far from an all-out curfew.

I just saw that Germany has closed the Swiss border.

But in the meantime, I don't think people are taking social distancing all that seriously. Maybe beginning too now, even as it's been drummed into us for the past 3 weeks. Tomorrow we have a teachers' meeting in Bern to work out how this Distance Education thing is going to go. I teach at the largest Bernese gymnasium as well as at the Technical University of Bern, both of which will be closed for some time, I expect, though there is talk of exams being help under safe conditions.


Malcolm wrote:
I could not understand why people were hoarding toilet paper in the US, but then someone pointed out to me that every time some sneezes, everyone shits their pants.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 14th, 2020 at 7:10 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Nemo said:
We aren't the good guys anymore.

Malcolm wrote:
We never were, apart from one week after we helped defeat Fascism after WWII.

Pretty hard to call a country that's legacy is built on genocide and slavery "the good guys."

Nemo said:
You did avoid preying on your own citizens to some extent with the New Deal and your allies were able to avoid your colonial adventures. As the empire shrinks you are colonizing your own territory with the techniques that were perfected overseas.

Malcolm wrote:
Not really. We actually perfected that here and then exported it, just like our mentors, the Brits.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 14th, 2020 at 4:42 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Nemo said:
We aren't the good guys anymore.

Malcolm wrote:
We never were, apart from one week after we helped defeat Fascism after WWII.

Pretty hard to call a country that's legacy is built on genocide and slavery "the good guys."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 14th, 2020 at 4:40 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Well, at least someone is doing something about it in India: gaumutra parties!

https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/n7jq8q/hindu-mahasabha-fighting-coronavirus-cow-piss-and-dung-party

Unknown said:
The Hindu Mahasabha, the same guys who had earlier said that coronavirus is the angry avatar of a Hindu god who has unleashed its wrath to punish non-vegetarians, is now convinced that the only reason India has seen a surge in cases is because some Telangana ministers angered the avatar by eating chicken on a public stage. They not only want these ministers, who were ironically trying to bust the myth that eating chicken causes coronavirus, to apologise to “corona” if they want to put a stop to the catastrophe, but also have another amazing idea. Their miraculous solution to this public health crisis is to rely as they always do on the magical healing properties of their chosen mother: the holy cow.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 14th, 2020 at 1:50 AM
Title: Re: Practices for epidemics and pandemics
Content:
Mantrik said:
Thank you.
Would the Riwo Sangcho from the Rigdzin Sogdrub be suitable?
How about Sangchod and Serkyem of the 8 Classes from ChNN?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes and yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 14th, 2020 at 1:35 AM
Title: Re: Practices for epidemics and pandemics
Content:
Könchok Thrinley said:
Thank you Malcolm! This is a great advice and puts things into context.

Would practice od Dharma protectors, such as Achi, help?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, definitely. Especially Palden Lhamo.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 14th, 2020 at 12:43 AM
Title: Re: Practices for epidemics and pandemics
Content:
Misty said:
“For those who do not have Vajrayāna empowerment, reciting the Heart Sutra with the repelling rite is effective.”

Thank you
What is a “repelling rite”?
Is there a simple one that can be offered here for those of us who have not received Vajrayana guidance?

Malcolm wrote:
You add this to any translated version of the Heart Sūtra you find:


Namo homage to the Gurus; homage to the Buddha, homage to the Dharma, homage to the Sangha, homage to the Great Mother, the Perfection of Wisdom, may our words be accomplished in dependence upon the might and power of paying you homage!

Just as long ago, Sakra, the king of the gods, thinking of the profound meaning of the Great Mother, the Perfection of Wisdom, and in dependence on the might and power of reciting the words was able to ward of evil Māra, and so on, likewise, also by our thinking of the profound meaning of the Great Mother, the Perfection of Wisdom, and in dependence on the might and power of reciting the words, by the power of the truth of the Three Noble Jewels, may all that is contrary to me and my companions’ practice of the sublime Dharma be repelled immediately! (clap) May it be prevented! (clap) May it be pacified! (clap) May it be totally pacified! (clap)

May the activities of the māras—
such as deceiving sentient beings about
method, refuge, purity,
Mahāyāna, and renunciation—be averted.

May all misdeeds which arise
from action and affliction—
the cause of unbearable fear and the origin of suffering
for limitless living beings along with myself—be pacified.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, March 14th, 2020 at 12:00 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Dan74 said:
All schools and unis closed here at least until April 4, but probably longer. No gatherings over 50 people allowed. All borders staffed and checked.

Nicholas Weeks said:
Where is 'here'?

Malcolm wrote:
He lives in Switzerland.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 11:58 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Nicholas Weeks said:
But some good news:
Nepal has closed all of its Himalayan peaks, including Mount Everest this climbing season, because of fears of the coronavirus outbreak, a government minister said on Friday.

Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, gets more than four million dollars in permit fees for the world’s highest peak and other mountains every year.

Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai said expeditions to all peaks in the March-May spring season had been suspended.

“Climbing this season has been closed,” Bhattarai told Reuters.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, this is good news. There is a prediction by Guru Rinpoche in the Konchog Chidu (Embodiment of All Jewels) that reads:

Taking life, deceptive trade practices, are each poisonous supports. Competing in skill at theft and plunder, teachers who take the life of virtue are made into one’s mother. “Father” is not heard by children, “master” is not heard by servants, “lord” is not heard by subjects. The wicked are in full bloom. Ornaments are made into weapons. Dharma activities shorten one’s life, but misdeeds raise one’s spirits. The temples fall into disrepair. Since the negative local spirits spread, there is much frost and hail. Mamos and ḍākinīs spread contagious diseases among children, adult diseases for adults, cattle diseases for cattle, and blights on harvests, etc., will appear suddenly like dust devils. Tree wither above the roots, families are destroyed by famine. Rats invade the land.

At that time, there are no Dharma activities, and since misdeeds increase, cause and result is ignored. Because of the power of the ten misdeeds, etc., the merit of Tibet sinks lower and lower. Pekar possess bhandhes, only a few men possess vows. Since demons and spirits possess mantra practitioners, commitments do not exist and illness increase. Since gyalpos possess men, they start civil wars. Since the sen mo possess women, they commit adultery, administer poisons and are deceptive. Since the'u rang possess children, they steal, have fevers, and are badly behaved. There are many madmen and rabid dogs. Since the food portions of sentient beings diminish, the essence of their elements is harmed. Efforts will be made to reach the top of the Himalayas and there will be farming on the mountains.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 11:47 PM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
haha said:
Here is another presentation of truth.

Malcolm wrote:
The three natures in the Yogacāra Sūtras and treatises are clearly not the same in intent as the Tien Tai presentation. I've already addressed this.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 11:38 PM
Title: Practices for epidemics and pandemics
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
There has been a lot of recommendations one sees in various places on line for what kinds of practices one should be doing during this time. Here is my list of essential practices. Most of these are concerned with pacifying the eight classes, In particular, these diseases are spread by Mamos.


Orgyen Menlha/Medicine Buddha-- best to do for people when they are ill.

Chod practice for those who are ill.

Preventative practices:

Riwo Sangchod-- this or any general rite of Sang is important for everyone to do during this time because these outbreaks are always a result of our general contamination and disrespect of the environment, as well as violation of our three vows. This practice is used to purify ourselves, and in this way, acts as a rite of repelling.

Wrathful pratices such as Takhyung Barwa, Guru Dragpgur, Dorje Drollo, Vajrapani, and so on, which are used to pacify and control the eight classes.

The Golden Libation for the Eight Classes by Nubchen (degyed serkhyem), again, used to appease local deities, etc.

Parnashavari is particularly effective in this time.

Dorje Gotrab, but one needs to do a three day silent retreat on this practice.

Tārā, especially the 20th Tārā mantra.

Reciting Barche Kunsel and Sampa Lhundrup.

For those who do not have Vajrayāna empowerment, reciting the Heart Sutra with the repelling rite is effective.

Obtain and wear a Nagpo Gujor pill. Consult your guru for how to use it best.

Wash your hands frequently, reciting the Seven Line prayer to Padmasambhava slowly while doing so = three happy birthdays.

Stay home and practice.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 10:10 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Nemo said:
The survival of the fittest noises your politicians are making needs to be stamped out.

Malcolm wrote:
Are you kidding, it's all about the ratings, got to keep those ratings up no matter who dies.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 10:07 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
smcj said:
Rachel Maddow interviewing someone about China’s protocols.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/how-a-country-serious-about-coronavirus-does-testing-and-quarantine-80595013902?cid=sm_fb_maddow&fbclid=IwAR36P0RiXWvxBzhwtlgARhV5QmxgSNKF2GELNi3mU4IHKyz80wjgjzZ5Bxo

Dictatorships can be more efficient. Usually that’s bad, but sometimes it’s good.

