﻿Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 3:38 AM
Title: Re: Facebook is bad
Content:


Jesse said:
His attempt at a coup was merely incidental to his banning, it served as a convenient reason for it, nothing more.

Malcolm wrote:
It was the cause of his being banned from Twitter, it wasn't merely incidental. BTW, I think you've confused FB and Twitter. Twitter, definitely liberal. FB, home of the Trumpsters.

Jesse said:
the coup attempt was not over after the election either,

Malcolm wrote:
Correct, the election was on November 3rd, the insurrection was on January 6th. He continued to press his false claims after his term was up and he still does.

Jesse said:
the only reason trump isn't in office right now is because the old guard republicans ditched him, Cheney, Bush, Pence, McConnell type republicans.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, no. The reason he is not in office is because he lost the election, and everyone in the Gvt. did their jobs, like they were supposed to do, according to the law.

Jesse said:
Had they fully supported his election stealing claims, and doubled down, we'd be under a Trump dictatorship ATM.

Malcolm wrote:
But they didn't and they wouldn't, for a number of reasons, the principal one being that what Trump wanted was illegal, and they swore an oath to the Constitution, not to Trump.

Jesse said:
Trump would not be banned from Social media.

Malcolm wrote:
Seems like you are pretty angry that Trump is not permitted on these platforms. Why is that?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 2:58 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:



KristenM said:
Sadiki Bakari. I must have been at one of his secret teachings because on Youtube he is more psy-ops, Covid is a hoax type of stuff.

Malcolm wrote:
Definitely Five Percenter adjacent:

“We must fullstand that ‘God’ is reality. If you do not overstand reality, you have absolutely no sense of ‘God’ or the concept. You are basing the ‘God’ concept according to your interpretation or most likely someone else’s interpretation which is a misinterpretation of true reality, and therefore the misinterpretation of truth.

KristenM said:
Honestly, I had no idea what I was walking into. My friend invited me and said he thought I was one of the few white people who could handle truth. But everyone looked cool, not a bunch of guys wearing robes.

Malcolm wrote:
Well read that pdf I posted. Its interesting.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 2:36 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:


KristenM said:
I’ve been to events where I was the only white person, supporting the cause. At one I was pretty dismayed by what I heard from the speaker. That all white people are an inferior race of degenerate homosexuals. When they started putting up images of art from ancient Greece depicting homosexuals and saying all whites were disgusting and brought homosexuality to the earth, that’s when I said, “Huh?” Yet everyone else was nodding their heads in agreement.

Malcolm wrote:
Umm, did you find yourself in a meeting of 5 percenters or something?

https://www.academia.edu/8737494

KristenM said:
Sadiki Bakari. I must have been at one of his secret teachings because on Youtube he is more psy-ops, Covid is a hoax type of stuff.

Malcolm wrote:
Definitely Five Percenter adjacent:

“We must fullstand that ‘God’ is reality. If you do not overstand reality, you have absolutely no sense of ‘God’ or the concept. You are basing the ‘God’ concept according to your interpretation or most likely someone else’s interpretation which is a misinterpretation of true reality, and therefore the misinterpretation of truth.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 2:25 AM
Title: Re: Argument against common conversion about karma
Content:


Vajrasvapna said:
Mahayana philosophy deny the self-existence of beings and dharmas even in the relative level. So no self, no reaping. Maybe the right thing to say is illusory being have illusory reaping experiences.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, which amounts to saying that one's karma ripens upon oneself. You don't really need to add the illusory part.


Vajrasvapna said:
But what I disagree is with the view that only a being own actions influence the reaping.

Malcolm wrote:
Then you disagree with the Buddha:

"'I am the owner of my actions,[1] heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir.


Vajrasvapna said:
Some Vajrayana Buddhists divide a being in many levels, that separate after death.

Malcolm wrote:
Which Vajrayāna Buddhists are those?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 1:28 AM
Title: Re: Mani Kabum transmission requirements
Content:



Hazel said:
Not Khenpo Sodargye, but good to know. The lama in question is not famous.

Is the lung for each chapter or is it one lung for the whole book?

Malcolm wrote:
can be given chapter by chapter or all at once. Lama's choice.

Hazel said:
But one chapter is insufficient to read all of the book, correct?

Malcolm wrote:
Most of the Mani Kabum is history, a history describing the origin of Buddhism and its arrival in Tibet during the reign of Srongtsan Gampo, and a description of his reign.  Most of it can certainly be read without transmission. For some of it, one should have empowerment of the King's Tradition of Avalokiteśvara. Those are the Vajrayāna instructions at the end of the second volume of the text.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 1:26 AM
Title: Re: Facebook is bad
Content:


Jesse said:
They took the side of the DNC during the last election.

Malcolm wrote:
No, they did not.

Jesse said:
It depends what you mean, they have blatantly taken the DNC's side politically in-so-far as elections are concerned.

Malcolm wrote:
No, they have not.


Jesse said:
Banning the other sides most popular candidate  is exactly that, taking a side.

Malcolm wrote:
That happened after the election, because he tried to stage a coup, that is, illegally remain in office beyond his elected term.

Jesse said:
If Trump had won the election, do you really believe he would be 'suspended' or banned from social media?

Malcolm wrote:
Which goes to prove my point. Facebook is not in cahoots with the DNC.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 12:52 AM
Title: Re: Facebook is bad
Content:


Jesse said:
You might be alarmed to learn that they really don't give a shit, it's nothing more than politics, power plays, and catering to whoever they see as being of more benefit to themselves, and their profits.

Malcolm wrote:
Of course FB does not care. Zuck is a sociopath.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 12:50 AM
Title: Re: Facebook is bad
Content:


Jesse said:
They have decidedly taken the side of the DNC. Trump is banned from FB btw.

Malcolm wrote:
No, they took the side of their lawyers. They are not pro-DNC. You have no basis for this opinion.

Facebook is pro $$$ and whoever will let them earn as much as possible.

Joe Biden's Fight With Facebook Is Just Beginning:

https://time.com/6081656/biden-facebook/

U.S. Revives Facebook Suit, Adding Details to Back Claim of a Monopoly:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/19/technology/ftc-facebook-antitrust.html

https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/29/move-fast-and-break-facebook-a-bull-case-for-antitrust-enforcement/:
All three branches of the federal government are heating up their pursuit. In the Senate, an unusual bipartisan coalition is emerging, with Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) each waging a war from multiple fronts.

In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has called Facebook “part of the problem.” Lina Khan’s FTC is likewise only getting started, with unequivocal support from the White House that feels burned by Facebook’s disingenuous lobbying. The Department of Justice will join, too, aided by state attorneys general. And the courts will continue to turn the wheels of justice, slowly but surely.
Thus, your assertion that the DNC is in cahoots with Facebook is rated false.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 12:34 AM
Title: Re: Mani Kabum transmission requirements
Content:
Hazel said:
Can anyone read this terma/text? A teacher of mine teaches from this. There's a transmission (presumably of the given chapter) at the start of every class, but I am unsure if that's required to partake in reading it. I am unsure if it's acceptable to watch the videos if I'm not there for the transmission or whether or not I can read it on my own.

heart said:
Khenpo Sodargye? If it is he require that participate in the lung live.

/magnus

Hazel said:
Not Khenpo Sodargye, but good to know. The lama in question is not famous.

Is the lung for each chapter or is it one lung for the whole book?

Malcolm wrote:
can be given chapter by chapter or all at once. Lama's choice.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 12:30 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:


KristenM said:
I’ve been to events where I was the only white person, supporting the cause. At one I was pretty dismayed by what I heard from the speaker. That all white people are an inferior race of degenerate homosexuals. When they started putting up images of art from ancient Greece depicting homosexuals and saying all whites were disgusting and brought homosexuality to the earth, that’s when I said, “Huh?” Yet everyone else was nodding their heads in agreement.

Malcolm wrote:
Umm, did you find yourself in a meeting of 5 percenters or something?

https://www.academia.edu/8737494


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 12:23 AM
Title: Re: Facebook is bad
Content:


Jesse said:
Oh, and they now do the bidding of the DNC...

Malcolm wrote:
Oh for lord sake's, what rubbish. Zuck is a Trumpster.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2021 at 12:17 AM
Title: Re: Argument against common conversion about karma
Content:


Vajrasvapna said:
You argument is ground in authority, not logic.

Malcolm wrote:
What is karma? Please define your terms.

I'll go first. "Karma is volition, and what proceeds from volition."

Volitions spawn verbal and physical acts.

There are three kinds of karma: when meritorious, the result of karma is happiness and birth in higher realms when the conditions for their ripening assemble; when nonvirtuous, result is suffering and birth in lower realms when the conditions for their ripening assemble; and when neither meritorious nor nonvirtuous, result is neutral sensations and do not affect rebirth.

What you are are referring to is karmaphala, the result of karma and karmavipāka, the ripening of karma.

The result of karma will ripen solely on oneself, and it cannot be interfered with or prevented by anyone else other than oneself. Not even a buddha can remove some else's karma.

I never implied that one could not be influenced in positive or negative ways, nor that one could not influence others in positive and negative ways. But influencing others in positive and negative ways is still only's one own karma. And people's response to your influence is their own karma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 7:10 PM
Title: Re: What cognitive skills does one need?
Content:



Charlie123 said:
What is the method for increasing faith in our teachers?

Malcolm wrote:
You have to reflect on their kindness, compassion, wisdom, and qualities over and over again until you feel it in your bones.

Toenail said:
Do you have tips for how to do it?

Malcolm wrote:
One has to work at it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 7:35 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:



Danny said:
This is just assholeism.

and the idiots are winning the war.

Looking for deeper meaning is just more assholeism

It’s a self licking icecream cone.

Malcolm wrote:
Ummm, there is no deeper meaning to find…

Danny said:
Right so why you perpetuate something else?

Malcolm wrote:
It was pretty funny, actually.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 7:26 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
This is meaningful, because it shows that white people in this country are not all as thick as bricks, myopically addicted to Tucker Carlson.

Danny said:
This is just assholeism.

and the idiots are winning the war.

Looking for deeper meaning is just more assholeism

It’s a self licking icecream cone.

Malcolm wrote:
Ummm, there is no deeper meaning to find…


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 4:29 AM
Title: Re: What are your thoughts on DMT and the entities people claim to encounter?
Content:
Toenail said:
What do you mean by glorious pretas? Those who move through space?

Malcolm wrote:
They are powerful, not like ordinary pathetic pretas.

Toenail said:
Are they called 'glorious pretas'? What is the tibetan word for it?

Malcolm wrote:
Dpal ldan.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 2:56 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://www.sapiens.org/column/race/caucasian-terminology-origin/

Unknown said:
The term “Caucasian” originated from a growing 18th-century European science of racial classification. German anatomist Johann Blumenbach visited the Caucasus Mountains, located between the Caspian and Black seas, and he must have been enchanted because he labeled the people there “Caucasians” and proposed that they were created in God’s image as an ideal form of humanity

And the label has stuck to this day. According to Mukhopadhyay, Blumenbach went on to name four other “races,” each considered “physically and morally ‘degenerate’ forms of ‘God’s original creation.’” He categorized Africans, excluding light-skinned North Africans, as “Ethiopians” or “black.” He divided non-Caucasian Asians into two separate races: the “Mongolian” or “yellow” race of Japan and China, and the “Malayan” or “brown” race, which included Aboriginal Australians and Pacific Islanders. And he called Native Americans the “red” race.

Blumenbach’s system of racial classification was adopted in the United States to justify racial discrimination—particularly slavery. Popular race science and evolutionary theories generally posited that there were separate races, that differences in behavior were tied to skin color, and that there were scientific ways to measure race. One way racial differences were defined was through craniometrics, which measured skull size to determine the intelligence of each racial group. As you can imagine, this flawed application of the scientific method resulted in race scientists developing a flawed system of racial classification that ranked the five races from most primitive (black and brown races), to more advanced (the Asian races), to the most advanced (the white, or Caucasian, races). Even though the five-race topology was later disproven, “Caucasian” still has currency in the U.S.

One reason we keep using the term “Caucasian” is that the U.S. legal system made use of Blumenbach’s taxonomy. As early as 1790 the first naturalization law was passed, preventing foreigners who were not white from becoming citizens. But according to Mukhopadhyay, Blumenbach’s category of “Caucasian” posed a problem because his classification of white also included some North Africans, Armenians, Persians, Arabs, and North Indians. The definition of Caucasian had to be reinvented to focus the ideological category of whiteness on northern and western Europe. The term, even though its exact definition changed over time, was used to shape legal policy and the nature of our society.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 2:48 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Sādhaka said:
Now Fox News isn’t as terrible as say msnbc or cnn...

Malcolm wrote:
Oh it is far worse. They out right lie and promulgate conspiracy theories. MSNBC is not news, it is just opinion. CNN only runs four or five stories a day, over and over again, but their journalism is just fine, if not terribly deep.


Sādhaka said:
Anyway, Malcolm, you sure seem to like to fuel division, like the news outlets do; whether wittingly or unwittingly.

Malcolm wrote:
Gee, why can't we all just get along...

I have my perspective on these worldly events, if they upset you, don't read my posts.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 2:10 AM
Title: Re: What are your thoughts on DMT and the entities people claim to encounter?
Content:
Toenail said:
What do you mean by glorious pretas? Those who move through space?

Malcolm wrote:
They are powerful, not like ordinary pathetic pretas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 2:09 AM
Title: Re: What are your thoughts on DMT and the entities people claim to encounter?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Ayahuasca in particular can open oneself up to provocations.

Konchog Thogme Jampa said:
Does Cannabis cause provocations?

Malcolm wrote:
No, not as far as I know. Some lamas might disagree.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 2:01 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:


Shotenzenjin said:
Voted for the nazi party. ? Where? That's preety low and disgusting.

Malcolm wrote:
He means the AfD.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 1:10 AM
Title: Re: What cognitive skills does one need?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The most important cognitive skill is faith in the person one selects as a teacher. Without that, there is no hope for any progress at all in any Buddhist path, let alone Dzogchen.

Charlie123 said:
What is the method for increasing faith in our teachers?

Malcolm wrote:
You have to reflect on their kindness, compassion, wisdom, and qualities over and over again until you feel it in your bones.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 1:07 AM
Title: Re: washing zendras
Content:
Konchog Thogme Jampa said:
Don’t wash it let the blood sweat and tears of years of Vajrayana practice saturate it

Malcolm wrote:
Gross.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 1:01 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:


Queequeg said:
Like I said, equality isn't going to be some kumbaya moment. Its going to be that time when everyone has an equal chance to elbow each other and grab the money and power off the table. Governments role is not to force people to be nice and kind. Its to keep the game fair and the field level.

Malcolm wrote:
What I am saying is that "whiteness" is what many people of European descent were able to move into, after a long struggle of dealing with white supremacy in America.



https://www.theatlantic.com/galleries/anti-immigrant-cartoons/41/

https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb4t1nb029/?brand=oac4

But one thing a Black person in the US can never do is become white, because skin tone.

Our treatment of Native people is also a great problem. SCOTUS got it right when they handed back 40% of Oklahoma back to the Native population there. The Cherokee were smart never to settle for cession.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at 12:32 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Queequeg said:
The Civil Rights movement was successful when it appealed to common humanity - "I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls."

Malcolm wrote:
The Civil Rights movement (which is not over by a long shot) succeeded because in 1965 (when I was 2 and nine months old) white people in the North finally saw Black people being treated like this in the South on their TVs:


Selma was what catalyzed the Johnson Administration to do finally something about segregation in the South, once and for all. It lead directly to the Voting Rights act, subsequently gutted in our lifetime by SCOTUS.


Queequeg said:
We need the technical data to identify where the unfairness plays out and could be balanced.

Malcolm wrote:
CRT is an analytical tool for just that.

Queequeg said:
You mentioned affirmative action as one of the most effective equalizing policies. I agree with that. And I don't look at it as some Kumbaya happy ever after policy where we all live and work in a respectful, multicultural paradise. In fact, it pisses a lot of people off and in some sense makes things worse. I expect blacks who get their foot in the door to be as self-interested in getting other blacks into the institutions as Irish were bent on getting other Irish into the Northeast cities' police and fire departments a century ago. I expect these policies to play out with all the self interest of white supremacy, even as the motivation of the policy is about a fundamental fairness and shared humanity.

Malcolm wrote:
The funny thing about the Irish in America is that they too were contending with the issue of white supremacy. But there is one crucial difference between Black people and the Irish, their skin tone. That's why after Kennedy, the Irish became fully "white." One of my bosses grew up in Massachusetts when "Irish Need Not Apply" signs were common in Boston. That's also why the Irish in S. Boston reacted so strongly to bussing in the early 70's, because they were jealous of their new found "whiteness."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 11:53 PM
Title: Re: nyingma lineages/cycles structures of practice.
Content:
yagmort said:
hmm, ok.
i don't have angst, but i neither have much clarity regarding all that dzogchen undercurrents, so i am trying to gain some understanding.

Malcolm wrote:
In general, these days Dzogchen is Longchenpa's Dzogchen, at least as far as how Buddhists present it. Longchenpa is the gold standard, as ChNN stated many times.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 10:35 PM
Title: Re: Argument against common conversion about karma
Content:
Aemilius said:
"Another misunderstanding is that everything that happens to us is the result of our past karma. The Buddha said that the belief that everything a person experiences is due to their past karma (pubbekatahetu) is a false and pernicious view leading to fatalism (A.I,173). In fact, Buddhism recognized at least five broad causes of why things happen, of which karma is only one, the others being the operation of natural laws (dhamma niyàma), biological laws (bija niyàma), physical laws (utuniyàma) and psychological laws (cittaniyàma, As.854).", Guide To Buddhism A To Z, Kamma

A = Aṅguttara Nikāya, ed. R. Morris, E. Hardy, PTS London 1885-1900
AS = Atthasālinī. ed. E. Muller, PTS London 1897

Malcolm wrote:
If you accept the Theravada presentation as definitive...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 10:25 PM
Title: Re: nyingma lineages/cycles structures of practice.
Content:
yagmort said:
ok, but do we know who first wrote down dzogchen as rushen/tregcho/thogal? when it first became elaborated that way?

Malcolm wrote:
This is a pretty recent development. Maybe a late 20th century development.

You are trying to tease out a very complicated set of issues. It won't work. Some teachers teach in the way above, most do not. That's because it depends on the person, and every person needs different things.

You should just find a teacher you trust, and practice exactly they way they prescribe. All this angst about this system and that system, the conflict between what western historians claim and what the tradition asserts and so on, is all a waste of your time.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 10:22 PM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:


Queequeg said:
A long time ago, I tried to understand all that stuff. But I'm basically lazy, found fellow grad students who dropped this kind of jargon into regular conversations unbearable bores, and was attached to my identity as a simple skater. F that noise. Especially when these problems could be, and their solutions, could be talked about in ordinary, colloquial language.

Malcolm wrote:
The problem is that white americans, are in general, unaware of or choose to ignore the fact that racism in this country is still a huge issue, as you yourself acknowledge.

Why would the people causing the problem have the answer for it?

If you don't properly diagnose an illness, you cannot treat it effectively.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 9:39 PM
Title: Re: nyingma lineages/cycles structures of practice.
Content:
yagmort said:
is there any connection to particular names? Vimalamitra, specifically?

can we say there were 2 approaches: Padmasambhava was a proponent of mahayoga where Dzogchen was a great completion of 2 stages, and Vimalamitra's one where Dzogchen was an independent approach with its own set of practices (rushen/regchö/thögal)?

Malcolm wrote:
Even Man ngag sde is connected with the two stages in meaningful ways. For example, one reads in the "Mind Mirror of Vajrasattva" Tantra that the three inner tantras are to be practiced in union. There are lengthy passages in the commentary of the sgra thal 'gyur commentary covering Vajrayoginī practice and so on. The Lama Yangthik has a three roots practice, etc, etc.

The same is true of sems sde, and klong sde.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 9:35 PM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
PeterC said:
The anti-inequality campaign has become an incoherent mess - to the point where I can't even think of a meaningful term to describe what their objective is, when we can summarize the objectives of the other side very easily.

Malcolm wrote:
Mostly, to point out things that white people in America are unaware of because of our cultural narcissism.

The term "karen," for an entitled, clueless middle-aged white women seems to have bubbled up in the last decade or so from the Black zeitgeist. Exhibit 1, a karen being berated by her husband in front of two Black people she started harassing at a gas station:



This is meaningful, because it shows that white people in this country are not all as thick as bricks, myopically addicted to Tucker Carlson.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 9:20 PM
Title: Re: Argument against common conversion about karma
Content:


master of puppets said:
Another's karma can effect your karma. what's wrong with that?

Malcolm wrote:
Um...no. Why don't you learn about the subject first, and then share your opinion.

You can start with the Karmasiddhiprakarana by Vasubandhu, and so on.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 9:18 PM
Title: Re: What cognitive skills does one need?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The most important cognitive skill is faith in the person one selects as a teacher. Without that, there is no hope for any progress at all in any Buddhist path, let alone Dzogchen.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 9:17 PM
Title: Re: What are your thoughts on DMT and the entities people claim to encounter?
Content:


Toenail said:
What spirit class? How did the provocations manifest? Dreams?

Malcolm wrote:
Dreams and waking, etc. No idea what spirit class. Probably a preta. Most so called "spirits" are pretas. Pretas are not just miserable beings in states of despair, there are also so-called "glorious pretas."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 9:16 PM
Title: Re: What are your thoughts on DMT and the entities people claim to encounter?
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
Was there a shaman conducting the ceremony or were they taking it like drugs?

SilenceMonkey said:
There was some kind of person leading this.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 8:57 PM
Title: Re: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:


Jesse said:
Seems to be the case, but I can't find the same numbers, the only CDC article I could find was the one I linked, which was a 4 month study, which had rates between 5% up to 8%, with one month having 18% of all cases being in vaccinated, and was from 3 U.S. Jurisdictions, April 4–July 17, 2021.

Malcolm wrote:
The article details where those stats are from.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 8:48 PM
Title: Re: nyingma lineages/cycles structures of practice.
Content:
yagmort said:
this question must have been already asked but i can not seem to find any posts.. when did Dzogchen as a path of rushen/tregcho/togal first appear? did it appear as a set of all 3, or some parts appeared earlier/later? what about thögal, specifically?

Malcolm wrote:
Late tenth, early eleventh century, with the production of the man ngag sde tantras.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 8:04 PM
Title: Re: Argument against common conversion about karma
Content:
Kurp said:
I once saw a YouTube clip of a now deceased controversial teacher saying that “[practitioners who know powerful black magic] can steal your good karma for themselves.”

Malcolm wrote:
No chance. Karma is nontransferable.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 7:57 PM
Title: Re: Argument against common conversion about karma
Content:
Vajrasvapna said:
The common conversion about karma states that the positive and negative effects that a person experiences are only a product of their actions, therefore, deserved. However, such a position contradicts Mahayana Buddhism's principle of interdependent origination.

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

First the question of “deserved” is false. Karma  is unerring, and it’s result is commensurate with the intention that produced it.

Mahayana Buddhism follows roughly the same principles of karma proposed by Sarvastivadins in Abhidharma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 7:56 PM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:



Johnny Dangerous said:
You just wrote ‘race is class’, which is too reductionist for me, it’s just a statement of the obvious fact that some people are oppressed worse than others…

Malcolm wrote:
Because of their skin type….that has nothing to do with economics, that has to do with pure bias. Now, you can try and explain away such prejudice as a function of class tensions, etc….but I think it is an insufficient explanation, particularly when the standard trope of older white leftists is to try and gloss racial issues as mere economic issues…hence CRT, etc.

Johnny Dangerous said:
What do you mean it has nothing to do with economics? Have you ever looked at the comparative households incomes of white and black families? Of course the oppression of black people is economic, forty acres and a mule etc...it has always been like that. Does every bit of the oppression they experience come more from racial or class animus? That's a tough question but none of the socialists I hung out with would ever answer it the way you are saying they would, making this conversation a refutation of a straw man, which is pointless.

Malcolm wrote:
The oppression of black peoples has economic consequences, but the cause is not is merely that they don’t get to share the profit of their labor, the reason they don’t get the same share as whites, all other things being equal, is that they are Black. Color, as a basis for for class, is far older in history than labor. It seems to be mostly an Indoeuropean issue.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 10:15 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:


PeterC said:
Most of the furore about CRT is purely manufactured. Few of those criticizing it can offer an adequate definition of it. But the proponents of the broad genre of critical theory have really not done themselves a favor by obfuscating some important basic ideas in a veil of opaque and self-referential terminology.

Malcolm wrote:
This is the Achilles heel,of the left in general.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 10:13 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
PeterC said:
personally think Marx is one of the most consistently correct and also largely misrepresented writers of the last few centuries.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, by both his detractors and his admirers. The principle conceit of Marxism, is that it is “scientific.”

But even more than Marx, Engles is  quite under appreciated, and arguably, is  a  more nuanced thinker.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 9:46 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
From my point of view oppression to use CRT parlance is driven mainly by economic relationships and their relationship to power, though it can certainly manifest in other ways.

Malcolm wrote:
I think this is too reductionist. I always have.

Johnny Dangerous said:
You just wrote ‘race is class’, which is too reductionist for me, it’s just a statement of the obvious fact that some people are oppressed worse than others…

Malcolm wrote:
Because of their skin type….that has nothing to do with economics, that has to do with pure bias. Now, you can try and explain away such prejudice as a function of class tensions, etc….but I think it is an insufficient explanation, particularly when the standard trope of older white leftists is to try and gloss racial issues as mere economic issues…hence CRT, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 4:06 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
From my point of view oppression to use CRT parlance is driven mainly by economic relationships and their relationship to power, though it can certainly manifest in other ways.

Malcolm wrote:
I think this is too reductionist. I always have.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 3:39 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:


Johnny Dangerous said:
Howard Zinn would never make a claim like that, in fact it’s somewhat contrary to the entire philosophy of A People’s History. Zinn was a socialist, and beyond the fact that he acknowledged the specific, deep seated racism in American history, I don’t see how you think his work has anything to do with this reductionist approach.

Malcolm wrote:
It may not be his point of view, but it is what I drew from his work.

Johnny Dangerous said:
IIRC He goes into detail in fact about how the American ruling classes used racial animus as a weapon to keep any kind organization happening around shared interest with poor whites and blacks.

Malcolm wrote:
But the point is, those divisions are now embedded and have stake holders. And while socialists might think that all race issues are solved with socialist solutions, that's a pipedream, from my perspective.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 3:14 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:


Queequeg said:
c'mon, man. keep backing up and you're going to end up agreeing with my characterization of the myriad problems, this nest of fear and loathing, we call the United States.

Malcolm wrote:
At base, the problem in this country is mostly racism. JD forgets that the labor movement in its early days was largely an immigrant movement by people who were not considered white at all, apart from the Germans, who had tight control over the Socialist Party in this country, and dominated it, discriminating against Italians and so on. And then of course, there was the anti-semitism issue with Socialism as well, that is, it was regarded as a Jewish plot, until WWII made it unfashionable to openly hate Jews.

Remember, part of the reason Sanders lost the primary in 2016 is that he was not very clued into race. He was all about class too. He has since repaired that myopia.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 3:03 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:


Genjo Conan said:
Kimberle Crenshaw (she who coined the term "intersectionality"--which, like CRT itself, has come to mean something different than it initially did) springs to mind.  Much of her work focuses specifically on race and gender, but she certainly includes a class analysis in her work.  For example, from the https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=uclf in which she coined the term, here's her description of the problem:

Malcolm wrote:
And here is an article from 2017, where she fleshes out the falsity of post-racial America:

https://thebaffler.com/salvos/race-to-bottom-crenshaw

Genjo Conan said:
Within the Obama-era bid to characterize America’s newly transformed social order as “post-racial,” a striking bit of legerdemain took hold. The term worked both to de-historicize race in American society and, perversely enough, to reframe the idea of racism as something that was very much the opposite of the lived experience of race in America. Under this inside-out account of our racial history, a post-racial America was, by definition, a racially egalitarian America, no longer measured by forward-looking assessments of how far we have come, but by congratulatory declarations that we have arrived.