Malcolm wrote:
Yeah, and what happens when they start letting people move around again? And, as far as I concerned, China is not telling the truth about their numbers.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 9:56 PM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:


haha said:
In other words, T’ien-t’ai explains that the situation in which nothing is reflected in the mirror is the mirror’s natural or potential state
(kutai), while the image of all that is reflected in the mirror represents temporal existence (ketai), and the mirror itself possesses both potential and temporal existence, which represents the entity of the Middle Path (chutai).

Malcolm wrote:
This is all within the domain of relative truth.

haha said:
No, it is not.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, it is:

The Pratyutpannebuddhasaṃmukhāvasthitasamādhi Sūtra states:
Bhadrapāla, not perceiving, conceiving, establishing, thinking of, or engaging in either of these two extremes, peace and absence of peace, is explained in mundane relative truth as as 'the middle way' as an enumeration, but these extremes and middle are not perceived in the ultimate.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 9:51 PM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:



tkp67 said:
I hope this finds everyone well this morning.

Malcolm wrote:
Thanks, just fine so far.

tkp67 said:
I’m going to make very wide generalisation here but Tibettan Buddhist imported Indian Buddhism enmass in one short period so they have quite complete collection from that period of Indian Buddhism.

Malcolm wrote:
False. Buddhism first entered Tibet during the Mid-7th century, where it briefly flourished among the aristocracy. During the eight century, Me Agtsom (704-755) was married a Chinese princess, Jincheng (?-739), and she brought Chinese Buddhism with her in 710. She died in a smallpox epidemic, and that epidemic prompted an anti-Buddhist reprisal.

Next, the son of another wife of Me Agtsom assumed the throne in 755, Trisong Detsen (742-794). He was pro-Buddhist, and during the decade of 760, he invited teachers from both China and India, and the project of translating Buddhist texts began during his reign. Shortly before his death in 794, he chose Indian Buddhism as the de facto standard, and invited the Chinese Buddhist monks to leave Tibet. He passed in 794, and his sons took up the task of continuing the sponsorship of translation, etc.

During this period, in general, it was prohibited to translate any esoteric Buddhist texts apart from what we term "lower tantra," identical for the most part with the texts that support the esoteric Buddhism of Shingon and Tientai. To do so required royal permission. Some of these texts were translated, but their practice was restricted.

In 844, the Tibetan Empire collapsed with the assassination of King Langdarma, ostensibly due to his suppression of Buddhist monasteries, but more likely over the novel idea that they should be subject to taxation. This marked the end of the early translation period.

During the 970's, after the remnants of the Tibetan empire regrouped in West Tibet, the Buddhist Sangha was revived from remnants that had survived in Eastern Tibet, and once again, missions were sent forth to gather Buddhist teachings. This period of collecting and translating Buddhist texts lasted until the middle of the 15th century. However, the main lines of Tibetan Buddhist schools were firmly drawn in the 12th century.  So, this opinion above is not accurate. It took the Tibetan 5 centuries+ to consolidate their canon.

tkp67 said:
Chinese Buddhism, due to distance from India, imported Indian Buddhism in piecemeal fashion over a long period of time.

Malcolm wrote:
See above, this the same as in Tibet.

tkp67 said:
While Chinese Buddhism occasionally possess early version of sutra not found in Tibet, overall, its collection of sutra are disorganised and many of sutra provance being uncertain. In Chinese Buddhist theology, it is legitimate topic to debate if certain sutra is a forgery.

Malcolm wrote:
There are many debates in Tibet over which texts collected in the canon were forgeries and which were authentic. These debates continue to this day.

tkp67 said:
This create two distinct approach to theology. In Tibettan Buddhism, all available sutra are deemed authentic. Therefore, their theological approach is to synthesise these collection (like Gelug).

Malcolm wrote:
Not so. However, the fundamental criteria is whether or not a sūtra, tantra, or a treatise had a Sanskrit original.

tkp67 said:
Tantien/Tendai school is based on the founder’s theology which is to split Shyakamuni buddha’s life into 5 period, and his teaching into 8. I’m not expert to get into detail but basically, immediately after obtaining the enlightenment, Buddah taught his pure teaching (Avataṃsaka/Kegon sutra) to his students. However, he realised that his students are not being able to comprehend some higher aspect of enlightenment so, Buddha taught easy beginner’s version (Agama/Agon sutra) in early period while he taught supreme version in later period (Lotus/Hokke sutra), and also just before he dies and enter nirvana (Nirvana/Nehan sutra).

Malcolm wrote:
This scheme never entered Tibet, as far as I can tell, nor were Zhiyi's texts ever studied widely in Tibet, if at all. Ironically, following the Korean Yogacāra scholar Wongchuk, a direct disciple of Hsuan Tsang, Tibetans follow the scheme of the three turnings of the wheel.

tkp67 said:
Tantaric Buddhis emerged quite later in Indian Buddhism and consequently, it was brought into China as something of newly discovered Buddhism. Therefore, there is a great debate in China about its authenticity, while in Tibet, its authenticity is presumed from outset.


Malcolm wrote:
While it is true that the Tibetans did not question that authenticity of what is known in Tibet as yoga tantra (i.e. more or less the same texts that Shingon and Tendai use), there were many controversies about the interpretation of some of the texts that were translated into Tibetan during the early period, which we now know as highest yoga tantra, and these controversies became particularly pointed during the later translation period.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 8:30 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Queequeg said:
In NYC, Mayor has stated that he will fight "tooth and nail" to keep the public schools open.

The main reasons appear to be:
1. There are many children who would not be able to eat if school is canceled; many poor children rely on school lunches.
2. Without school, many parents who cannot afford it will be forced to take off work.

There are some ramifications that have been discussed - if children are out of school, they may end up with grandparents or other older people who are at greater risk if they are infected.

I have two small children and one aspect about them I accept is that they are little disease vectors - whatever is going around schools will get to the rest of our family. My parents are in good health but old - I'm most worried about them.

Even though my children's school is not suspended, I am wary about sending them.

I've heard that covid doesn't spread as easily among children... is this true? I figure you fellas can thoroughly talk an issue like this out.

Malcolm wrote:
Keep them at home, friend.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 8:26 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Wayfarer said:
Infection rates in Wuhan, in particular, and China, generally, seem to have peaked and are declining:
In China, where the epidemic began, the daily case numbers continue to drop. On Wednesday, just 24 new infections were reported, 10 of which involve people who had traveled abroad, suggesting a lower rate of community transmission, according to health authorities.

China's National Health Commission said six new cases had been reported in the capital, Beijing, but that five of them were patients who had traveled to Italy and the sixth to the U.S., according to the South China Morning Post.

The precipitous drop in new cases in China, where 80,778 cases have been diagnosed since the outbreak began in December, caused local officials to begin relaxing travel restrictions that were imposed in January, as the government struggled to contain the virus' spread.
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/11/814343063/as-coronavirus-in-china-wanes-italy-south-korea-see-brunt-of-epidemic

I think the predictions of tens of millions or hundreds of millions of deaths are wildly overstated.
Between 160 million and 214 million people in the U.S. could be infected over the course of the epidemic, according to one projection. That could last months or even over a year, with infections concentrated in shorter periods, staggered across time in different communities, experts said. As many as 200,000 to 1.7 million people could die.


And, the calculations based on the C.D.C.’s scenarios suggested, 2.4 million to 21 million people in the U.S. could require hospitalization, potentially crushing the nation’s medical system, which has only about 925,000 staffed hospital beds. Fewer than a tenth of those are for people who are critically ill.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/us/coronavirus-deaths-estimate.html


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 8:06 PM
Title: Re: Interesting immigration numbers
Content:
Fa Dao said:
Real simple JD.."respect our laws and culture" means to come here legally. And in regards to the other things you mentioned..they are pissed off and have been for decades feeling that their concerns are not listened to by our elected officials. Thats why Trump got elected..whether he really is listening and trying to actually do something about it is another thing but there is an awful lot of people who believe he is.

Malcolm wrote:
Trump was elected by a fluke, 77k votes that got him the electoral college, but more people voted for Hillary.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 10:28 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
Just a note on priorities:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/politics/coalition-airstrikes-retaliation-iraq/index.html

Nemo said:
Wow, kicking an enemy that poses no real threat while he's down. I thought the embargo of essential medicines was bad. If destabilizing Iran works that will really help with containing the raging epidemic that threatens us all.

Malcolm wrote:
American foreign policy concerning Iran has been deranged for decades.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 6:45 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
No, not at all. For example...

Queequeg said:
How's this?



That's wonderful. Really.

Still smh.

Malcolm wrote:
well, its pretty simple.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 6:02 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
Queequeg said:
Sure. The Two Truths teaching doesn't address it either, and we agree that's not the purpose of the teaching.

Malcolm wrote:
Not so, the two truths do address it. To put another way: the basis is the two truths; the path is method and wisdom (upāya and prājña); the result is the two kāyas.