In one sense, there’s nothing conceptually new about this. For two decades, an entire industry of lawyers, politicians, pundits, and foundations rallied around the banner of colorblindness in an effort to convince judges, policymakers, and voters that the project of racial reform was completed long ago.[2] Colorblindness fueled a host of right-wing projects throughout the 1990s and the early twenty-first century, including Ward Connerly’s assault on both affirmative action and the collection of racial data,[3] along with efforts by others to attack the Voting Rights Act and Title VII. With the rhetoric of colorblindness thus conscripted as a justification of first resort for rolling back the gains of the civil rights revolution, moderates and liberals—together with the traditional civil rights establishment—regarded it with a good deal of justified suspicion. In his 2000 presidential run, for example, Al Gore likened the colorblind rhetoric of the nineties GOP to a “duck blind” offering cover to the forces of racial reaction.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 2:34 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
A good summary of CRT:

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-critical-race-theory-and-why-is-it-under-attack/2021/05

This is what uninformed people state about CRT, and these are all the talking points bandied about by conservatives:
"One conservative organization, the Heritage Foundation, recently attributed a whole host of issues to CRT, including the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, LGBTQ clubs in schools, diversity training in federal agencies and organizations, California’s recent ethnic studies model curriculum, the free-speech debate on college campuses, and alternatives to exclusionary discipline—such as the Promise program in Broward County, Fla., that some parents blame for the Parkland school shootings. “When followed to its logical conclusion, CRT is destructive and rejects the fundamental ideas on which our constitutional republic is based,” the organization claimed.
This is what they wish to deny:
The theory says that racism is part of everyday life, so people—white or nonwhite—who don’t intend to be racist can nevertheless make choices that fuel racism.

This is what Archie is worried about.

Unknown said:
Some critics claim that the theory advocates discriminating against white people in order to achieve equity. They mainly aim those accusations at theorists who advocate for policies that explicitly take race into account. (The writer Ibram X. Kendi, whose recent popular book How to Be An Antiracist suggests that discrimination that creates equity can be considered anti-racist, is often cited in this context.)

Malcolm wrote:
All these people oppose Affirmative Action, one of the best policies for ending class disparities in our lifetime.


Unknown said:
Fundamentally, though, the disagreement springs from different conceptions of racism. CRT puts an emphasis on outcomes, not merely on individuals’ own beliefs, and it calls on these outcomes to be examined and rectified. Among lawyers, teachers, policymakers, and the general public, there are many disagreements about how precisely to do those things, and to what extent race should be explicitly appealed to or referred to in the process.

Malcolm wrote:
This is what people can't stand, that their very existence is owed to a racist set of social and economic conditions, even though they may not themselves possess racist beliefs. However, what I observe, is that the people who most offended by this idea often wind up becoming full blown racists. I have seen it happen.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 2:26 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:


Johnny Dangerous said:
Anyway, that doesn’t mean that poor whites and blacks are of different classes, it means the ruling class tried to drive a wedge between the two in ways that are pretty obvious, since it is going on all around us and was a huge part of the Trumpnpresidency.

Malcolm wrote:
They succeeded, by giving poor whites privileges in the 18th century, and then again following the failure of Reconstruction, creating two classes, and giving advantages to one of them which still persist today in our society. You know which one, of course.

To say that race is not class in America is to ignore the basic facts of our history.

In America, Race is Class.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 2:24 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:



Queequeg said:
That's a little too reductionist, I think. There are numerous underprivileged and deprived classes. Race defines many of them. And by that we could talk about poor Scotch Irish in Appalachia or my French Canadian ancestors, both underprivileged groups who have been in N. America as long as Africans who were brought over as slaves and who have historically suffered discrimination, or even those rural yankees you live among.

Malcolm wrote:
No, it is pretty much race based. Poor whites in the US were systematically given rights denied to Blacks and Indigenous people.

The Scots-Irish were the last peoples from the Britain proper come here in any numbers, migrating principally in the 18th and 19th century. What is true is that slave trade was increasing rapidly at the same time the Scots-Irish began coming over here. But you know, 1619.

Time to reread Zinn.

Queequeg said:
We'll have to agree to disagree. The treatment of blacks in N. America is among the great injustices that define the United States. But, we could also include the genocide of Native Americans right up there.

Malcolm wrote:
I have not even begun to get started on that issue.

Queequeg said:
There's also been discrimination against brown and yellow people, not at the same levels of horror and impact.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, most of the brown people you are talking about are Mestizzos or outright Indios....and Asians in post-Civil War 19th century America? Brutal oppression.

Queequeg said:
There has also been systematic discrimination, de jure and de facto, against various white ethnic groups.

Malcolm wrote:
Against late 19th century and early 20th century immigrants such as Jews, Italians, Greeks, Irish, etc? Sure, but they were not considered "white" until the 1960's.

So again, race is class in America.

Queequeg said:
I simply don't see why all other forms of discrimination need to be effaced to acknowledge discrimination against blacks in N. America.

Malcolm wrote:
Actually, it is pretty simple: if you are not white, you are discriminated against as a class. If you manage to pass for white, or can shake off your ethnic background, you suffer less discrimination.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 1:51 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
On CRT: To piggyback of what QQ said, unfortunately CRT rarely touches on common class grievances.

Malcolm wrote:
Race, in America, is class, IMO.

Queequeg said:
That's a little too reductionist, I think. There are numerous underprivileged and deprived classes. Race defines many of them. And by that we could talk about poor Scotch Irish in Appalachia or my French Canadian ancestors, both underprivileged groups who have been in N. America as long as Africans who were brought over as slaves and who have historically suffered discrimination, or even those rural yankees you live among.

Malcolm wrote:
No, it is pretty much race based. Poor whites in the US were systematically given rights denied to Blacks and Indigenous people.

The Scots-Irish were the last peoples from the Britain proper come here in any numbers, migrating principally in the 18th and 19th century. What is true is that slave trade was increasing rapidly at the same time the Scots-Irish began coming over here. But you know, 1619.

Time to reread Zinn.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 1:23 AM
Title: Re: washing zendras
Content:
treehuggingoctopus said:
Thank you, Malcolm!

My summer zendra is silk and pashmina; the winter one is cotton. Since I could afford them, I somehow doubt either is pure silk -- but maybe it does not matter? Maybe vinegar will lock the colours in?

Malcolm wrote:
Use Woolite and cold water. But test small area first to see if it bleeds. The cotton one should not bleed. But test it first.

Cold water to keep the colors bright.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 1:22 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Genjo Conan said:
CRT as a method of legal analysis was relatively uncontroversial until very recently. People could agree or disagree, but it was put in the same basket as Legal Realism or Law & Economics: another analytical tool.  My decidedly non-woke law school had at least one CRT-based seminar, for example.

Malcolm wrote:
The hysteria over CRT is just another example of right-wing race baiting.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 1:20 AM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
On CRT: To piggyback of what QQ said, unfortunately CRT rarely touches on common class grievances.

Malcolm wrote:
Race, in America, is class, IMO.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 at 12:27 AM
Title: Re: washing zendras
Content:
treehuggingoctopus said:
I have just been told at the dry cleaner's that they can clean my zendras all right, but are fairly sure the maroon will bleed, and what I will pick up in a week will be an immaculately clean and doubtlessly fragrant pink shawl.

They may be right. So the question is, how does one do it?

Please feel free to share your success stories. The two-fold objective is still to clean the striped thing properly while keeping the stripes and preserving their original colours.

Thanks in advance.

Malcolm wrote:
How to take care: The real handmade Raw silk Meditation shawl are stiff to begin with however after many wash it gets softer. The genuine Bureh which means Raw silk in Tibetan and Bhutan needs to be worn a number of times before the silk starts to relax. Some people prefer to give them a cold hand wash to speed up this process, also good idea to add little amount of Vinegar while washing to retain the color from running.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 11:53 PM
Title: Re: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:
Genjo Conan said:
And I still think it's nonsense to point to a global pandemic and say "it's the young people who did this."

Malcolm wrote:
Right, we all know who did this: the GOP.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 11:51 PM
Title: Re: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
This is quite wrong. Vaccination definitely inhibits the spread of delta, and breakthroughs only occur in 1 out of every 5000 fully vaccinated people. The fact is that our medical system is being crushed, and medical staff are quitting in droves because 40 percent of the population persists in believing lies and conspiracy theories, egged on by politicians like Desantis, Abbot, and so on, who should be jailed for their perfidy.

Jesse said:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html

Fully vaccinated people with Delta variant breakthrough infections can spread the virus to others.

Malcolm wrote:
Note, I did not say that fully vaccinated people could not spread the virus. But to spread the virus, one has to be infected with the virus, and breakthrough infections are 1 in 5k.

Jesse said:
The breakthrough cases your talking about are those who get deathly ill, and hospitalized.

Malcolm wrote:
No. Breakthrough cases are when anyone is INFECTED, whether they show symptoms or not. From 8/26/21:

Breakthrough Covid Cases: Uncommon and Often Mild, but Not Always
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/26/health/covid-breakthrough-infection.html?searchResultPosition=3

One in 5,000
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/briefing/risk-breakthrough-infections-delta.html?searchResultPosition=1
Jesse said:
How small are the chances of the average vaccinated American contracting Covid? Probably about one in 5,000 per day, and even lower for people who take precautions or live in a highly vaccinated community.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 10:42 PM
Title: Humsvaranadini Tara for Attraction Empowerment
Content:
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Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 8:05 PM
Title: Re: Physics Metaphor application to Buddhist concepts - an exercise
Content:
Leo Rivers said:
One need not posit primordial purity. This model adapts the notion of ‘no physics nor space before the emergence of space time for physics to take place in.’

Kim O'Hara said:
I like that one.

It also happens to not conflict with Buddhist doctrine about beginningless time.


Kim

Malcolm wrote:
Ummm, yeah, actually it does. It also contradicts dependent origination.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 7:59 PM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Archie2009 said:
CRT, Intersectionality, Queer Theory, Fat Studies, etc are not serious subjects. They are unscientific postmodernism infused BS. And divisive. And, yes, often racist or lead to racism.

Malcolm wrote:
Intersectionality and “identity” politics grew out the recognition in 1970’s by black radical lesbians that white radical lesbians wanted them to abandon black men. Black lesbians pushed back against this by pointing out they had a set of issues on the basis of the fact that not only were they lesbians, and thus subject to discrimination, but they were also Black, and subject to yet another layer of discrimination their white colleagues would never experience. So they refused to bow to the pressure put on them by the white lesbians to abandon Black men in the continuing struggle of Black people to secure their civil rights.

Of course, the real identity politics was the identity politics of the heterosexual, patriarchal, racist, white majority,

And no, they are not themselves racist nor lead to racism. Racism against who? “Whites?” That idea is completely unsupported


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 7:51 PM
Title: Re: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Yup, all this bitching and moaning about privacy is exactly that.

BTW, it was not the Taliban that attacked us, Jesse, it was the Saudis. So yes, we have been working with those who attacked us since 9/11/2001.


Queequeg said:
All this huffing and puffing.

In NYC, proof of vaccination is required to enter restaurants, concerts, museums, etc. At the venue, we are asked to show our vaccine card and ID. That's it. Don't like it? forego sitting down for sushi. Take out is still available.

I am thrilled with this. It brings a level of comfort that is priceless.

If you're worried about getting tracked, your first step should be getting rid of your phone and getting off the internet. People worrying about a candle when the whole house is burning down.

smh


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 7:47 PM
Title: Re: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:
PeterC said:
I strongly suspect that the reason this is being debated in such a heated way is that there has been a concerted effort to create political tension over this, as it is a potentially inflammatory wedge issue.  "Vaccine passports" are just the newest addition to a long list of topics such as "death panels", "critical race theory", "black-on-black violence" or take your pick of other slogans.

And actually it's almost impossible to have a discussion about whether "mandating" "vaccine passports" is a good or a bad thing, because you have to actually define what you're talking about.  Proof of vaccination to enter certain premises? Participate in certain events?  How prevalent would this be?  What level of government enforces it?  Maintains records?  Who has access to the records?  Are there medical exemptions and how obtained?  Are we taking a position of default exclusion, or default inclusion?  Do private individuals and companies get to decide whether to include or exclude?  Etc etc.  We don't know, and that's the point.

That said I would hold a few basic truths to be self-evident here:

1. Different societies can reasonably come to different consensuses on what the role of the state is in public health.  Some countries will opt for monitoring of all individuals' movements and health conditions.  Other societies will decide that the state should have zero involvement.  There's nothing intrinsically good or bad about any of these positions.

2. There are, within the US, many very different societies that will have very different views on this, stratified by geography, wealth, race, etc.  It is almost inconceivable that there could be a nationwide consensus with broad support.

3. It is completely possible to implement these tracking systems in a privacy-protecting, non-intrusive way.

4. It is almost certain that no US governmental authority is sufficiently competent to achieve #3

5. It is absolutely certain that any US governmental entity will abuse its authority while doing #3 to give more power to law enforcement by the backdoor

6. It is completely consistent with historic practice that certain activities require proof of medical status, which may include vaccination, and I believe it lies well within the remit of emergency powers at both federal and state level.

7. It is completely rational, given what we know about the coronavirus, that a society should seek to implement a system that tracks who is unvaccinated and prohibits them from engaging in certain activities.

Finally - the post at the start of this thread by Nightbloom is insidious, hypocritical BS dressed up in pseudodharma.  I believe the technical term is concern trolling.  This is the sort of behavior that should get people kicked off the site.

Malcolm wrote:
Yup.

And this:
Considering Delta spreads regardless of people being vaccinated or not,
This is quite wrong. Vaccination definitely inhibits the spread of delta, and breakthroughs only occur in 1 out of every 5000 fully vaccinated people. The fact is that our medical system is being crushed, and medical staff are quitting in droves because 40 percent of the population persists in believing lies and conspiracy theories, egged on by politicians like Desantis, Abbot, and so on, who should be jailed for their perfidy.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 4:02 AM
Title: Re: Having sex with someone's partner
Content:
fckw said:
Speaking of which: Did not the Hevajra Tantra state something about "frequenting others' wives"? Obviously, the question arises how to interpret that part of the text.

nightbloom said:
iirc, such commandments are usually understood to refer to she who is the *universal wife*.

Malcolm wrote:
Its not really proper to discuss this here.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 3:59 AM
Title: Re: Having sex with someone's partner
Content:
Kurp said:
TL;DR — I don’t know if it breaks any vows, but if you’re lying to your partner(s), you ain’t doing it right most likely.

Malcolm wrote:
If you are lying to your partner, you are a) lying, which is a pratimokṣa violation b) engaging in sexual misconduct, which is another. So yeah, this man, if he is a Buddhist, has broken his vows consistently. Adultery is sexual misconduct. If someone has a claim to you by mutual agreement, then you are violating that promise by stepping outside the relationship.

Anyway, its mostly guys that want to do the polyamory thing. This is pretty well known. Women put up it with because???


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 2:55 AM
Title: Re: Double lung transplant
Content:
PadmaVonSamba said:
Hey!
I just had a double lung transplant a few days ago. I’m doing fine at this point, but any extra good wishes especially for loss to the donor family would be nice. Thanks!

Malcolm wrote:
Holy shit!!!

Well, I hope you are breathing easier now...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 2:51 AM
Title: Re: What are your thoughts on DMT and the entities people claim to encounter?
Content:
Toenail said:
Why explicitly in that state though? Do spirits find you easier or so? What is happening when you take Ayahuasca?

Malcolm wrote:
One, people often take Aya because they want to meet plant guides. So there is an expectation of meeting such beings, since it is part of the lore.

Two, the people who lead such sessions are often thralls of provocations themselves, IMO.

As you rightly pointed out, it is all pretty low level. If it has value, it has value for people in that indigenous culture only.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 1:50 AM
Title: Re: What are your thoughts on DMT and the entities people claim to encounter?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
It really put me off. It seems like a powerful agent, but the result is probably delusion even if it feels pleasant.
Ayahuasca in particular can open oneself up to provocations.

Toenail said:
Could you elaborate on that? It sounds very interesting and a bit magical. I dig stuff like that.

Malcolm wrote:
It was not interesting to the person who experienced it. They were quite troubled by it. They had taken Ayahuasca in a park in New Jersey of all places. After they were troubled by provocations for some time.

You know from your reading that one can meet entities while in this state. Sometimes they are malevolent.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 1:48 AM
Title: Re: Simhamukha
Content:


fckw said:
Briefly checked.

Malcolm wrote:
This book  has nothing to do with the Bari Simhamukha in the Thirteen Golden Dharmas, other than Khyentse Wangpo including the lo rgyus. Vajranatha's book is a translation of the Rinchen Terzo manual by  Khyentse Wangpo. It's a completely different practice than what is found in the Thirteen Golden Dharmas.

The Bari Lineage is bka' ma; the Bodongpa lineage is gter ma. They are separate practices and lineages and should not be mixed together.

fckw said:
Ah, my confusion then. Thanks for clarifying!

Malcolm wrote:
Sure, it is understandable.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 1:17 AM
Title: Re: What are your thoughts on DMT and the entities people claim to encounter?
Content:
Toenail said:
I was very interested in Ayahuasca and planned to take it next year in neatherlands with peruvian shamans.  Then I read this book: 'Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon' on associated shamanism.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, a very interesting book. Quite authoritative.


Toenail said:
It really put me off. It seems like a powerful agent, but the result is probably delusion even if it feels pleasant.

Malcolm wrote:
Ayahuasca in particular can open oneself up to provocations.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 1:13 AM
Title: Re: Simhamukha
Content:
fckw said:
It is possible that Lama Vajranatha has some additional material collected about this particular lineage of Simhamukha, you might want to inquire with him on this topic.

Malcolm wrote:
Probably not. His lineage is mainly Ayu Khandro’s Terma and Khandro Thugthig.

Also the nyingma account is totally different.

fckw said:
Briefly checked.

Malcolm wrote:
This book  has nothing to do with the Bari Simhamukha in the Thirteen Golden Dharmas, other than Khyentse Wangpo including the lo rgyus. Vajranatha's book is a translation of the Rinchen Terzo manual by  Khyentse Wangpo. It's a completely different practice than what is found in the Thirteen Golden Dharmas.

The Bari Lineage is bka' ma; the Bodongpa lineage is gter ma. They are separate practices and lineages and should not be mixed together.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 1:04 AM
Title: Re: Having sex with someone's partner
Content:
Nemo said:
It's an interesting talk but I think the missed point is how different people can be. You can be in virtuous multipartner relationships that turn into lifelong friendships.

Malcolm wrote:
Never seen it happen. Someone always gets burned.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 12:29 AM
Title: Re: Simhamukha
Content:
fckw said:
It is possible that Lama Vajranatha has some additional material collected about this particular lineage of Simhamukha, you might want to inquire with him on this topic.

Malcolm wrote:
Probably not. His lineage is mainly Ayu Khandro’s Terma and Khandro Thugthig.

Also the nyingma account is totally different.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 11:48 PM
Title: Re: What are your thoughts on DMT and the entities people claim to encounter?
Content:
frankie said:
Just for absolute clarity, though, and to make my personal position clear: those inclined to take drugs for spiritual advancement/insight are self-indulgent mugs - end of.

Malcolm wrote:
Not all,  most are just confused and following false guides.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 11:43 PM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://apple.news/A_wcCngKiTTaSIbBR_qKuvw

Unknown said:
Thomas Schramm, who graduated fromHarvard-Westlake last spring, believes the woke/anti-woke debate is “more of a parent problem than a student problem. Parents who didn’t necessarily know what was being taught, or who didn’t understand what was being taught, reached their own conclusions,” Schramm says. “A lot of this is students who are on Zoom at home, their parents are in the same room with them, and they’re hearing a lot of this information that’s being taught to their kids, and they might not get the full context of what’s going on.”


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 11:35 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:
Sādhaka said:
(of course the lower is always subsumed within the higher, and also always within context)

Malcolm wrote:
So I guess libertarianism is basically at the śrāvaka level, politically speaking.


Sādhaka said:
Well I would say that for anyone who is not on the Bhumis, politics altogether is at or below the level of the vehicle of gods & men.

Malcolm wrote:
,
I am grading things based on the level of self-interest here. Of course politics is completely worldly, below vehicle of devas and humans.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 11:24 PM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Archie2009 said:
Malcolm, John McWhorter does not deny the existence of systemic racism. (I watched the following video a couple of months ago and saved it, so I'm just going to post the link here. I might rewatch it this afternoon.)

Malcolm wrote:
I am aware. My point was that people like Bill M use his critiques as a basis for undermining a CRT, etc., as a whole.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 10:12 PM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
KristenM said:
Interesting take on "Wokeness."

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/696856/woke-racism-by-john-mcwhorter/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/10/opinion/systemic-racism-education.html

Hope you don't get a paywall.

Archie2009 said:
John McWhorter talks sense. Some people here have got partisan horse blinders on, however.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, how are white only covenants in deeds all over the United States not systemic racism?

How is the gradual defunding of public schools in North Carolina, etc., after desegregation, and the rise of private white only schools posing as Christian academies not systemic racism?

His thesis, that some disparities we see may originate in the sociology of Black people, may be true, however, how can he claim that very sociology was not formed by the deeply racist,  post-reconstruction period in the US? Long and short of it, he can’t.

The arguments for systemic racism in America are far stronger than those against. But I know white people, Bill Maher, etc., take comfort in the soothing words of the few Black intellectuals who seek to disarm its more serious implications. Indeed, Friday, Bill was going off about wokeness again with George Will, and just repeated Fox News talking points. He was pretty unhappy his other guest, Christina Bellantoni pushed back hard against his assertions. He also, cluelessly, went off on the so-called Black national anthem, forgetting that the original poem on which our national anthem is based, explicitly supports slavery.

Btw,, the Queen is a BLM supporter.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 9:12 PM
Title: Re: Soul with unfulfilled desires
Content:
firewheel said:
Hi Members,

According to the Buddhist scriptures, what happens to the soul if a person passes away with unfulfilled desires?

Will the soul get to be reborn again as a human to fulfill his desires?

Thank you.

Malcolm wrote:
According to Buddhist scriptures, there is no soul at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 8:49 PM
Title: Re: Buddhist morality
Content:


Kim O'Hara said:
Interesting articles - thanks - but they don't support the prevalence of feuds so much as inter-community conflict or warfare.
Attack the next village, kill all the men and boys, take the women as slaves or wives, take all their food and land - standard operating procedure for a depressingly long segment of human history.


Kim

Malcolm wrote:
Kim,

The pastoralists who did so were all patrilineal clans. This corresponds very neatly with Maria Gimbutas' Kurgan hypothesis:

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


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 8:45 PM
Title: Re: 8 Great Charnel Grounds
Content:
nightbloom said:
Anybody know of any good visual representations of these? Especially in the context of a mandala (Kurukulla's preferably)? Would be very helpful.

zerwe said:
There is a representation as a visual/learning aid where each are isolated or fragmented individually and discussed. This is available on Yamantaka.org or on the previous iteration of that particular site.

Shaun

Malcolm wrote:
You would have to have had an Vajrabhairava empowerment to access that site.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 8:30 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:
Tata1 said:
Now people seem to think DC is the enemy as if they are guilty for the situation.

Malcolm wrote:
No, no one thinks this.

But Rinpoche left no instructions about how the DC was going to continue if, as seems to be the case, his physical heirs had no interest in continuing the DC.

So, at this point, the DC, while quite active at present, is moribund.

But its ok. There are hundreds of tertons who left huge collections of treasures that are no longer practice by anyone, anywhere, anymore. Only dribs and drabs of this and that are practiced. Bits and pieces.

There is more than enough teachings out there to bring the whole world to liberation, even if no more sadhanas, tantras, etc. were ever revealed.

The DC is now closed. That's just a fact.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 8:22 PM
Title: Re: 8 Great Charnel Grounds
Content:
nightbloom said:
Anybody know of any good visual representations of these? Especially in the context of a mandala (Kurukulla's preferably)? Would be very helpful.

Malcolm wrote:
They are standard, though the names vary from sadhana to sadhana, but their features are the same in all mandalas and should not be discussed here, since their meaning is very profound.

You can see representations of them at Himalayan Art.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 8:04 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:


oldbob said:
Perhaps shouting "theater" in a crowded fire (hijacking the thread with wit or scholarship) is not appropriate in a time like this where timely action on the part of Members of the IDC might avert calamity.

Malcolm wrote:
All your concerns are quite valid, Bob. There are some obvious obstacles to all your suggestions. I have had convos with people at the highest levels of the DC hierarchy about these very issues. It’s a frustrating set of issues. They are also frustrated and making the best of a very uncertain situation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 8:00 AM
Title: Re: Having sex with someone's partner
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
Do you have a quote on this samaya? I cannot find any details about sexual activity samaya.

Malcolm wrote:
Buddhist Ethics, page 261; the 7th root downfall, disclosing secrets. This includes using a partner who has not taken empowerment (first branch downfall) to practice actual karmamudra with them (since it is an explicit secret mantra ritual procedure).

Buddhist Ethics, page 265; the first branch downfall, to rely on a consort who lacks samaya, has broken samaya, etc.

In West, it is a lonely world for the single, lay Vajrayāna practitioner.

At best, if one's partner is not a Vajrayāni, one's practice will really never get anywhere and one will have obstacles. And if one is tries to practice actual karmamudra with them, performing the creation and completion stage with them as required, it is a root downfall. I don't think 21 Vajrasattvas a day will keep Yama away in that case.

This is why the Tantras such as Hevajra and so on, have instructions on how to train a suitable mudra step by step. Mudra practice also exists in seventeen tantras, so there is no easy out there either.

Crazywisdom said:
But this is about karmamudra. Just having sex isn't relying on a consort.

Malcolm wrote:
No, its not just about karma mudra. Read the book. However you free to interpret it anyway you like. I know how it is understood in the traditional context. We are not supposed to engage in these behaviors with ordinary desire, that’s covered under the eight special samayas of mother tantra. That’s also discussed in the Kongtrul book.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 4:27 AM
Title: Re: Having sex with someone's partner
Content:
Heimdall said:
Also, traditionally speaking, afaia, in Tibetan Buddhism, any non-procreative sex was sexual misconduct for centuries.

Malcolm wrote:
Umm...no.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 2:40 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:
Sādhaka said:
(of course the lower is always subsumed within the higher, and also always within context)

Malcolm wrote:
So I guess libertarianism is basically at the śrāvaka level, politically speaking.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 12:38 AM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:
Lazy Lubber said:
Why? Say a monk has sex with one woman seeking a deluded merit by having sex with a monk, similar to a rock star groupie. Then as a layman, this ex-monk starts sleeping with prostitutes  or whoever he can sleep with. Surely, he causes more harm to himself outside of the Sangha.

Malcolm wrote:
I wonder than, what you make of the Mahāsiddha Virūpa...

Crazywisdom said:
Many samaya downfalls?