Queequeg said:
Now you're moving goal posts. You're referring to creative extrapolation. smh

Malcolm wrote:
No, not at all. For example, The Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra in 18,000 Lines states:

Śariputra, though the bodhisattva mahasattva dwells in the two truths and teaches the dharma to sentient beings, Śariputra, within the two truths, no sentient being is perceived and no sentient is designated; on the other hand, the bodhisattva mahasattva engages in the perfection of wisdom through skillful means and teaches sentient beings. Also, they do not perceive those sentient beings as selves in this lifetime, what need mention what is attained and who attains it? Śariputra, the bodhisattva mahasattva who practices the perfection of wisdom teaches the dharma to sentient beings with skillful means.

Here, for example, one can see the relationship between the two truths and the pair of method and wisdom laid out quite clearly.

Or take for example The Discourse of Vimalakīrti Sūtra:

The mother of bodhsattvas
is the perfection of wisdom,
their father is skillful means—
the guides born from those.
 
Their wives are the joy in dharma,
their daughters are love and compassion,
their sons are the dharma and the two truths,
and the meaning of emptiness is the house of the mind.


Queequeg said:
smh.

Malcolm wrote:
You might get a crick in your neck with so much shaking.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 5:30 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:



Dan74 said:
I don't think so. The entire Western world is more or less doing this.

Malcolm wrote:
Oh, you missed my point--the pandemic is the outcome of authoritarian hamfistedness.

Dan74 said:
Do you mean the Chinese reacting slowly? Or which?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, and the present clusterf*&^ being created by Mr. Trump, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 4:52 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:


Queequeg said:
I will readily agree with you - there is no middle.

Malcolm wrote:
Then there is no third truth.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 3:39 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Dan74 said:
Right. So it is a balancing of the economy and containment. I thought as much. Of course this is not said. So much for open societies... they treat the voters as children..

Malcolm wrote:
Well, this is the shit that happens when you vote fascists and crypto-fascists like Trump into power.

Dan74 said:
I don't think so. The entire Western world is more or less doing this.

Malcolm wrote:
Oh, you missed my point--the pandemic is the outcome of authoritarian hamfistedness.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 3:36 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
SteRo said:
To discuss about truth(s) is kind of silly.

Malcolm wrote:
It's entertainment.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 3:35 AM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:
Karma Dondrup Tashi said:
Why does Peterson get this so wrong? He simply doesn’t care to present a more complex narrative that would problematize his cute and hyperbolic story about the left.

The idea that postmodernism is simply Marxism by another name would surely surprise many on the Left who regard the two as inimical to one another. Postmodernism largely emerged as a reaction against the thoroughly modernist narrative underpinning Marxist theory. It is an aesthetic and philosophical rejection of the “grand narrative” claims of individuals like Marx, who believed that there was a “science of history” which could be discerned by acute dialectical materialists. Post-modernists in the vein of Foucault and Derrida problematize the idea that one can develop such objective “sciences” ...

When you boil it down, most of Peterson’s aversion toward the Left stems from a distaste for the style of its activists, rather than anything of substance. https://merionwest.com/2018/06/03/a-critique-of-jordan-peterson/

Malcolm wrote:
Sounds like our buddy, Nicholas Weeks.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 2:45 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
smcj said:
So much for open societies... they treat the voters as children..
The Chinese treated their citizens like cattle—but it worked.

Malcolm wrote:
I call bullshit. They have a vested interest in lying.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 2:45 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Dan74 said:
Right. So it is a balancing of the economy and containment. I thought as much. Of course this is not said. So much for open societies... they treat the voters as children..

Malcolm wrote:
Well, this is the shit that happens when you vote fascists and crypto-fascists like Trump into power.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 2:24 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
Queequeg said:
Other aspects are the dynamic function of Buddha in relation to beings. Again, this might be viewed as a function of experience.

Malcolm wrote:
Which is only in the relative, again. You keep positing that some connection between the ultimate and relative is needed. It isn't.

Queequeg said:
Alternatively, to be conditioned is itself to be empty. Seeing emptiness does not displace the conditioned. The indivisibility is the insight of the middle.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no middle, that's the point.

The Pratyutpannebuddhasaṃmukhāvasthitasamādhi Sūtra states:

Bhadrapāla, not perceiving, conceiving, establishing, thinking of, or engaging in either of these two extremes, peace and absence of peace, is explained in mundane relative truth as as 'the middle way' as an enumeration, but these extremes and middle are not perceived in the ultimate.

The Samputa Tantra puts it this way: "Neither empty nor not empty; there is nothing to perceive in the middle."

Or to paraphrase Santideva: "When neither an entity nor a nonentity appear to the mind, there being no alternative, the mind is pacified."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 2:09 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
so our means are not so skillful.

Queequeg said:
You can say that again!
No third truth is needed to address how the Buddha and ārya bodhisattvas act skillfully for the benefit of sentient beings.
Sure. The Two Truths teaching doesn't address it either, and we agree that's not the purpose of the teaching.

Malcolm wrote:
Not so, the two truths do address it. To put another way: the basis is the two truths; the path is method and wisdom (upāya and prājña); the result is the two kāyas.

Queequeg said:
The Three Truths does. Maybe its not needed, but as you don't know the minds of others, I think its really beyond your knowledge to categorically declare that what is and what is not needed. This, like many of the things you've stated in this thread is your opinion.

Malcolm wrote:
The two truths indeed address address upaya, upaya is just something relative. Nothing more. This is why there are so many different upayas. Some are skillful (upāyakauśalya), some are just methods (upāya).

Queequeg said:
Implicit in Ekayana (one vehicle) and primordial buddhahood is the teaching on upaya; upaya is extensively addressed in the Lotus. That's a very simplistic way to summarize it.

Malcolm wrote:
Right, and when discussions on upaya are addressed, the burning house metaphor is invoked, but in general, the sūtra usually resorted to to explain upaya is the Upāyakauśalya Sūtra, which is usually relied upon more, probably because that is the source of the sea captain murdering the thief trope. But in terms of buddhological doctrine, the important points of the Lotus are not so much about upaya, because there are many sutras that address this, but rather, primordial buddhahood and ekayāna, because there are not so many sutras that address those two points.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 1:50 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:



tkp67 said:
So you can see based on even our small sampling that sentient beings need them both equally and both are deserving of respect.

I vs Us

Malcolm wrote:
This is thread is not about upaya, it is about truth.  You lotus folks constantly conflate these two issues. Upaya only belongs to relative truth. There is only one ultimate truth.

tkp67 said:
How do you know they don't reside harmoniously in the mind of Lotus folks? How do you know the conflation isn't due ignorance regarding the lotus teachings? Which is perhaps that they conflate these things in the first place.

Malcolm wrote:
I can only report on what I observe in your statements. Upaya is something relative, not ultimate. Buddhas realize the ultimate, and then help sentient beings in the relative. One does not need complicated theories to understand this.

Also, one does not need to forge some link between the ultimate and relative, just as one does not need to forge a link between water and wetness, fire and heat, dharmin and dharmatā, and so on.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 1:27 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Nemo said:
We really blew it.

Malcolm wrote:
Yup, screwed the pooch completely.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 1:24 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
tkp67 said:
The buddha never seemed to begrudge the differing capacities of others but rather sought to liberate them all the same, without slight or bias.


Malcolm wrote:
Yes, but your so-called "three truths" were not taught by the Buddha. As for the Buddha himself, he only taught two truths, not three.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 1:23 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:



tkp67 said:
Chronographical context is empty until you put something in it like teleological intent. I think that is one of the points of EA contemplation.

In this way the LS is a proof of practice and not meant to be a doctrine based. Why do you deny the benefit. Seems silly and IS unwarranted.


Malcolm wrote:
It might be medicine you need, it is not medicine I need.

tkp67 said:
So you can see based on even our small sampling that sentient beings need them both equally and both are deserving of respect.

I vs Us

Malcolm wrote:
This is thread is not about upaya, it is about truth.  You lotus folks constantly conflate these two issues. Upaya only belongs to relative truth. There is only one ultimate truth.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 1:07 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:



tkp67 said:
The two truths where perfect in Nagarjuna's time as are the three truths where in Zhiyi's time. There is no contest regarding appropriation when correlating to time, place, capacity, conditions and causes.

Malcolm wrote:
This kind of teleology is silly and unwarranted.

tkp67 said:
Chronographical context is empty until you put something in it like teleological intent. I think that is one of the points of EA contemplation.

In this way the LS is a proof of practice and not meant to be a doctrine based. Why do you deny the benefit. Seems silly and IS unwarranted.


Malcolm wrote:
It might be medicine you need, it is not medicine I need.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 1:06 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Lucas Oliveira said:
CHINA CLAIMS PEAK OF CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC HAS PASSED AS NEW CASES DECLINE AND MORE THAN 60,000 HAVE RECOVERED
https://www.newsweek.com/china-says-passed-peak-coronavirus-epidemic-covid-19-1491863

China declares peak end of new coronavirus outbreak in the country | Coronavirus
https://www.time24.news/c/2020/03/china-declares-peak-end-of-new-coronavirus-outbreak-in-the-country-coronavirus.html



Malcolm wrote:
"Claims" and "declares." Good luck with that.