Malcolm wrote:
I think he has the siddha exclusion clause for samaya violations.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 11th, 2021 at 9:36 PM
Title: Re: Ngondro Out of Order?
Content:
Schrödinger’s Yidam said:
The Nyingmapas I know do the prayers for all the practices each session. However they can accumulate whatever they want of each section. For instance they can, in a single session, accumulate 100 prostrations, 300 Vajrasattva, zero Mandalas, and 200 Guru Yogas. But they have to total 111k for each for them to finish.

Malcolm wrote:
Depends. 100k is just a nice round number.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 11th, 2021 at 8:35 PM
Title: Re: Having sex with someone's partner
Content:
Toenail said:
I was looking for dharma advice, not moral advice etc. Is it really against the sexual misconduct vow if both consent?

Malcolm wrote:
I was not giving either dharma or moral advice, I was giving common sense advice. Of course, then there is the question of whether one is sleeping with a non-practitioner or not. It's technically just a branch downfall, if it is just ordinary sex. It's a root downfall, if you are visualizing them as your consort.

I personally still think it is a bad idea, but if both partners are in agreement and the person you are sleeping with has told the other person of their intention to sleep with you, no problem. Just make sure you wear your party hat.

I have however seen situations where one person thinks they are in a monogamous relationship, and the partner who wants to step outside the relationship claims to the new love interest they are in an open relationship. Now, this is not a case of sexual misconduct on your part, because you were misled, but it is sexual misconduct on their part. Sexual misconduct includes "adultery" in its non-legal sense, that is, when a person screws around on someone with whom they have a monogamous commitment.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 11th, 2021 at 8:25 PM
Title: Re: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Messages Image(353694953).png (999.75 KiB) Viewed 188 times


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 11th, 2021 at 5:12 AM
Title: Re: What are your thoughts on DMT and the entities people claim to encounter?
Content:
Giovanni said:
When William James experimented with Nitrous Oxide he became convinced that he had discovered the Secret Of The Universe.
He wrote it down so he wouldn’t forget. The next day he read what he had written, it said

“Hogamus higamus man is polygamous.
Higamous hogamous woman monogamous.”

Malcolm wrote:
Well, nitrous does get you high along with destroying brain cells...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 11th, 2021 at 2:39 AM
Title: Re: Having sex with someone's partner
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
I had the same attitude. But things vary by region and generation. I've spoken with many people in Brazil about this and especially the young people are very comfortable with this sort of relationship, as it's become normal.

Malcolm wrote:
Promiscuity is common when one is young and cute. One's 20's are for f&^king.

Crazywisdom said:
I'll note I've observed  the reason why jealousy and possessiveness doesn't seem to come into play is sexuality is very very casual and has no meaning beyond a physical release. Folks take friendships more seriously instead. Also it is not common for young people here to want to become apaixonados, to fall passionately in love. They don't want anything serious and want to keep things light and detached.

Malcolm wrote:
It was the same when I was young.

Crazywisdom said:
For me it was like listening to aliens talk about relationships. But it's strangeness make me key in, ask questions and listen. I've come away from it with mixed feelings. On the one hand no seems sincerely interested in anyone except themselves.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, you said young people.

Still, if someone is stepping out on their partner, open relationship or not, well...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 10:13 PM
Title: Re: Simhamukha
Content:
Lobsang Chojor said:
I recently received the jenang of the Lion Faced Dakini (Simhamukha) coming from Bari Lotsawa to Chogye Trichen Rinpoche and then my guru.

I was wondering if there are any resources on the deity, the practice or the history available?

Malcolm wrote:
From the text

Lobsang Chojor said:
When Bari Lotsawa was in Nepal, he debated the tīrthika Bhavyarāja. Since he was defeated Bhavyarāja, the latter became angry and said, "You will die in seven days through a maledictory mantra!"

The Lotsawa scoffed. The tīrthika said, "You must abandon your deity, the Three Jewels, and convert to doctrine and burn your text with the golden wrap in the fire."

Bari Lotsawa said, "This life is impermanent and short, won't enter your doctrine, nor will I abandon the deity, the Three Jewels"

In order to force Bari's death, the tīrthika said, "You will exhibit death in seven days."

Bari scoffed again and reported this story to his guru, Vajrāsanapāda. Vajrāsanapāda said, "I have a method. Make offerings to the Three Jewels, and prepare a feast offering for the ḍākinīs and supplicate them!" Ha

Having been foretold that the ḍākinīs would come, Bari carried out the instruction, and at midnight, Ḍākinī Siṃhamukha, with the eye of gnosis, arrived in the sky in front of him, in the center of a fire. She said "There is no need to scoff, underneath a boulder shaped like a yak at Vajrāsana, there is the so-called "wealth practice of all the ḍākinīs", also called "a longevity practice,"  and called "a repelling rite for repelling the mighty and powerful," the supreme protection against weapons and the crusher of enemies. If there is a mandala, it will wil free from from the destruction of the evil māras. It assists in protection from all gods and demons. It will cause those who use mantras of power and malediction to vomit blood. It will prevent harm from poison and weapons. One cannot be harmed even by the practice of a thousand mantrins. Since one will sleep happily, it is enough. Since it is an instruction that is auspicious and effective, take it out and promulgate in a single lineage. One should not engage in the meditation and recitation for more than a week. If one practices without breaks and without speaking, the signs will come." The she vanished.

The lotsawa went to that place, and there was such a boulder, and under the boulder, there was a golden box. In that box was the heart essence of ten million ḍākinīs written on red silk. When Bari removed that, a great apparition appeared. Bari wrote that down in gold letters and wore it on his body. Since he recited the mantra for seven days. the tīrthika vomited blood and died.

Having heard that the tīrthika died, he related the story to Guru Vajrāsanapāda. The Guru said, "You didn't die, but if he hadn't died, it would have been better. It is not correct to slay tīrthikas, even though they have entered an errant path. It would have been sufficient for you to merely wear the mantra on your body. The disciple did not really listen to the guru. Since you recited the mantra, he died. Since you have to purify this misdeed, you should sponsor some teachings."

Malcolm wrote:
There you have it. This is the origin story of Siṃhamukha practice in Bari Lotsawa's lineage, according to the Sakya Thirteen Golden Dharmas, which is the tradition you received as written by Namkhai Palzang in the sgrub thabs kung btus. This is from the text your lama probably used. There is a slightly  longer story set down by Tsharchen with more details at the beginning of the cycle. It looks like the account Khyentse Wangpo received and was set down in the Rinchen Terzod garbles some details present in Tsarchen's account.

There are also minor differences between the account above and Tsarchen's such as there being several boxes, one of agate, one made of "rhinoceros hide," one made of bodhitree wood, one made of silver, one made of gold, one made of turquoise, one made of sapphire, and one made of ruby, one inside the other other.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 9:23 PM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:
Lazy Lubber said:
Why? Say a monk has sex with one woman seeking a deluded merit by having sex with a monk, similar to a rock star groupie. Then as a layman, this ex-monk starts sleeping with prostitutes  or whoever he can sleep with. Surely, he causes more harm to himself outside of the Sangha.

Malcolm wrote:
I wonder than, what you make of the Mahāsiddha Virūpa...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 7:56 PM
Title: Re: Reversing Global Warming - Science and Politics (split from: Reversing Global Warming -Prayers and Aspirations")
Content:
Kim O'Hara said:
Here's a handy cheat-sheet on the latest IPCC report - https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/what-does-ipcc-latest-report-mean/


Kim

Malcolm wrote:
My short term transition strategy:

https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/2022/

And it can run my house for three days in a blackout….without a diesel generator…


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 7:38 PM
Title: Re: What are your thoughts on DMT and the entities people claim to encounter?
Content:
Sādhaka said:
Interesting, Manwon and Peter C^.

I’ve actually been talking about this topic in my personal life today; and also about Coptic Christianity as well, believe it or not.

Probably just ‘coincidence’ though

PeterC said:
My general theory on this is that, to put it bluntly, use of hallucinogenic drugs makes you in some way temporarily stupid, such that ordinary things seem profound.  If you take drugs with the hope of having a profound experience, and your mind is saying "look here, this seems profound", then you will choose to convince yourself that it really is profound. We are exceptionally good at persuading ourselves, particularly when we don't realize that's what we're doing. People see what they want to see.

Malcolm wrote:
A friend called me up recently, all excited because as he had taken a variant of DMT and he had remembered countless past lives…when I asked him who he had been in his past life, after ribbing him about his past life as Cleopatra, he sheepishly admitted he could not remember any of them…


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 4:09 AM
Title: Re: Zazen and emptiness
Content:
Nicholas2727 said:
[ Or would they still say Tathata = Sunyata?

Malcolm wrote:
They would still say tathatā is śūnyatā because it is devoid of everything that is not a quality of buddhahood.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 3:40 AM
Title: Re: Zazen and emptiness
Content:
Rick said:
I didn't know that!

What about the other part:

Is "Zazen is enlightenment" (more or less) the same as "Zazen is emptiness?" Or am I making a categorical error?

Malcolm wrote:
There is no awakening sans realizing emptiness.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 3:39 AM
Title: Re: Re Mipham's Tashi Tsikpa
Content:
Sonam Wangchug said:
Refers to Chakrasamvara according to Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche.

Malcolm wrote:
Takkirāja is a form of Cakrasamvara. Surprise, surprise.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 3:37 AM
Title: Re: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:


Johnny Dangerous said:
I also think that he probably sees things with precedent - mandates from employers and schools for example- as some sort of overreach.
I don’t,

Malcolm wrote:
Good, since these things are supported in the 1922 SCOTUS decision about vaccinating schoolchildren.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 3:36 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Hi Bob:


oldbob said:
One way would be to bring in a recognized Dzogchen Master, (or Masters) from another Dzogchen lineage(s) to give DI and read the Tibetan texts for the Lung Permissions.

Malcolm wrote:
This has been suggested and already discarded.


oldbob said:
This was performed by ChNN many times.  Recordings of this are available, or it also would be possible to have a senior student lead the practice.

Malcolm wrote:
Rinpoche stated innumerable times that one could not receive direct introduction from a recording.


oldbob said:
If someone says they have received permission from ChNN in a dream to have access to read and practice all of his Teachings, who can counter this?  Then no one can stop someone else from having access to all the Teachings.

Malcolm wrote:
No one will believe them.


oldbob said:
If it was also allowed to have the transmission of the Lung readings from the recordings of ChNNR,

Malcolm wrote:
Rinpoche also said countless times, "No lungs from recordings."

oldbob said:
The key point is that there needs to be a way forward – now – that allows for a continuation of the Transmission Lineage through easy and regular Direct introductions, and Lung Reading Authorizations, combined with easy access to lineage holders and teaching materials.

Malcolm wrote:
I personally think the only way forward is for Adriano  to accept responsibility for giving transmissions and empowerments, especially of the Longsal teachings. I have personally told him this. I think he is the most qualified person to do so.

That's my 2 cents.

M


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 3:29 AM
Title: Re: Zazen and emptiness
Content:
Rick said:
Tathata?

Dogen said zazen is enlightenment. Would he also have said zazen is emptiness?

Is the act of doing zazen (correctly) as close as one can get to 'doing'/embodying emptiness?

Malcolm wrote:
Tathāta = śunyatā. They are synonyms.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 12:45 AM
Title: Re: Zazen and emptiness
Content:
Rick said:
Is zazen emptiness?

Malcolm wrote:
The real question is, is there anything that isn't?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 12:31 AM
Title: Re: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:


Johnny Dangerous said:
‘Papers please’ for daily movement and activities is not ok.

Malcolm wrote:
During a pandemic, it certainly is.

Johnny Dangerous said:
So, what you are talking about is not what I am talking about. Read up the position of the ACLU or the EFF on them if you want to know more. It’s obvious you haven’t looked at the issue in detail, and assume I am talking about the standard practice of vaccination proof being required for school, international travel, etc. I’m not, and neither are the civil liberties orgs concerned with them.

Malcolm wrote:
I would not go to a restaurant these days that did not insist on proof of vaccination. I do not want to be the 1 in 5000 vaccinated people who get a breakthrough infection. I know people who have had breakthrough infections, and they suck. You know this too. People's daily movements are not as important as getting this pandemic under control. You may have a different opinion.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 12:01 AM
Title: Re: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
I would like to see sunset provisions and limitations put on them, but I agree they are clearly happening to one degree or another.

Malcolm wrote:
Try getting your kid into a Florida school without having a record of all their vaccinations available. There is no difference. It's the same thing. People just don't like the word "passport."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 11:59 PM
Title: Re: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
I oppose vaccine passports on civil liberties grounds,

Malcolm wrote:
You've already lost that battle in court. Just sayin...

Johnny Dangerous said:
According to what?

Malcolm wrote:
SCOTUS. How to you think Cambridge, MA knew who had been vaccinated and who hadn't? The state has an absolute right to identify and record those people who have been vaccinated and those who have not, and enforce quarantines on those who have not been vaccinated by any means deemed necessary, including vaccine "passports." It's really no different than issuing driver's licenses. You don't object to driver's licenses based on civil liberties grounds, do you? You certainly do not want unlicensed drivers with no insurance on the roads, correct? It has been a long standing practice in the US that you would have to carry with you a record of vaccinations to travel abroad.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 11:54 PM
Title: Re: The Serious Curriculum
Content:


mutsuk said:
Yes, that's a good point. But there are some counter examples.

Malcolm wrote:
I did not mean that every Bon geshe who studied with Geluks would have this attitude, only some.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 11:53 PM
Title: Re: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
I oppose vaccine passports on civil liberties grounds,

Malcolm wrote:
You've already lost that battle in court. Just sayin...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 10:56 PM
Title: Vaccination Recalcitrance Posing as Compassion
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?p=597342#p597342

Nightbloom stated:
In accordance with Bodhicitta, I've refused vaccination entirely. My reasoning is as follows: The dangers posed by the virus are lesser than those posed by the re-construction of public life around medical security...
This is an entirely bogus argument. SCOTUS ruled in 1905 that people have an obligation to be vaccinated if the government decided that in public health emergencies, based on science, that vaccine mandates were entirely warranted despite individual objections.

Get vaccinated, save someone's life. If you don't, your invocation of bodhicitta is a complete and utter joke.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 10:44 PM
Title: Re: Origin of the Mantra Mispronunciation Story?
Content:



Crazywisdom said:
That war story is really a shame

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, Tibetan politics are brutal.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 10:38 PM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Archie2009 said:
I will never vote for regressive, destructive woke nonsense.

Malcolm wrote:
"Wokeness" is just a meme pushed by Fox News as a dog whistle for racists, both consciousness and unconsciousness.

However the term "woke" has a venerable history in black community in the US,  dating the 1930's:

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

"I advise everybody, be a little careful when they go along through there – best stay woke, keep their eyes open."

--Scottsboro Boys, Leadbelly

I will certainly use the term, just like the term "Yankee" for New Englanders, which came originally from a satiric song originally sung by the Redcoats, Yankee Doodle Dandy. Much to the chagrin of the British troops it was adopted as a marching song by the Continental Army, rather in the same way Trumpsters flocked to Clinton's disastrous appellation for them, "deplorables."

To the tune of Turn the Beat Around:

Turn the meme around
Love to hear repercussions
Turn it upside down
Love to hear repercussions
Love to hear it...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 10:24 PM
Title: Re: Having sex with someone's partner
Content:
Toenail said:
Is it okay to have sex with someone's partner, if they are in an open relationship? Or does it break the sexual misconduct lay vow? I feel like the essence of this vow is not to destroy relationships and causing someone to cheat, no?

Malcolm wrote:
The point of the vow with respect to others partners is developing a trustworthy character and being immune to grudges.

Personally, I would never sleep with someone in an "open relationship." It's just asking for trouble.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 10:21 PM
Title: Re: The Serious Curriculum
Content:
mutsuk said:
In Menri, there were throughout history teachers who would be doubtful about Dzogchen. For instance, the current Lopon Trinley Nyima had a philosophy teachers (Madhyamaka, and so forth) who would not accept Dzogchen as genuine. This is a bit extreme, sure, but not unheard of...


Sādhaka said:
Well that’s interesting.


Malcolm wrote:
Perhaps they were Bon Geshes who also trained at Geluk monasteries, where Dzogchen doubt is high.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 9:55 PM
Title: Re: The Serious Curriculum
Content:
mutsuk said:
Malcolm wrote elsewhere:

You may notice that Bonpos do not teach their serious curriculum of Madhyamaka, Abhidharma, etc.
You have to put that into context. What Malcolm meant is that Bönpos do not give these teachings to Westerners.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, that is what I meant. Not that these Bon curricula are not taught in Bon academies in India, Nepal, and Tibet.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 9:53 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:
Harimoo said:
the instructors who teach yantra yoga with wicca BS

treehuggingoctopus said:
"Wicca BS" is a tad offensive, you know.

Offensiveness aside: Wicca and YY, who would have guessed.

Malcolm wrote:
What I really want to know is whether or not they are practicing Yantra naked in the woods at night on full moons, Beltane, Samhain, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 9:45 PM
Title: Re: Origin of the Mantra Mispronunciation Story?
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
I agree with Malcolm it's better to pronounce the mantra correctly from the beginning. The lesson is not that one should pronounce them how you received them but to recite mantra with faith and confidence, free from doubt.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, this is an important point. That's why even Sapan allowed that mantra recited with full confidence and devotion, even if a bit wrong, would be effective.

The Chilli Chilaya story is just a bit of Nyingma butt hurt meant to denigrate Sapan's text, "How to pronounce Mantras" in his collected works. In that text he also covers Sanskrit regional pronunciations. The man had 30 Indian pandita tutors and spoke fluent Sanskrit, despite having never visited India. He was more Indian than Tibetan. Since Sapan was quite famous even in India, six tirthika panditas came to Tibet to debate him and lost,.  He was also extremely handsome and charismatic, leading to no small amount of jealousy on the part of his detractors.

Gyalpo Rinpoche told me that the Drikung War with Sakya was entirely Drikung's fault. What he shared with me was that someone misheard Sapan talking about Jigten Sumgon, for whom Sapan had tremendous respect, even though there were points of disagreement. This man went back to Drikung and spread a false rumor that Sapan was slandering Jigten Sumgon. The rest is history.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 9:37 PM
Title: Re: Origin of the Mantra Mispronunciation Story?
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
Some mantras like terma mantras came originally in Tibetan pronunciation. So like in Dorje Drolo there's not much choice. It's Tibetan style. I don't think the Sanskrit transliteration will work.

Malcolm wrote:
According to Situ Panchen, the Drollo mantra is actually "Apabrahmsa." There is an established tradition that the dro wo lod is a corruption of khrodalokottara. However, the mantra is as it is.

There are some mantras, like Black Mañjuśrī, which are clearly not all Sanskrit, same for the Kilaya "razor mantra." Especially in protector practices there are a lot of mantras that are mixed Sanskrit and Tibetan. Believe it or not, Dilgo Khyentse advised the Vajradhātu translators to translate the Tibetan words into English and recite those with English mixed with Sanskrit. Black Mañuśrī has "snying mgo la chod" in the mantra meaning "sever the heart and head." Imagine handing that out to beginners.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 9:28 PM
Title: Re: Quiz - Which Political Party would you belong to?
Content:
Queequeg said:
NYT quiz - if there were six political parties in the US, based on your views, which one would you likely belong to?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/09/08/opinion/republicans-democrats-parties.html?smid=url-share

I would be on the socially liberal end of the Labor Party, which sounds about right.

Malcolm wrote:
Progressive Party, of course. As far to the left as you can go, but not all the way down in the left hand corner.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 8:20 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:
Harimoo said:
If by reincarnation, they mean reincarnation as it is understood by theosophists, I don't think so.

Malcolm wrote:
If they deny rebirth, the continuation of a series of aggregate from this life to the next, then yes; if they merely negate an atman that takes rebirth, than no.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 7:52 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:
Sādhaka said:
I know well-schooled buddhists who say they don't believe in reincarnation.

Harimoo said:
Then they are suffering from wrong view.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 7:34 PM
Title: Re: is hayagriva a dharmapala
Content:
tingdzin said:
A few scholars like Karmay and Davidson have attempted to sort out the Indrabhuti stuff, which varies widely from source to source, even within the Nyingmapa, so a lot of different conclusions can be drawn if you rely on that alone..

Malcolm wrote:
It’s pretty clear that Indrabhuti was unknown to Tibetans prior to the mid 10th century. I will be discussing the three Indrabhutis in Sakya sources in my forthcoming translation of the gdams sngags mdzod, vol 6. When I consolidate my reasearch on it for the intro, I will drop it on the fora.

Thus, even Nyingma depends on gsar ma sources for everything they know about this figure.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 7:27 PM
Title: Re: So sad
Content:


KristenM said:
Have you seen the movie “Fighting with my Family”? It’s about WWE wrestling so not exactly the same thing but it’s actually a very funny and endearing movie, imo. Much better than I thought it would be. I didn’t mean to sound like I was belittling the poor or anyone who boxes, sorry if that is how it came across.

Malcolm wrote:
Young Rock is kind of fun, if you are bored.

KristenM said:
I’ll look into it. The Rock has that particular talent where he always plays himself and it works, so darn likeable.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s an impromptu history of pro wrestling from the 70’s onwards. It’s also predicated on the idea of The Rock running for president in 2030 (entirely plausible). He spares himself no humiliation, BTW.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 7:22 PM
Title: Re: Origin of the Mantra Mispronunciation Story?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
No, but you should try to pronounce mantras as close to Sanskrit as you can.

biryani said:
This might seem like a silly question, but what about the seven line prayer? Since it's in Tibetan, should the last line be pronounced as Tibetans do or should it be Guru Padma siddhi hum?

Thank you!

Malcolm wrote:
Padma, IMO.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 8:59 AM
Title: Re: Collection of Sadhanas & Collection of Tantras
Content:



Schopenhauer said:
Are these empowerments regularly (and by regularly I mean at least once or twice a decade) given to lay people then? I can imagine if these empowerments take months, it might be something only given to monastics.

Malcolm wrote:
Lay people attend, but there is usually no or very limited translation.

Schopenhauer said:
Do you know how often these empowerments are given and by who?

Malcolm wrote:
About once a decade or so, by whoever is the Sakya Trizin, or the head of Ngor,or Tshar.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 8:57 AM
Title: Re: So sad
Content:


KristenM said:
Have you seen the movie “Fighting with my Family”? It’s about WWE wrestling so not exactly the same thing but it’s actually a very funny and endearing movie, imo. Much better than I thought it would be. I didn’t mean to sound like I was belittling the poor or anyone who boxes, sorry if that is how it came across.

Malcolm wrote:
Young Rock is kind of fun, if you are bored.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 1:54 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:


JimTempleman said:
All I meant by 'subjective' here is that no one except a highly trained teacher or a Bodhisattva can know what another person's mental state is.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, correct, and part of that training is learning how to discover these mental factors that are associated with contemplative states experientially, so one can guide others. While it is not rocket science, it is knowledge that is earned with a lot of sweat equity and guidance from qualified people, like Meido, and so on. I have heard good things about Guo Gu as well. There are a number of Korean Son centers out there as well.

I am a Tibetan Buddhist, so, I am not that familiar with the Chan/Zen/Son scene in the US.

But the basic principles are the same: find a teacher, rely on their guidance, do as much retreat as one's life will permit; most importantly, be humble. Buddhadharma is so vast, no one can master it all. But that is not necessary, all one has to do is stick with one qualified practice in a qualified lineage under the guidance of a qualified teacher/s, and then one will generate true bodhicitta, overcome one's afflictions, understand emptiness, and rouse great compassion for all sentient beings, with a bit of concerted effort and study. When all this is complete, one can say one is really on the Mahāyāna path of liberation

My advice, especially with Zen and Chan, is that there are a lot of fools out there pretending to be internet Zen masters, teachers of "Nonduality" and so on, who are really just bolstering their own egos and lining their pockets. Avoid them like you would avoid sleeping with someone who has syphilis. Not everyone with a book published by Wisdom or Shambhala is really a qualified teacher. So be careful who you choose as a mentor.


JimTempleman said:
Please forgive me if I came across that way.
I respect the path you are on & thank you for your advice.

Malcolm wrote:
Of course. Please take our collective advice to heart. In this life, at this moment, you are a beginner, please begin to act like one.

You are welcome.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 1:35 AM
Title: Re: Origin of the Mantra Mispronunciation Story?
Content:
Tenma said:
Does anyone know the origin of the manta mispronunciation story (the one about the hermit who mispronounces "Om Mani Padme Hum" for years)? I'm trying to look for an academic telling of it or at the very least, the original source it was in.
Thank you!

Malcolm wrote:
No, but you should try to pronounce mantras as close to Sanskrit as you can.

nightbloom said:
This has always made sense to me, e.g, svAhA instead of Soha. Padme instead of pay-may, and so on. Question is whether this can be considered a slight against one’s guru.

Malcolm wrote:
It's never a slight against one's teacher to correctly practice the Dharma. It says in no sūtra or tantra anywhere that there is a penalty for correctly pronouncing mantras. There are statements concerning mumbling, not reciting clearly, and so on.

Tibetans cannot pronounce, without retraining, the syllble ṣa in the middle of a mantra. They cannot make that sound, thus bhaiṣajya, always is pronounced bhekhenze, aṣṭa is also akha, etc. Most of these errors come from Tibetans reading transcriptions of Sanskrit, but relying on the Tibetan pronunciations of ཙ་ཚ་ཛ་ཥ, which are used to represent ca, cha, ja, and ṣa. Sounds English speakers generally have trouble with are ṛi, ḷi, ṭa, ṭha, ḍa, ṇa, and ṣa. Also Tibetan regularly confuse བ་when it is used for va, rather than ba, since in texts often Tibetan transcriptions do not use the full ཝ་ , but short hand, བ, leading to pronunciations such as badzra for vajra, etc., or in extreme cases benzar. We and Tibetans also have a hard time with long and short vowels, a and ā, for example.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 12:44 AM
Title: Re: Origin of the Mantra Mispronunciation Story?
Content:


Tata1 said:
I prefer to follow Chnn advice on this one. Makes more sense to me

Malcolm wrote:
Well, we are all free to follow whatever advice we like.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 12:42 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:



Tata1 said:
This doesn't solve the root problem...

Malcolm wrote:
Yup, you said it, and that is what is being discussed. That does not diminish the DC's present activities. But people in the DC are getting old. Time is passing, and we are living in time, as CHNN said over and over and over again.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 12:31 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:
PeterC said:
And by insisting that absolutely nobody is qualified to give any empowements, it seems they think the right answer is for all of his own termas to die out.

Malcolm wrote:
Not just his own dream transmissions, his own lineage for every empowerment and reading transmission he ever gave as well. That is a huge body of work.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 12:29 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:


Tata1 said:
This is the kind of talk that i dont find helpful at all. Talking about sms instructors(or any other person for that matter) with no name and criticising them because of things the supposely said or believe.

Malcolm wrote:
These are real things real SMS instructors have said subsequent to Rinpoche's passing. Naming names won't help anyone.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 12:22 AM
Title: Re: Origin of the Mantra Mispronunciation Story?
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
The story I heard was about a Nyingma Vajrakilaya yogi who said Chili Chilaya and because of faith could pass his phurba thru solid rock.. And he ran into Sakya Sapan who corrected his pronunciation saying he should say it closest to Sanskrit Kili Kilaya. After he had doubt and lost his Siddhi. Then he went back to saying it his way and got his faith and power back. The moral of the story is that faith is the more important factor than technical accuracy.

Tata1 said:
Yes Chnn told that story all the time and advice to pronounce the mantras how you received them

Malcolm wrote:
There is two schools of thought about this. I prefer Sakya Pandita's advice on this issue. He says that while one may achieve results though mispronounced mantras, if one has sincere faith, even so the result will be much slower. If you pronounce them clear and correctly, the result will be faster.