Lucas Oliveira said:
AND MORE THAN 60,000 HAVE RECOVERED !!!

Facts!

Not theories!


Malcolm wrote:
Chinese Gvt. are known to lie about these things. I don't trust them.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 12:14 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
tkp67 said:
Not Zhiyi but the similarity is interesting to me. Am I the only one? (rhetorical)



https://www.lionsroar.com/developing-the-mind-of-great-capacity/

round meditation / round contemplation ?

Malcolm wrote:
Um, no. Here "round" means "section."

tkp67 said:
How does that change the similar nature?

Language can be proprietary, nature not so much.

Malcolm wrote:
It means there are nine sections to the meditation. Jeez.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 12:10 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Lucas Oliveira said:
CHINA CLAIMS PEAK OF CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC HAS PASSED AS NEW CASES DECLINE AND MORE THAN 60,000 HAVE RECOVERED
https://www.newsweek.com/china-says-passed-peak-coronavirus-epidemic-covid-19-1491863

China declares peak end of new coronavirus outbreak in the country | Coronavirus
https://www.time24.news/c/2020/03/china-declares-peak-end-of-new-coronavirus-outbreak-in-the-country-coronavirus.html



Malcolm wrote:
"Claims" and "declares." Good luck with that.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 12:09 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:



tkp67 said:
The two truths where perfect in Nagarjuna's time as are the three truths where in Zhiyi's time. There is no contest regarding appropriation when correlating to time, place, capacity, conditions and causes.

Malcolm wrote:
This kind of teleology is silly and unwarranted.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 12:08 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:


haha said:
In other words, T’ien-t’ai explains that the situation in which nothing is reflected in the mirror is the mirror’s natural or potential state
(kutai), while the image of all that is reflected in the mirror represents temporal existence (ketai), and the mirror itself possesses both potential and temporal existence, which represents the entity of the Middle Path (chutai).

Malcolm wrote:
This is all within the domain of relative truth.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, March 13th, 2020 at 12:07 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
They talk and perform deeds.

Queequeg said:
You talk and perform deeds. I talk and perform deeds. They're not often enlightening. Upaya is more than that.

Malcolm wrote:
Upaya comes from the actions of a bodhisattva who has clairvoyance and is capable of directly knowing (abhijñā) the minds of others, and what they need. So they talk and act in response to that. We, at least I, do not have direct knowledge of the minds of others, so our means are not so skillful.

Queequeg said:
The Three Truths address the wellspring of conventional teachings from the Buddha (upaya). Your explanation does not bridge that.
Yes, it does. Buddhas talk, perform deeds, and they are omniscient. No third truth is needed to explain upaya, since all upaya is in the domain of relative truth.
Again, The Three Truths...pivots to address other things.

Malcolm wrote:
Now you are just contradicting yourself. No third truth is needed to address how the Buddha and ārya bodhisattvas act skillfully for the benefit of sentient beings. Buddhas have no need to benefit themselves, having realized the dharmakāya (ultimate truth). They manifest the rūpakāya (relative truth) to benefit others. No third truth is needed to explain this. There is nothing other for the Buddha to address other than benefitting oneself and benefiting others.

Queequeg said:
The main point of the Sutra, among its various themes, is ekayana, though that is not unique to the lotus, nor is primordial buddhahood unique to the lotus. A recounting of all its themes is beyond the scope of this forum.
Oh. Is that it?

Malcolm wrote:
Yup. When the Lotus Sūtra is referenced in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist sources, the principle themes invoked are a) one vehicle b) primordial buddhahood. Apart from that, the Lotus as a doctrinal source is not given much airtime.

Queequeg said:
OG Indian Buddhists.
I notice you've gotten on an originalist bent. That's quite a ride. Where does it stop for you?

Malcolm wrote:
I have always had an originalist bent when it comes to common Mahāyāna.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 11:56 PM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
tkp67 said:
Not Zhiyi but the similarity is interesting to me. Am I the only one? (rhetorical)
Meditation on Equanimity

The nine- round meditation is comprised of training the mind in equanimity with a mental outlook based on the dual nature of things and events: the conventional and the ultimate. Based on different perspectives, the first in turn is divided into two sections, one from the viewpoint of others and the second from the viewpoint of oneself.
https://www.lionsroar.com/developing-the-mind-of-great-capacity/

round meditation / round contemplation ?

Malcolm wrote:
Um, no. Here "round" means "section."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 1:33 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Wayfarer said:
but there is absolutely no use a bunch of internet amateurs trying to forecast statistics. It just adds to the fear, uncertainty and doubt, and risks creating more misinformation.  Yes, it's a pandemic, and a very serious situation, but I don't see how this kind of prapanca helps.

Malcolm wrote:
Whose forecasting stats? These are the numbers being put out by the experts. But hey, if it freaks you out, read another thread.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 12:54 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Wayfarer said:
I think extrapolating, with a calculator, what 'possible death rates' might be on the basis of primitive calculations is entirely unwarranted and possibly even amount to dangerous misinformation. I would encourage the moderators to watch this thread closely.

Malcolm wrote:
The WHO’s fatality rate for covid-19 infections as of 3/3/2020 is 3.4 percent. Therefore, my primitive calculations revised this down to 2%, just to be on the conservative side.

Wayfarer said:
Mortality for COVID-19 appears higher than for influenza, especially seasonal influenza. While the true mortality of COVID-19 will take some time to fully understand, the data we have so far indicate that the crude mortality ratio (the number of reported deaths divided by the reported cases) is between 3-4%, the infection mortality rate (the number of reported deaths divided by the number of infections) will be lower. For seasonal influenza, mortality is usually well below 0.1%. However, mortality is to a large extent determined by access to and quality of health car e.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200306-sitrep-46-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=96b04adf_2

We are looking at a situation in which Africa, large parts of S. America, SE Asia, India, etc., have inadequate health care systems for coping with pandemics. The Trump administration’s lack of preparation combined with Trump’s eliminating the NSC’s global pandemic response apparatus in 2018 could and probably will result in fatalities much higher than in China. Simply put, we do not have enough resources worldwide to a) stop the pandemic b) to treat the most severely ill.

Also Dr. Fauci explained to Congress today that covid-19 is ten time more fatal than the flu. Now the flu usually has a fatality rate of 0.1%. That makes the fatality rate for  covid-19 1%, but that’s just a guess. Assuming 1.4 billion people become ill, this still 14 million deaths worldwide.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 12:34 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Wayfarer said:
I think the predictions of tens of millions or hundreds of millions of deaths are wildly overstated.


Malcolm wrote:
Let’s say there are 65 million infections in the US, roughly 20% of our population, as proposed today in Congress. Assuming a fatality rate of 2%, that is 1.3 million deaths. Apply this to world population of seven billion, this means 28,000,000 deaths.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 12:13 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Unknown said:
4. Plan for hospitals to be overwhelmed, as happened in Wuhan, China, and in Iran and northern Italy. Epidemiological models suggest that by late April we could have millions of Americans infected, and the danger is that people with other ailments die for want of care in the chaos. Several epidemiologists suggest that we could easily see 100 million infections of the new coronavirus in the United States, of which 5 or 10 percent might require hospitalization and 1 percent might need a ventilator. That could mean almost one million people needing ventilators just for Covid-19, though not all at the same time, yet we have only about 72,000 full ventilators in the United States.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/opinion/coronavirus-united-states.htm


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 11:33 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
smcj said:
Fatality rate of covid-19 is somewhere between 3-4 percent of known infected cases. That might go down as more data comes in. However, whether It is 168 million or 84 million or 42 million, that’s still too many.
168M would be more than 2% of the global population. That’s up in Spanish Flu territory. But Spanish Flu was 10%-20% lethal. I guess that means the Spanish Flu did not have infection rates as high as these estimates.

So hopefully your estimates will be more accurate—or even too high. Only time will tell.

Malcolm wrote:
Covid-19 is 2 to 3 times more infectious than the flu.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 11:07 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


smcj said:
Out of curiosity, what’s your source for those numbers? As I posted above, Merkel just told the Germans to expect 60%-70% infection rate.

Malcolm wrote:
Assuming a 20 percent infection rate with a maximal response from the international community.

If there is a global 60-70 percent infection rate, 60 percent is 4,200,000,000. 4 percent of that is 168,000,000 deaths world wide.

smcj said:
in the linked NYT article it reported what Merkel said. Then it said those were the high estimates. It then quoted someone I’ve never heard of with the 30%-60% infection estimate. I’m going off the credibility of the NYT as knowing who to quote. Infection rate of covid-19 is R02-3. Flu is R01.5

Personally I’d like to assume a 10% infection with less than 1% case fatality rate. But I don’t have a source for that.

Do you have a source for your figures? In particular 4% case fatality seems high with current data. (Of course current data is unreliable, so all these figures are meaningless.)

Malcolm wrote:
Fatality rate of covid-19 is somewhere between 3-4 percent of known infected cases. That might go down as more data comes in. However, whether It is 168 million or 84 million or 42 million, that’s still too many.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 10:51 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
There are 7 billion people on the planet. It is likely that up to 1.4 billion people will be infected. Of those up to 42 million people will die.

smcj said:
Out of curiosity, what’s your source for those numbers? As I posted above, Merkel just told the Germans to expect 60%-70% infection rate.

Malcolm wrote:
Assuming a 20 percent infection rate with a maximal response from the international community.

If there is a global 60-70 percent infection rate, 60 percent is 4,200,000,000. 4 percent of that is 168,000,000 deaths world wide.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 10:34 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


tobes said:
Agree. That's actually why I chimed in on this thread. It would be cool to do collective Dharmawheel-corona practice.

Malcolm wrote:
Cool? Are you high?

tobes said:
How about you make a contribution to this instead of mocking my word choices.

Malcolm wrote:
Your word choice indicates you have not grasped the seriousness of the situation. There are 7 billion people on the planet. It is likely that up to 1.4 billion people will be infected. Of those up to 42 million people will die. People can catch this more than once.

The above estimate is conservative and assumes maximal response from the international community. Infection rates in the US are expected to be 65 to 150 million.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 10:17 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


tobes said:
Agree. That's actually why I chimed in on this thread. It would be cool to do collective Dharmawheel-corona practice.

Malcolm wrote:
Cool? Are you high?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 10:04 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
We can expect 65 to 150 million cases. 15-20 percent of those will develop into SARS. Our health system will be overwhelmed and millions of people are going to die.

Be prepared, it’s going to get a lot worse from here. There are only one million hospital beds in the US and only 65k respiratory machines.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 7:27 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Andres Honores just mentioned that Denmark is effectively shut down.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 7:26 AM
Title: Re: Bhumi 10 or 11?
Content:
Nicholas Weeks said:
This pdf below gives the 53 stages on the Mahayana path, from the Avatamsaka Sutra chapter 39.  The first 30 are necessary for gaining merit & wisdom.  Only at stage 31, the Ground of Happiness, do the major ten begin.  A key part of that achievement is knowing directly on the Path of Seeing. Beyond the 10th Ground are more...


Avatamsaka-Matrix-39.pdf

Malcolm wrote:
Indeed. However, you will never find any mention of such a scheme in any Indian Buddhist commentary. There are five paths and ten stages. That's enough for me.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 3:51 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Unknown said:
Two weeks ago, Italy had 322 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. At that point, doctors in the country’s hospitals could lavish significant attention on each stricken patient.

One week ago, Italy had 2,502 cases of the virus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19. At that point, doctors in the country’s hospitals could still perform the most lifesaving functions by artificially ventilating patients who experienced acute breathing difficulties.

Today, Italy has 10,149 cases of the coronavirus. There are now simply too many patients for each one of them to receive adequate care. Doctors and nurses are unable to tend to everybody. They lack machines to ventilate all those gasping for air.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/who-gets-hospital-bed/607807/


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 3:44 AM
Title: Re: Mahamudra of Maitripa
Content:
bhava said:
I have been looking for an english translation of any of Maitripas texts on mahamudra.
Wikipedia speaks of a cycle of 26 texts..( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitripada ) Thanks.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.academia.edu/5613434/Mathes2009_Maitr%C4%ABpa_s_Amanasik%C4%81r%C4%81dh%C4%81ra_A_Justification_of_Becoming_Mentally_Disengaged _


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 2:48 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
That about sums it up pretty well.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 2:47 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Unknown said:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has ordered federal health officials to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified, an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government’s response to the contagion, according to four Trump administration officials.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-secrecy-exclusive/exclusive-white-house-told-federal-health-agency-to-classify-coronavirus-deliberations-sources-idUSKBN20Y2LM

Idiots.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 2:41 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:



Johnny Dangerous said:
We'll see how it goes here. This and CA will be the first litmus tests, I guess.

Malcolm wrote:
Merkel just led a press conference, and stated that 60-70 percent of the German population will be infected.

Norwegian said:
Norwegian Institute of Public Health has estimated that up to 70% of Norway's population may end up becoming infected.

Work place after work place are shutting down, and clubs, lodges, courses, etc. are all cancelling/postponing their usual schedules.

Just an hour ago, I found out that it's very likely that my sister has become infected with COVID-19. She's 10 years younger than me, and yet she's feeling this so much worse than a flu would be for her (pain in chest, difficulty breathing, etc.), and she may require hospitalization soon. Her boyfriend is also equally as sick, and he likely got infected by visitors from north Italy, before we knew about any sort of situation in Italy.

In Europe the virus is now exploding, and it likely will in the US as well, soon enough. I fear for those there who don't have proper insurance, who can't get healthcare, who don't have job security (cannot get paid sick leave, and so on). This is a very rough situation to be in.

Malcolm wrote:
Meanwhile in America, people are worried about undocumented immigrants getting free health care.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 1:20 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
Incidentally, they just banned gatherings of over 150 where I'm at. Seems really conservative to me. I'm feeling more and more we will be facing quarantine in a couple of weeks if testing does not become -far- more widespread.

Malcolm wrote:
We are so screwed, no leadership, no comprehensive testing, and CPAC was a petri dish. They are literally going to have to close the gvt.

Johnny Dangerous said:
We'll see how it goes here. This and CA will be the first litmus tests, I guess.

Malcolm wrote:
Merkel just led a press conference, and stated that 60-70 percent of the German population will be infected.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 1:19 AM
Title: Re: Rigpa and Alayavijnana
Content:
Misty said:
Ah, I think I’m starting to understand a bit better, thank you

Is it only “defilement - motivated actions” that deposit seeds?
If yes, this supports our emphasis on the importance of honestly examining our intention and motivation.

Malcolm wrote:
For regular people, even positive actions are tainted with afflictions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 1:06 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
Incidentally, they just banned gatherings of over 150 where I'm at. Seems really conservative to me. I'm feeling more and more we will be facing quarantine in a couple of weeks if testing does not become -far- more widespread.

Malcolm wrote:
We are so screwed, no leadership, no comprehensive testing, and CPAC was a petri dish. They are literally going to have to close the gvt.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 1:05 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Nemo said:
That information is updated on a daily basis now. As the volume of total viral RNA increases so does the mutation rate.
https://nextstrain.org/ncov

Malcolm wrote:
Indeed, but the basic typology still shows two major branches: a and b.

Nemo said:
I think using radial and genetic divergence settings is the best way to visualize it.

Malcolm wrote:
Yup. Pandemic time now, according to WHO, who yesterday was not willing to call it a pandemic.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 12:34 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Nemo said:
That information is updated on a daily basis now. As the volume of total viral RNA increases so does the mutation rate.
https://nextstrain.org/ncov

Malcolm wrote:
Indeed, but the basic typology still shows two major branches: a and b.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 12:31 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Unknown said:
At one point, I was walking through the conference center with my husband, a Washington Post reporter, and surveying the sea of MAGA-hat wearing activists. I turned to him and said, “There’s going to be an outbreak here isn’t there?” The crowd was so large, with people from all over the world, including hard-hit countries like Korea and Italy, and many were senior citizens, a group particularly vulnerable to the illness. The virus was quickly spreading across the country, having already killed 3,000 people worldwide, and more than 100 were already infected in the US. It seemed inevitable that the true believers who attended CPAC would not escape it, no matter how often Trump and his team insisted it had been “contained.”

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/03/i-went-to-cpac-and-all-i-got-was-exposure-to-the-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR24j0tFLC7SGpjsimMYJq9EN_LJP0i0Vh50o8dXVXaOpKIzBFJxkmClT68

Just to make the point more clear, the Biogen Conference in Boston:
The rise in cases also highlights a shift in the transmission of the virus within the state. Only four of the 92 cases in the state have been identified as travel related, 18 are still under investigation and 70 are related to the Biogen meeting, Sudders said.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/health/coronavirus-massachusetts-state-of-emergency/index.html


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 12:26 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:


Dan74 said:
It is possibly not quite the same virus as the one that hot China.

Malcolm wrote:
There are two strains that have been identified in China, Type I and Type II:

Summary
The most important finding of this study is that COVID-19 strains form two well-supported clades (genotype I, or Type I, and Type II). Type II strains were likely evolved from Type I and are more prevalent than Type I among infected patients (68 Type II strains vs 29 Type I strains in total). Our results suggest the outbreak of type II COVID-19 likely occurred in the Huanan market, while the initial transmission of the type I virus to humans probably occurred at a different location in Wuhan. Second, by analyzing the three genomic sites distinguishing Type I and Type II strains, we found that the synonymous changes at two of the three sites confer higher protein translational efficiencies in Type II strains than in Type I strains, which might explain why Type II straints are more prevalent, implying that Type II is more contagious (transmissible) than Type I. These findings could be valuable for the current epidemic prevention and control. The timely sharing of our findings would benefit the public health officials in making policies, diagnosis and treatments.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.25.20027953v1.full.pdf


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 11:50 PM
Title: Re: How many hours of meditation do Monks do per day?
Content:
2ndchance said:
How many hours of meditation do Monks do per day?