Some lamas insist that you have to pronounce mantras the way they are received, but this makes no logical sense at all. Why? Because someone did not correctly pronounce the mantra they received from the original Indian master who introduced them to the mantra.

The Chilli Chilaya story never happened. It also makes no sense. There is a similar story about the Fifth Dalai Lama who saw an old lady from his window doing korwa around a stupa. She also had an umbrella of light over her head. So he disguised himself and went to ask her what her practice was. She said "Kalacakra." He asked how she was pronouncing that mantra, and it was wrong. So he corrected her, and the next day he saw that her umbrella had disappeared, so he ran down and told her that he made an error, etc. you get the drift. This is also just an excuse Tibetans make for poor pronunciation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 9th, 2021 at 12:01 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
JimTempleman said:
Subjective matters are always at least 10x more difficult to gauge. (& I've done a lot of 'usability' testing).

I cannot fault you're responses to me. It's clear that you're giving me what you believe I need to hear. I thank you for that. I wish you the best in your studies.

Malcolm wrote:
These things are not subjective.

Dhyāna/samādhi/samapatti states, in Buddhadharma, are defined by specific mental factors which arise in predictable and repeatable fashions.

These things are discussed in Abhidharma, which concerns the first principles upon which Mahāyāna exegesis, including Chan/Zen are predicated.

The observation of the arising, abiding, and passing away of concepts in the mind is an instruction for beginners in every school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, at least those that actually engage in the cultivation of śamatha and vipaśyanā.

Further, there are many manuals, such as Asanga's text on śamatha, Kamalashila's manuals on cultivation and so on, as well as a very influential set of meditation manuals, which had great influence on people like Dogen, etc., by the fifth century Chinese master Chih-I. You should study them (which a teacher).

Buddhism has an extremely rich literature on contemplative phenomenology, if you will, a literature that most people have no access to, because most of it is still locked away in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese. Further, all of the great masters spent years mastering these curriculums, combining their study with practice. This is why your post and subsequent remarks have met with general incredulity. You are simply out of your depth here.

Since you are a modern, educated person, you have the Western attitude that somehow these pre-modern systems, which are not based on a modern medical understanding of anatomy and physiology, need to be helped in some way, an attitude that is frankly mere cultural chauvinism, not grounded in any facts. For example, while in Tibetan medicine they did not recognize things such as neurons, etc., they certainly were aware of circulation, the connection between the brain, sense organs, and the functions of limbs and organs in the body via nerves, since at least the 10th century (they dealt with a lot of traumatic injuries from warfare, and their methods of diagnosing organ and brain damage from traumatic injuries are remarkable and accurate). One of the consequences of this attitude is that you feel, based on a couple of short, classical texts, that you have somehow grasped the entirety of Buddhadharma and are now in a position to offer your esteemed opinion on such matters, arrogating to yourself the position of having discovered "a brand new method of using the the 4NT as a skillful means." You haven't discovered anything new.

Even more ridiculous, you somehow insist that if your English phraseology is not found in classical texts, somehow this validates your so-called "discovery," as if all this is merely an exercise in creating a computational algorithm based on your conceptual observation of rising, abiding, and passing away of thoughts. You certainly do not know how to do meditation according to Buddhist instructions. You do not know how eliminate lethargy, nor avoid agitation, and a hundred other flaws and obstacles one confronts in meditation. You are talking to people, who in some cases, have spent years in solitary retreats practicing between 10-12 hours a day for extended periods of time.

So you must forgive us for finding your tone hubristic and arrogant.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 11:03 PM
Title: Re: Re Mipham's Tashi Tsikpa
Content:
pemachophel said:
I've seen a couple of different renderings in English of the line that goes:

DEM-CHOG DOD-PAI GYAL-PO DE-CHEN-TER

Does this line refer only to Chakrasamvara and His attributes, i.e., "King of Desire, Treasure of Great Bliss," or does it enumerate Chakrasamvara, Takkiraja, and another Deity named Treasure of Great Bliss? If it's the latter, does anyone know Who the Treasure of Great Bliss is? A quick Google search turned up nothing.

Thanks.


SilenceMonkey said:
I'm looking at a prayerbook compiled and edited by Namchak Khen Rinpoche of Ewam. His translation is:

"Sangwa Yeshe Vajravarahi; Chakrasamvara, King of Desire; Treasure of Great Bliss;"

It seems that "Treasure of Great Bliss" is a separate deity. There is a note saying this refers to Shiva.

Malcolm wrote:
There is a commentary on this by rme sprul bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho, a student of Khenpo Jikphun.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 10:45 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:
treehuggingoctopus said:
All I am saying is that the decision of any student of ChNN to start teaching will be inevitably contested (and it will get ugly in no time).

Malcolm wrote:
Everyone who was a student of ChNN is a lineage holder. He made this clear in so many teachings. The fact that some people rely on a letter written in 2014 that ChNN was strongly pressured to write in a moment of institutional anxiety as a result of his serious illness in Brazil in 2010, is well, sad.

The situation in the DC is clear. The DC is for direct students of ChNN only. That has no bearing on the continuation of the teachings that ChNN disseminated to the world.


treehuggingoctopus said:
PS. SMS instructors denying rebirth (and thus throwing Precious Vase to the dustbin). Rich and strange, this world is.

Malcolm wrote:
It takes all kinds.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 10:37 PM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
Supramundane said:
When I was a young monk, I practiced Chan Buddhism by myself in a graveyard for ten years and later in a mountain cave for an additional two years. I did not have a teacher to guide me, but—propelled by devotion—I followed a method of practice that Bodhisattva Guanyin, also known as Avalokiteshvara, teaches in the Śurangāma Sutra. This method, called Perfect Penetration through Hearing, relies not on any words or concepts but on listening to silence.

https://wikkorg.wordpress.com/2021/07/08/listening-to-silence /

He was ordained as a novice monk in 1973 at the age of 25 under Venerable Master Hsing Yun at Fo Guang Shan, and entered Tsung Lin Buddhist College at the same time.[2] The next year, he went to a mountainous area of Taipei city, Waishuanghsi(外雙溪), and meditated there for over eighteen hours a day.

Malcolm wrote:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hsin_Tao


So, had teachers and certainly some instructions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 9:50 PM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:


JimTempleman said:
Shohaku Okumura uses the term "network of interdependent origination" in his book Realizing Genjokoan. He defines it as: The absolute, total, or universal reality of interconnectedness.

Malcolm wrote:
This is not the meaning of the term "pratītyasamutpāda." Dependent origination is not mutual or inter- dependence.

In Buddhadharma, there are three schemes of causation: general causation is covered under the the six causes and the four conditions. One of those causes is called kāraṇahetu, which means generative cause, it is also called the dominant condition. What is a generative cause? It means that all things are causes of all other things apart from themselves. It is therefore, not an efficient cause, but rather, a formal cause. You can read about these six causes and four conditions in Abhidharma.

The next causal scheme is dependent origination. The Buddha taught that dependent origination does not apply to inanimate things, only to living beings. The general theory is "Where that exists, then this exists. From the arising of that, this arises." The specific theory is the twelve limbs, which have four presentations: static, serial, momentary, simultaneous.

The final theory of causation is karma and its results.

JimTempleman said:
Interdependent co-arising seem to be the enormous 'living root' that affords non-dual awareness.

Malcolm wrote:
Nondual is quite buzzword these days. Most people, including you, do not understand what the term "advaya" means in Buddhadharma. Now there is a connection between dependent origination and nonduality in Buddhadharma, but it has nothing to do with nondual awareness, because there is no such thing.

JimTempleman said:
Turns out that most respondents don't want to touch its content with a hundred foot pole.

Malcolm wrote:
If someone wrote a post on neural net theory, which was predicated on insufficient learning, would you "touch its contents," or would you tell that person to go to school and get it right?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 7:58 PM
Title: Re: Origin of the Mantra Mispronunciation Story?
Content:
Tenma said:
Does anyone know the origin of the manta mispronunciation story (the one about the hermit who mispronounces "Om Mani Padme Hum" for years)? I'm trying to look for an academic telling of it or at the very least, the original source it was in.
Thank you!

Malcolm wrote:
No, but you should try to pronounce mantras as close to Sanskrit as you can.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 7:53 PM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:


Supramundane said:
I think what some of the members here are trying to convey is that these are very deep concepts that cannot be learned overnight without considerable reflection, study and proper guidance.

Malcolm wrote:
Correct. Some of us have been studying and practicing dharma since the mid-eighties, under qualified teachers, and have even gone so far as to become proficient in one or more primary Buddhist languages, as well as earning formal degrees in the subject in Buddhist institutions.

The idea that someone, from books, with no education or training in dharma, can “discover” something overlooked for 2500 years is as preposterous as the notion that a five year old will be able to make any significant contribution to neural net research, let alone grasp anything more of it than the barest of rudiments. It’s actually insulting. Unfortunately, in this intellectual climate, such dilettantism all too common.

So, Jim, just as you would have us respect your expertise in the area in which you earned your PhD, you should respect ours. Frankly, you are still in kindergarten, as far as Dharma is concerned.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 7:10 PM
Title: Re: So sad
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
My distaste for boxing began when I was in 7th grade, and some guys in Gym class were hassling me for having long hair (1974). The coach, a major asshole, gave us boxing gloves, and had us fight in front of the whole class. Needless to say, I more or less just kept my head down. It sucked.

tingdzin said:
Barbaric! Was that in Texas by any chance?

Such experiences led me to study martial arts.

Malcolm wrote:
Western Massachusetts.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 7:06 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Content:
PeterC said:
If someone wants to offer empowerments received from ChNNr, they can, and it’s up to everyone to decide whether they want to receive them from that person or not.

treehuggingoctopus said:
I concur, but, as you know, even this is just a reading of the situation. Many SMS instructors vehemently reject the idea.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, some SMS instructors state that rebirth is false, while others teach that rig pa is a universal consciousness, like brahman. So, really, who cares what they think as a group? It’s quite clear many of them really have no clue and are not themselves qualified teachers, despite their certificates.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 6:52 PM
Title: Re: Collection of Sadhanas & Collection of Tantras
Content:
Schopenhauer said:
I have heard about two empowerments called The Collection of Sadhanas and The Collection of Tantras within the Sakya tradition. From what I have researched, The Collection of Sadhanas are the collected sadhanas of the Sakya tradition compiled by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamyang Loter Wangpo and The Collection of Tantras are the collected tantras of all of the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism also compiled by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamyang Loter Wangpo. Beyond that, I haven't been able to find much more about this subject. Does anyone know more about these empowerments? Has anyone received these empowerments, and if so where and by who?

Malcolm wrote:
These take many, many, months to bestow.

Schopenhauer said:
Are these empowerments regularly (and by regularly I mean at least once or twice a decade) given to lay people then? I can imagine if these empowerments take months, it might be something only given to monastics.

Malcolm wrote:
Lay people attend, but there is usually no or very limited translation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 9:21 AM
Title: Re: Re Mipham's Tashi Tsikpa
Content:
pemachophel said:
It is Lhachen/Mahadev, not Chakrasamvara, according to all the commentaries I have seen as well as thangkas and wall frescoes.

Malcolm wrote:
No,it’s Takkiraja, one of the three red power deities.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 8:56 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
This itself indicates you have not understood the truth of dependent origination.

JimTempleman said:
I understand that rather well.


Malcolm wrote:
No, I didn’t think you have understood it all.

JimTempleman said:
have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was living among the Kurus. Now, the Kurus have a town named Kammasadhamma. There Ven. Ananda approached the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One: "It's amazing, lord, it's astounding, how deep this dependent co-arising is, and how deep its appearance, and yet to me it seems as clear as clear can be."

[The Buddha:] "Don't say that, Ananda. Don't say that. Deep is this dependent co-arising, and deep its appearance. It's because of not understanding and not penetrating this Dhamma that this generation is like a tangled skein, a knotted ball of string, like matted rushes and reeds, and does not go beyond transmigration, beyond the planes of deprivation, woe, and bad destinations.

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.15.0.than.html


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 5:42 AM
Title: Re: Collection of Sadhanas & Collection of Tantras
Content:
Schopenhauer said:
I have heard about two empowerments called The Collection of Sadhanas and The Collection of Tantras within the Sakya tradition. From what I have researched, The Collection of Sadhanas are the collected sadhanas of the Sakya tradition compiled by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamyang Loter Wangpo and The Collection of Tantras are the collected tantras of all of the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism also compiled by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamyang Loter Wangpo. Beyond that, I haven't been able to find much more about this subject. Does anyone know more about these empowerments? Has anyone received these empowerments, and if so where and by who?

Malcolm wrote:
These take many, many, months to bestow.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 5:41 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:



seeker242 said:
No, actually that is not correct. Purchasing meat = supporting more violence against sentient beings than purchasing carrots does. And you don't need to kill them yourself because the animals don't care who is killing them.

Malcolm wrote:
No, it really doesn't. We do not actually have any firm figures for the number of animals and insects that are killed in agriculture, accidentally or otherwise.

Arnoud said:
If the Buddha didn’t equate killing  humans and animals in the karmic sense, wouldn’t he have made a distinction between killing mammals and insects? That would make sense to me.

Malcolm wrote:
As for the latter, it does not seem that he did, hence the prohibition against digging in the ground, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 5:39 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:


JimTempleman said:
Are you saying that anything that might be learnt by attempting this has no possibility value to Buddhism itself. If so, you're the one being presumptive.

Malcolm wrote:
The dharma, as it is said, is good in the beginning, good, in the middle, and good in the end. There is nothing that can be added to it by ordinary people.

JimTempleman said:
There is nothing in that paragraph that says I'm practicing Chan/Zen. I study their texts & practice (my interpretation) of their method.

Malcolm wrote:
Right, this is what is known in Buddhadharma as a personal fabrication.

JimTempleman said:
Fascinating!
"The teachings are not adapted to persons, they are adapted to afflictive profiles and levels of intelligence." So who does the profiling, you or your teacher?