Which hours during the day and night do they usually meditate?

Simon E. said:
Depends very much on which monk. There are monks who snooze, eat, smoke a few fags, snooze again. Chant for a while because it’s expected. Plot, gossip, and have another little snooze.
Tai Situ called them “Mr Monk”...
There are lots of Mr Monks.

Malcolm wrote:
True, and then there are the business khenpos, carrying brief cases, expensive watches, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 11:48 PM
Title: Re: Bhumi 10 or 11?
Content:


PeterC said:
But yes.  Anyone concluding that this didn’t offer proof of a Sanskrit origin, or worse still, offered proof that it was pieced together in China (a not unlikely possibility) would have the entire Chinese Buddhist establishment up in arms. Best to let that sleeping dog lie.

Malcolm wrote:
I mean, when we say it is "fake," a pseudographia, I mean is it best treated as a native Chinese treatise rather than a sūtra, similar to the Four Medicine Tantras, and many other texts in Tibetan Buddhist canon, especially in the dhāraṇī collection.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 11:37 PM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:



Queequeg said:
Whoa. Pathetically sad.

PeterC said:
He’s clearly got serious psychiatric issues and deserves compassion.  Yet somehow he becomes this public intellectual and philosopher for millions of Joe Rogan fans. We live in a profoundly deluded age.

Norwegian said:
Any sort of idea that Peterson is a public intellectual / philosopher (worth being listened to and looked up to), was dismantled very clearly by Zizek the few times he engaged him in articles, and in his debate with him (which was excruciatingly boring). I know others too have commented on Peterson in a detailed fashion and shown just how amateurish and unqualified he is. So it's not isolated to Zizek, that's for sure.

Malcolm wrote:
He's is a Jungian, which explains his fascist tendencies and his intellectual poverty.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 11:30 PM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:
jake said:
I had the same question but won't have an answer for you until I finish reading this:

https://newrepublic.com/article/156829/happened-jordan-peterson

answer: yup!

Queequeg said:
Whoa. Pathetically sad.

PeterC said:
He’s clearly got serious psychiatric issues and deserves compassion.  Yet somehow he becomes this public intellectual and philosopher for millions of Joe Rogan fans. We live in a profoundly deluded age.

Malcolm wrote:
The guy is a total wanker, but his plight is pitiable.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 10:49 PM
Title: Re: Interesting immigration numbers
Content:
Norwegian said:
Did the people who migrated to America respect the laws and culture of the original inhabitants, the Native Americans? Are Americans today treating Native Americans well?

All this talk about respect and fairness...

Malcolm wrote:
Nope, not at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 10:45 PM
Title: Re: Interesting immigration numbers
Content:


Fa Dao said:
I can also see why so many Americans who cant afford insurance are pissed off that so many candidates are calling for healthcare etc for people coming here illegally...why should their tax dollars go to people who don't even respect our laws? And I don't necessarily think its all due to a lack of compassion..its not as simple as you portray it..there are a lot of hardworking good people out there who are tired of being ignored and shit on by our government...and just because they have a problem with illegal immigration doesn't automatically make them racist...that's total and utter bullshit..

Malcolm wrote:
The candidates who want universal health care want universal health care, not preferential treatment people who are undocumented.

The issue is that when we have a large pool of people who are systematically denied healthcare, this affects the public health of the whole country in terms of chronic diseases, infectious diseased, and so on.

And yes, it does represent a compassion deficit.

As for tax dollars, our tax dollars go to all kinds of things of which I disapprove, for example, the 150 million dollar golf tab Trump has run up; endless wars on terrorism, etc., all money that could be put to much better use, for example, universal health care, education, and so on.

Voting for a known racist (Trump) makes one a racist, there is just no way around that one. Opposing people overstaying their visas or entering the country without a visa, etc., is not necessarily racist, but  it can be part of a racist program.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 9:24 PM
Title: Re: Rigpa and Alayavijnana
Content:
Misty said:
So is it more like, the all basis or ignorance,  is not an object of consciousness but it perfumes how an object of consciousness is experienced, it alters how an object of consciousness is perceived?

Malcolm wrote:
The orgins of the this idea lay the notion of the transformation of the mind stream. The basic idea is that the mind contains seeds, which are activated when meeting specific causes for arising. These seeds are deposited by defilement-motivated actions, etc. The seeds themselves produce the objects of consciousness, according to this yogacāra theory, but they are not evident until activated, like seeds in the ground. They are dug up with the shovel of wisdom.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 8:38 PM
Title: Re: Bhumi 10 or 11?
Content:


PeterC said:
Has anyone done a comparison of that Sanskrit manuscript with the Chinese sutra?  I’ve seen the manuscript mentioned a few times but never seen a comparison

Malcolm wrote:
And you probably never will.

PeterC said:
Ah, so it’s like that.

Malcolm wrote:
Yeah, I think so. I mean, do you really think there is the expertise to read such a manuscript in China these days? Imagine the fallout if it proves to be a false positive. In any case there are any number of features which make an Indian origin unlikely, and this opinion, as I know you are aware, isn’t simply based on one Japanese guy who decided it was a forgery in the 8th century.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 8:27 PM
Title: Re: Bhumi 10 or 11?
Content:


PeterC said:
Has anyone done a comparison of that Sanskrit manuscript with the Chinese sutra?  I’ve seen the manuscript mentioned a few times but never seen a comparison

Malcolm wrote:
And you probably never will.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 8:16 PM
Title: Re: POTUS 2020 poll #2
Content:



PeterC said:
However the path back to sanity for the country is that the democrats need to reconnect with the natural constituency that they abandoned - blue collar and rural voters. They need to actually try to understand and address their issues, so that these people don't just migrate to the republicans as they have for decades. Right now the party thinks of them in terms of - what's the smallest number I need to win to supplement my natural majority in the coastal states?

Malcolm wrote:
Well, in the northern states, rural voters have traditionally been Republican and still are for the most part. The shift of western MA, Vt, CT, NH, and ME and parts upstate NY to the Democrats has largely been a result of white flight to rural areas in the 1970s.

Farmers are business people, that’s why they support the GOP in large numbers, even though they largely subsist, these days, on subsidies, without which they go bankrupt.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 8:01 PM
Title: Re: Interesting immigration numbers
Content:


tingdzin said:
Sarcasm in the hands of a Disraeli can be a formidable weapon. In those of a closed-minded lout, it is merely offensive.

Malcolm wrote:
Not nearly as offensive as someone (you) who literally advocated that millions of people had no right to healthcare before you got yours. Health care is a right, not a privilege.

If we do not grant healthcare to everyone, the public health issues are enormous, and grow worse daily. People die, epidemics spread unchecked, etc. So this “me first” attitude of your’s is as inhumane, cruel, and lacking all compassion, as it is naive and short sighted.

Now, you can walk back your statement and rejoin humanity, and that would be good. Or you can continue to obstinate and reactionary.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 7:43 PM
Title: Re: Bhumi 10 or 11?
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
Is fake.

Nicholas Weeks said:
Is not fake. Too many real bodhisattvas cultivated from it.  Proof is in the eating, not the recipe.

PeterC said:
But that doesn't stand up to the 'dog's tooth' counterargument

What is the textual evidence one way or another?



Malcolm wrote:
There is a claim that a Sanskrit manuscript of this text exists somewhere in in China.

PeterC said:
Li Xuezhu (李学竹) (2010). “Zhōng guó zàng xué — Zhōng guó fàn wén bèi yè gài kuàng” 中国藏学-中国梵文贝叶概况 [China Tibetan Studies — The State of Sanskrit Language Palm Leaf Manuscripts in China]. Baidu 文库. Vol. 1 №90 (in Chinese). pp. 55–56. Retrieved 2017–12–06. ‘河南南阳菩提寺原藏有1函梵文贝叶经，共226叶，其中残缺6叶，函上写有“印度古梵文”字样，据介绍，内容为 《楞严经》，很可能是唐代梵文经的孤本，字体为圆形，系印度南方文字一种，被国家定为一级文物，现存彭雪枫纪念馆。’(tr to English: Henan Nanyang Bodhi Temple originally had one Sanskrit language manuscript sutra, consisting in total 226 leaves, of which 6 were missing… according to the introduction, it contains the Śūraṅgama Sūtra and is most probably the only extant Sanskrit manuscript dating from the Tang Dynasty. The letters are roundish and belongs to a type used in South India and has been recognized by the country as a Category 1 cultural artifact. It is now located in the Peng Xuefeng Memorial Museum.




Malcolm wrote:
The notion of 55 stages is a Chinese Buddhist misreading of the chapters on the powers, dedications of merit, and so of the bodhisattvas on the ten stages in in Avatamska Sutra, embedded in a couple of Chinese authored texts posing as sutras.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 2:00 PM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:


Queequeg said:
Here, Nagarjuna, even as he's declaring a relative truth and an ultimate truth, he is suggesting that there is a relationship between the relative and ultimate. So the question is, "Well, Nagarjuna, what's the connection between the ultimate and relative?" To simply say the relative is merely false perception and ultimate is true perception serves a purpose in some respects. But then what of this "foundation in the conventional truth" that Nagarjuna says is necessary? What of this "profound truth"?

Malcolm wrote:
It's pretty straight forward, worldly convention is just the syllable and expressions used by mundane people. So you explain the ultimate to them using conventional language. The profound truth of the Buddha's teaching is the truth seen by āryas——that all phenomena do not arise. If one does not understand both the distinction between the two truths and the necessity to ground the explanation of the ultimate in the conventions used by worldly people, the latter will never see the profound truth of the Buddha's teaching which is only seen by āryas.

Queequeg said:
I don't see any controversy with that, except that it doesn't address how the buddhas engage through the conventions.

Malcolm wrote:
They talk and perform deeds.


Queequeg said:
The Three Truths address the wellspring of conventional teachings from the Buddha (upaya). Your explanation does not bridge that.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, it does. Buddhas talk, perform deeds, and they are omniscient. No third truth is needed to explain upaya, since all upaya is in the domain of relative truth.

Queequeg said:
This passage has nothing at all to do with the two truths, or even ultimate truth. The Saddharmapundarika does have a few nice passages on the nature of reality, but that is not the main point of sūtra, and definitely not the point of the parable of the burning house.


Edify us, sir.

Malcolm wrote:
The main point of the Sutra, among its various themes, is ekayana, though that is not unique to the lotus, nor is primordial buddhahood unique to the lotus. A recounting of all its themes is beyond the scope of this forum.


[
Queequeg said:
It's not confusing, but to someone schooled in Indian Buddhism, it seems tendentious, besides the point, and based on flawed definitions.
Perhaps. Not really a concern of mine. I'd like to understand why that is to an extent.

Malcolm wrote:
Often, when one finds themes of concern to Tibetans, the very same themes are of no interest to OG Indian Buddhists. The same can be said of the Chinese.

For example, until the tantric period, 650 onward, Indian Buddhists expressed virtually no systematic interest in tathagatagarbha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 7:18 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:


tkp67 said:
Conventional truth (saṃvṛtisatya), also called “worldly truth” (lokasaṃvṛtisatya),

Malcolm wrote:
This is an error. It is called "lokavyavahārasatya."

tkp67 said:
For Zhiyi, the threefold truth is an integrated unity with three aspects. First, emptiness, often identified with the Supreme truth. Second conventional existence of phenomenal world as co-arising, often identified with the worldly truth. Third, the Middle, a simultaneous affirmation of both emptiness and conventional existence as aspects of a single integrated reality.

Malcolm wrote:
This is where this goes wrong. There are other problems with the deleted parts, but here, this is the main misconception. It is wrong to term dependent origination "one integrated reality."

tkp67 said:
Thus, these three components are not separate from each other but integral parts of a unified reality. They are simultaneous aspects of one reality.

Malcolm wrote:
Same problem.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 7:10 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:


Queequeg said:
Here, Nagarjuna, even as he's declaring a relative truth and an ultimate truth, he is suggesting that there is a relationship between the relative and ultimate. So the question is, "Well, Nagarjuna, what's the connection between the ultimate and relative?" To simply say the relative is merely false perception and ultimate is true perception serves a purpose in some respects. But then what of this "foundation in the conventional truth" that Nagarjuna says is necessary? What of this "profound truth"?

Malcolm wrote:
It's pretty straight forward, worldly convention is just the syllable and expressions used by mundane people. So you explain the ultimate to them using conventional language. The profound truth of the Buddha's teaching is the truth seen by āryas——that all phenomena do not arise. If one does not understand both the distinction between the two truths and the necessity to ground the explanation of the ultimate in the conventions used by worldly people, the latter will never see the profound truth of the Buddha's teaching which is only seen by āryas.


Queequeg said:
In the Lotus, Buddha explains upaya very much along these lines. He describes a father telling his children playing in a burning house that there are toy carts outside the house if they'll only come and get them. At the time the father says this, there are no carts outside the house. And so he's saying something that is technically false. And yet, his aim is to get the children out of the house, which his enticement does. But then, when the Buddha asks Shariputra, "Is the father lying?" Shariputra answers in the negative, and then the Buddha goes on to affirm his answer and explain that although the Buddha teaches three vehicles, there is in fact only one Buddhavehicle, and that actually, they're all the Buddhavehicle.

Malcolm wrote:
This does not apply.

Here is a text explaining the relationship between the ultimate and the relative that explicitly does not go so far as to declare what the Buddha says is false, even when it otherwise meets the definition of what people would generally say is false.

This passage has nothing at all to do with the two truths, or even ultimate truth. The Saddharmapundarika does have a few nice passages on the nature of reality, but that is not the main point of sūtra, and definitely not the point of the parable of the burning house.

Queequeg said:
The Three Truths includes this in the frame of its explanation. The Middle is sometimes called the Buddhanature Middle Truth to emphasize that the Three Truths is not just a restatement or clarification of Nagarjuna's Two Truths, but rather something else intimately related to the Buddha and his relationship with beings.

It is going to be confusing for someone coming from a strictly Madhyamika view to accept this. And what is there to say about that?

Malcolm wrote:
It's not confusing, but to someone schooled in Indian Buddhism, it seems tendentious, besides the point, and based on flawed definitions.

Queequeg said:
All well and good, but it doesn't make for a productive discussion. Gonna need you to come out of your shell there a little, Malcolm.

Malcolm wrote:
That's the pot calling the kettle black.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 3:54 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Cycles Program
Content:
Josef said:
I have not participated in the program but I had dinner with Anne Klein once and thought he was genuine and quite interesting.

Malcolm wrote:
When did Anne Klein have sex reassignment surgery?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 3:52 AM
Title: Re: Bhumi 10 or 11?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The term ekādaśabhumi is mentioned explicitly in the Ārya-saṃdhinirmocana-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra and the Ārya-saddharmasmṛty-upasthāna.

The term samantaprabha, the name of the eleventh bhumi, is found in the Buddha-avataṃsaka-nāma-mahāvaipūlya-sūtra as the bhumi of the tathāgatas. In the Ārya-ratnamegha-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra it is called the "stage of buddhahood."

Nicholas Weeks said:
As you would know better, Vajrayana has three more stages beyond 10.  Whether they are distinct grounds or just dividing up the Tathāgata stage, I do not know.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, highest yoga tantra has thirteen stages. Some schools interpret these merely adding two more stages to the bodhisattva path, other schools understand this as being actual stages of buddhahood. The locus classicus of the thirteen stages is the Samputa Tantra, which pretty explicitly states that buddhas of the eleventh and twelfth bhumi have slightly defective omniscience. In yoga tantra on down, buddhahood is the eleventh stage.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 3:49 AM
Title: Re: Bhumi 10 or 11?
Content:
Aemilius said:
Shurangama sutra has 55 bhumis or grounds.

Malcolm wrote:
Is fake.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 3:42 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:


Queequeg said:
You seem to lack the basic understanding of how legal precedent evolve over time. Sometimes, a legal principle will be there, latent, for centuries until they are drawn out and identified by scholars or judges. And then, a watershed decision is rendered, and now you have a legal principle.

Malcolm wrote:
Sure, I am not a lawyer. But the fact remains that when a legal precedent is established, generally, it is cited in support of a given argument. Where no precedent can be found, one is sought.

Queequeg said:
LOL. You didn't cite any sources to announce that the Three Truths involves a full middle. That's your interpretation. And you're wrong. What response can there possibly be to your flat error?

Malcolm wrote:
Well, you could for example explain how Zhiyi's interpretation is consistent with Nāgārjuna (good luck), and how he avoids violating the law of the excluded middle. But if you don't have time, or it is of no interest to you, well. Not much commitment. Your mere claim I am mistaken is not proof I am mistaken.


Queequeg said:
Here I'll say once more - The Three Truths, with regard to "Truths", say no more than the gist of MMK Ch. 24, V. 18. Does that involve a full middle? No? Then there's your refutation.

Malcolm wrote:
That is not a refutation, that is not even a consequence. For example, in order to show that I was mistaken, you would need to show that Nāgārjuna's intent was that emptiness, in that verse, intended ultimate truth; and that dependent designation intended relative truth (they don't). You cannot rely on a vague legal principle like "penumbra" to explain this away, that somehow this third truth was lurking there all along, just waiting to be discovered by Zhiyi, mystically concealed in the Lotus Sutra by the Buddha.

I have already provided scriptural citations flat out denying there is such a thing as third truth, etc., as well as citations which show how this verse intended to be understood. As far as I am concerned, the whole discussion is based on Chinese Buddhist misunderstandings of the intent of Nāgārjuna, misunderstandings that continue to this day because people refuse to study these things properly.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 3:26 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
haha said:
The Truth of Non-substantiality (Kutai)
The Truth of Temporary Existence (Ketai)
The Truth of the Middle Way (Chutai)
It is quite equivalent to Yogacara Theory. It is said that Yogacara had tried to harmonize the views of asti and nasti vadin. I do not know whether Zhiyi had studied Mahayanasutralamkara or not as there might be Paramartha’s translation at his time (i.e. probably). However, his description is equivalent to this verse: (34) When one has realized the vacuity of inexistence, and also vacuity of such and such existence, and has known the natural vacuity, one can say that one is the knower of the void.

Asanga, tr Surekha Vijaya Limaye, (2000), Mahayanasutralamkara, Sri Satguru Publications, Chapter XIV, p 272
Anyway, those, who are more familiar with Zhiyi, can cross check it.


Malcolm wrote:
Zhiyi would not have read the Sūtralāṃkāra, it was not translated into Chinese until 630.

And this is just a reference to to the three natures, the imputed, the dependent, and the perfected. What are these? The verse is, "Since the emptiness of the nonexistence is know, and likewise, since the emptiness of the existent and natural emptiness is known, one is called the knower of emptiness."  The first is the imagined, the second is the dependent (aka all-basis consciousness), and the third of the perfected (the absence of the imputed in the dependent).

Now. in Vasubandhu's commentary on Maitreya's verse (this text was not written by Asanga), he comments that the first emptiness is the imputed nature; the second is the dependent nature, and the third is the perfected nature. But again, this is a question of perception, and it is clarified more readily by the Madhyānatavibhańgakāriks̄:

The imagination of the unreal exists;
duality does not exist in it;
emptiness exists in this;
and the former exists in the latter.

Since everything is explained 
as not empty and not not-empty, 
since there is existence, since there is nonexistence, and since there is existence,
that is the middle way.

The first line of the first verse explicitly explains the appearances of the triple realm, that is, the imagination of the unreal (parikalpita), that is, the imagination of subject and object exists. However, that duality does not exist, and in fact, it is exists as the imagination of an unreal subject and object. The former, duality, exists in the latter, emptiness, which is to say duality exists in a consciousness that is empty of duality.

Now, here emptiness and the imagination of the unreal both exist (not empty), but they are empty of duality (not not-empty). The imagination of the unreal is all compounded phenomena, and emptiness is uncompounded, hence, this explains all phenomena. Therefore, the imagination of the unreal exists, duality does not exist, but that emptiness of that duality does exist; and since everything is not wholly empty and everything is also not wholly non-empty, that is the middle way as described by Maitreyanatha.

To say that not everything is wholly empty is to say that everything exists as a projection of a deluded consciousness; to say that everything is not wholly nonempty is to say that the projections of that deluded consciousness do not exist. This is Maitreyanatha'ss formula of the middle way.

This presentation is completely different than what Zhiyi is getting at. Zhiyi is trying to reconcile a substantialist misunderstanding of Madhyamaka that plagued earlier Chinese scholars, who mistook epistemology of the two truths for an ontology. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, Zhiyi never totally overcame this ontology, and still continued this misunderstanding, even as he tried to resolve it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 2:30 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
"Support" is exactly now to put it. It is like arguing case law. In a legal argument, you need to find support for your position in previous cases, precedents, etc., which support your present argument. But in this case, there is no way you can argue that the Lotus sutra supports a three truth position: a) because Zhiyi's three truths violate the law of the excluded middle, etc. The only place you can go from here is mystical irrationalism. That's fine, but mystical irrationalism is not acceptable in Buddhadharma.

Queequeg said:
Sure, we find support in the penumbra.

Malcolm wrote:
Huh? The penumbra of what?

Queequeg said:
There's no excluded middle in the Three Truths.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes there is, when one examines the so-called three truths from the perspective of the commonly understood definition of a "truth" (satya) use by Nāgārjuna and Mādhyamikas in general.


Queequeg said:
And to be honest, I'm not interested in discussing this with you because you've demonstrated over time that you have no good faith in the discussion. Its funny you invoked this whole lack of good faith thing. Its quite rich.

Malcolm wrote:
Of course I have good faith, I cite my sources and set out my reasoning. Thus far, the only response I get is "You don't understand' without a single line citation or reasoning to back up this assertion by any adherent of Zhiyi's thought in any classical sources available to Zhiyi. Instead, I get mysticism and double talk.

Oh well, so much for the role of truth in Buddhism.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 1:31 AM
Title: Re: Bhumi 10 or 11?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The term ekādaśabhumi is mentioned explicitly in the Ārya-saṃdhinirmocana-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra and the Ārya-saddharmasmṛty-upasthāna.

The term samantaprabha, the name of the eleventh bhumi, is found in the Buddha-avataṃsaka-nāma-mahāvaipūlya-sūtra as the bhumi of the tathāgatas. In the Ārya-ratnamegha-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra it is called the "stage of buddhahood."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 1:19 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Basically, you have to admit there is nothing to debate because there is nothing in the text of the Lotus that supports your position.

Queequeg said:
"Supports" is a funny way to put it.

Is there an explicit mention of "Three Truths" in the Lotus Sutra? Or any sutra for that matter? Nope.

Is the Three Truths teaching "supported" by the Lotus Sutra? Sure.

IMHO. YMMV.

Malcolm wrote:
"Support" is exactly now to put it. It is like arguing case law. In a legal argument, you need to find support for your position in previous cases, precedents, etc., which support your present argument. But in this case, there is no way you can argue that the Lotus sutra supports a three truth position: a) because Zhiyi's three truths violate the law of the excluded middle, etc. The only place you can go from here is mystical irrationalism. That's fine, but mystical irrationalism is not acceptable in Buddhadharma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 1:16 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
there is no excluded middle in the two truths.

tkp67 said:
is this the third truth that keeps the others in proper perspective?

Malcolm wrote:
Do you know what an excluded middle is? For example, when confront with a choice: true or false, there is no third choice. The middle is excluded because, for example, between a false cognition and a true cognition, there is no third option, a true cognition that is false, or a false cognition that is true.

Quite frankly, Zhiyi's argument fails the excluded middle test, rendering his position irrational. Nāgārjuna himself never violates the law of the excluded middle.

When we understand that the two truths refer to cognitions of objects, rather than objects themselves, then we can understand very clearly that the two truths are describing the experiential mode of perception of worldly beings on the one hand, and the experiential mode of perception of āryas in equipoise on the other.

Worldly beings can conceptually infer ultimate truth (otherwise, they could never realize it); but even that inference is not their experiential mode of perception, since an inference too is just a relative truth, even in mundane equipoise.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 1:01 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:



Queequeg said:
I think you misunderstand something. But I can't tell because I don't follow the gist of your comment.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, you claimed that the Lotus Sutra explicitly omits mention of its central teaching. Frankly, that's ridiculous.

Queequeg said:
Again, your opinion. What is there to debate?


Malcolm wrote:
Basically, you have to admit there is nothing to debate because there is nothing in the text of the Lotus that supports your position.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 12:43 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
That is an awfully complicated way to say that the two truths are inseparable.
[/quote]

The third step in the exposition, a truth in and of itself but reliant on the other two for completion.
[/quote]

No third step is needed. Why? Because there is no excluded middle in the two truths. It is not like the two truths leaves something out that needs to further supplied. As I mentioned before, the two truths are objects of cognitions, true and false respectively. In order to have a third third truth, one would have to have an object of a cognition that was at the same time true and false. And that is impossible.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 at 12:30 AM
Title: Re: The role of truth in Buddhism?
Content:



Queequeg said:
[stepping away from the fray]

Yes.


Malcolm wrote:
I think the question is, "Where explicitly in the Lotus are Zhiyi's ideas mentioned?" If this question cannot be answered, one has to accept "the three trurth scheme" is an exegetical framework imposed on the text by a commentator. The latter must be the case, since this idea of three truths, whether connected with the Saddhamarma Pundarika or not, is only found originally in Zhiyi's writing and no where else.

The textual source of Zhiyi's three truths is the passage in the MMK where Nāgārjuna mentions that emptiness, dependent designation, and middle way are simply synonyms of dependent origination. Zhiyi interpreted this to mean that emptiness was ultimate truth, dependent designation was conventional truth, and that these two were resolved by the middle way.

In my personal opinion, this is an unwarranted interpretation. And of course, NO ONE from the Tien Tai school etc., is willing to debate this in good faith.

Queequeg said:
Debate what? There's nothing to debate. There is nothing controversial in your statement.

Malcolm wrote:
"Zhiyi interpreted this to mean that emptiness was ultimate truth, dependent designation was conventional truth, and that these two were resolved by the middle way.

In my personal opinion, this is an unwarranted interpretation. And of course, NO ONE from the Tien Tai school etc., is willing to debate this in good faith."