Malcolm wrote:
Generally, people meet the dharma that is suited to them, and their teachers, based on roots of virtue cultivated in past lives. Some people have the unfortunate karma to read dharma books and never meet the living dharma.


The whole point of the Dharma is to reverse this cycle of endless, uncontrolled rebirth in the three realms, both for ourselves and for others. If one does not accept rebirth, there is no point in practicing Buddhadharma at all, because one is negating the very point of practicing Buddhadharma to begin with.
I view life & death as a beginnings & endings that takes place at many levels - the beginning & ending of: a thought, an interaction with another person, waking up & going to sleep, etc. That way when I die, if I don't get reincarnated I won't have any regrets.
Negating literal rebirth, etc., is explicitly defined as wrong view by the Buddha. One can certainly be agnostic about it, but if one does not accept that ending rebirth is the central existential goal of the Buddha, one has not understood the Buddha's intention.
My question was: how do you keep teachers from every learning to improve what & how they teach. And your answer was that you learn how not to be deceived. Does that mean that once you can no longer be deceived, your teaching is perfect and therefore cannot be improved? Where can I find the list of perfect teachers?
Buddhadharma is a lineage, like a seal and its stamp. Buddhadharma cannot be improved, its source was perfect.

You can find many perfect teachers, you just have to decide that you want to study with a teacher, gather merit, and seek them out.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 5:21 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:


seeker242 said:
And the fact remains, you give more support to animal violence than I do.

Malcolm wrote:
No, actually that is not correct. I support no more than do you. Eating meat /= violence against sentient beings, unless you kill them yourself.

seeker242 said:
No, actually that is not correct. Purchasing meat = supporting more violence against sentient beings than purchasing carrots does. And you don't need to kill them yourself because the animals don't care who is killing them.

Malcolm wrote:
No, it really doesn't. We do not actually have any firm figures for the number of animals and insects that are killed in agriculture, accidentally or otherwise.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 4:49 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
I don't approve of killing of animals for food,actually.

KathyLauren said:
Your actions indicate otherwise.

Malcolm wrote:
Actually they don't, despite whatever you may choose to believe about my choices.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 4:49 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:


seeker242 said:
And the fact remains, you give more support to animal violence than I do.

Malcolm wrote:
No, actually that is not correct. I support no more than do you. Eating meat /= violence against sentient beings, unless you kill them yourself.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 4:43 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:


JimTempleman said:
So you're saying: Please don't proliferate anything new. We have more than we can deal with. And we have no capacity whatsoever to find the common thread that would allow us to integrate any of the old stuff. And we don't want to let anybody study the problem of proliferation because anything new would be considered conceptual, while everything old is considered Dharma.

Malcolm wrote:
You don't understand the old stuff. You are a relative newbie. You have not even done any serious retreat.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 4:41 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:



seeker242 said:
Not nearly as much as purchasing meat does. Case closed.

Malcolm wrote:
Go ahead, rationalize away the violence you are inflicting on animals.

seeker242 said:
You mean like you are doing?

Malcolm wrote:
I have not done that. I only pointed out that like you, I am not directly involved in harming any living creature. That's actually the point. You may choose to disagree, but then you have to rationalize your position. I don't.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 4:36 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:


seeker242 said:
It's just a fact that purchasing it supports the violence against animals, Case closed. Doesn't matter if you intend for it to or not.

Malcolm wrote:
Purchasing a carrot also supports violence against animals. Case closed.  Doesn't matter if you intend for it to or not.

seeker242 said:
Not nearly as much as purchasing meat does. Case closed.

Malcolm wrote:
Go ahead, rationalize away the violence you are inflicting on animals.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 4:35 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
"Karma is intention and what proceeds from intention." I have my karma, a butcher has theirs. There is no magical connection which transfers a butcher's karma to me, no chain of karma, per se, unless I actually order a butcher to slaughter an animal on my behalf, see it butchered on my behalf, or hear of it was butchered on my behalf.

If what you say is true, then every vegetable one consumes is also attended by someone's intention somewhere to produce food and prevent other sentient beings from eating it by killing them, before that food is sent to market for consumption.

Your logic is very faulty from the point of view of karma. If you want to discuss the economics of industrial agriculture, its deleterious environmental impacts, its contribution to climate change, water pollution, soil degradation, and so on, that's a completely different conversation, and one I am happy to have.

KathyLauren said:
No one is suggesting that one person's karma is transferred to another.  I am talking only about your karma.  You craved meat.  Therefore you purchased it.  Therefore the store will stock it again in future.  Therefore the butcher will kill again in future.  That is a chain of actions that you set in motion, intentionally.  None of it is incidental or inadvertent.  It is your intention that that happen.  So it is your karma.  No number of middlemen can insulate you from the fact that it is your intention that the killing be carried out.

Malcolm wrote:
No, this represents a gross misunderstanding of karma and its results.

I am not responsible for what a butcher does unless I direct him or her to engage in killing directly. Likewise, even if I see a person killed in front of me, unless I ask for that person to be killed, or approve of the action, it is not my karma.

I don't approve of killing of animals for food,actually. I also think it is wasteful to just dump their carcasses in a landfill.


KathyLauren said:
I am familiar with all the rationalizations that Buddhist carnivores use to pretend that they have no responsibility.  None of them are valid.  You are responsible.

Malcolm wrote:
It is not a rationalization, it's a fact, from a karmic point of view.

I accept responsibility for my participation in the world economy, and I know, for a fact that even if I did not eat meat, not one less animal would die because of my choice, nor would one more animal die because I eat meat. The fact is that the supply of meat, poultry, etc., outstrips its demand by a considerable and significant margin. There is no "just in time" slaughtering of animals.


KathyLauren said:
No sentient beings are intentionally killed for my vegetables.  I grant that some die by accident.  That is unfortunate.  But unlike the production of meat, it is not intentional.

Malcolm wrote:
You cannot make that argument for produce and grain purchased in a market. Virtually no one, unless they grow and can all their own food can make this claim. Grain production is responsible for the deliberate killing of millions of animals and billions of insects every year, and none of those deaths are accidental, none of the violence wrought upon those creatures is accidental. The principle fertilizer for rice grown in the West is feather meal, etc.

KathyLauren said:
The arguments about environmental degradation, climate change, etc. are valid, but I agree they are not the subject of this discussion.  Which is why I did not raise them.  You should not either.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, they should be raised, because the argument that there is a karmic burden from eating meat pure in three ways is a faulty.

There are many humanitarian reasons not to eat meat. There are so health reasons not to eat meat. There are many environmental reasons not to eat meat. There are many reasons related to economics and social justice not to eat meat. But there are really no valid reasons not to eat meat that is pure in three ways, when we are confining the conversation to what the Buddha has said on the subject, and masters such as Bhavaviveka.

Buddha did not teach us that a) karma was destiny and b) that liberation was related to our diets.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 4:01 AM
Title: Re: vaccine bodhicitta etc
Content:
FiveSkandhas said:
This can be reduced to: If you eat a meal to stay alive in your wealthy home country while people in less prosperous situations are going hungry...

rai said:
you got 2 doses , some still could not get the first one, not good analogy

Malcolm wrote:
Frankly, this is a result of karma, as all inequality is.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 4:00 AM
Title: Re: vaccine bodhicitta etc
Content:
rai said:
if you accept a 3rd dose of covid vaccine before grandpa in Etiopia get his 1st are you  breaking the  bodhisattva vow?

...well how about if you are under 40 and get the first dose before grandpa in Haiti…

Crazywisdom said:
A vaccine prevents harm to others which if you catch Covid you can cause harm and death. So based on basic ahimsa one should get the vaccine.

rai said:
it seems the vaccinated are getting infected  and transmit the new variants  so it is mostly protecting oneself (while having 2 shots when others has none)

Malcolm wrote:
That is not that common, despite the hysteria in the press.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 3:59 AM
Title: Re: So sad
Content:


Genjo Conan said:
That said, I agree with Johnny that combat sports are not nearly as dangerous as they're usually portrayed.  Most training--like, 90+ percent--is about grooving in movement patterns, rather than trying to whomp the other dude.  Even competition: a lot of people compete in combat sports, and most people come out of it OK.

Malcolm wrote:
I have trained in Aikido and a little bit of Taichi.

Aikido came in useful, in defending other people. I never personally needed to use Aikido to defend myself.

Tai chi, on the other hand, I did not like, or least I did not like the instructor's approach, who insisted on connecting all the movements with a blow and its effects on an opponent. It turned me off to Tai Chi permanently.

Tibetan martial arts are more straight forward: wrestling, archery, and hacking away at enemies with swords. No pretension towards subtlety or art.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 3:48 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:


seeker242 said:
It's just a fact that purchasing it supports the violence against animals, Case closed. Doesn't matter if you intend for it to or not.

Malcolm wrote:
Purchasing a carrot also supports violence against animals. Case closed.  Doesn't matter if you intend for it to or not.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 3:42 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The Buddha gave a very detailed account of his awakening. So there is no need to argue what it was. It is quite well known.

JimTempleman said:
You realize the different Suttas say different things, right. I'm not saying they contradict each other, just cover different ground.

Malcolm wrote:
The account of the night the Buddha attained awakening as mentioned in the suttas is very consistent.


Samadhi, concentration, etc. create traces in rebirth in ordinary people. This is why it is said by many awakened masters prajñā must be cultivated first.
In Silent Illumination stillness and insight (prajñā) are practiced together, according to Master Sheng Yen.
One must distinguish mundane, contaminated prajñā of ordinary people like us, from the prajñā of āryas. Of course, one always practices śamatha and vipaśyanā in tandem, ideally. It is impossible to make progress in either in absence of a qualified teacher. Certainly not in 35 minute sitting sessions.
Let me just take this phrase from chapter 13: ' it is devoid of cessation '

Just because the samādhi itself is devoid of cessation, that does not mean that the method for entering into it did not involve the cessation of other 'things.' Come to think of it, how can it not?
“The wise know that they are without thought,
Are devoid of thought, and that there is no object. [F.44.a]
They have eliminated without remainder
Every conception of cessation and noncessation.
You keep on talking about arising and cessation. This itself indicates you have not understood the truth of dependent origination.
I never claimed to have reached the deepest level of this samādhi.

But I did experience this for about 30 minutes straight:
“There are no notions, there are no concepts,
There is nothing to be grasped, there is nothing to be shown,
And there is no object for the mind.
Therefore it is called samādhi."
I doubt it. You are basically claiming to be an awakened person by making this claim.
In fact, it's more like the 'fixed-frame' of an unmoving mind.
The is a śrāvakayāna error.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 3:11 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:
seeker242 said:
Yet, veganism is certainly in line, and in accordance with, with the Buddhist teaching on non-violence as the way animals are treated is extraordinarily violent. The Buddha does not approve and never has approved of what goes on at a slaughterhouse and he certainly never gave any of them financial support.

Malcolm wrote:
The Buddha was mendicant. But he certainly consumed meat purchased from butchers by lay people. That's just a fact.

seeker242 said:
He consumed it, but he did not purchase it. That's just a fact. It's also just a fact that purchasing it inevitably supports it's production.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, but that is not related to whether it is permissible to eat meat pure in three ways. It is permissible. Case closed. It is also a fact that Buddha refused to institute vegetarianism. It is also a fact that the prohibition against killing applies principally to killing humans. Killing animals is a minor offense, on par with picking the leaves off of trees and drinking alcohol. So it is pretty clear that diet was not a foremost consideration for the Buddha. As I have also acknowledged, monastics were not permitted to farm, because of the principle of ahimsa, and for that same reason, he instituted the rains retreats, to prevent monks from harming creatures on the roads. It's also a fact that like an apple, a steak does not suffer.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 3:05 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:
seeker242 said:
Yet, veganism is certainly in line, and in accordance with, with the Buddhist teaching on non-violence as the way animals are treated is extraordinarily violent. The Buddha does not approve and never has approved of what goes on at a slaughterhouse and he certainly never gave any of them financial support.

Malcolm wrote:
The Buddha was mendicant, so he didn't buy anything, let alone meat. But he certainly consumed meat purchased from butchers by lay people. That's just a fact.

Another fact is that Buddha neither approved of nor disapproved of anything related to samsara. He taught a method of release from samsara, and while there were other śrāmanas, like Mahāvira, who advocated diet idealism as vital in pursuit of liberation, Buddha refused to go that route, even when his life was threatened by his cousin for not insisting on vegetarianism.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 2:39 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:
seeker242 said:
All of this talk about karma, while interesting, is really completely irrelevant to veganism.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, which is why Veganism is completely irrelevant to Buddhism. One can be a Vegan Buddhist, just as one can be a Omnivore Buddhist, but vegan idealism is not Buddhism and is not found in the teaching of the Buddha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 2:37 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:


Aemilius said:
In the present world animals are slaughtered for nameless customers. If you buy meat, you are a nameless customer. You are a link in the chain of meat production.

Malcolm wrote:
Meat was always slaughtered for nameless, unidentified customers. But the prohibition is against eating you have killed, have ordered to be killed, or was specifically killed for an identified person, oneself.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 2:34 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
JimTempleman said:
In the future would you find the expression: 'The Method of the Noble Truths' more acceptable?

Malcolm wrote:
It’s not the four noble truths, it’s the four truths of nobles.

JimTempleman said:
The Four Noble Truths can also be called The Four Truths of Nobles, or the Four Ennobling Truths. It's just that, at least in the West, they are most frequently referred to as The Four Noble Truths.

Malcolm wrote:
They are specifically defined as truths that āryas see.

...

JimTempleman said:
Where is that written?

Malcolm wrote:
Methods are connected with paths. The only path mentioned in the four truths of nobles is the eight-fold path.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 at 12:22 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:



frankie said:
Speaking for myself and others I know, though, we are not all hippy dippy, greeny beanie, idealistic types.  Many people now are also persuaded simply from a practice perspective by the moral relatability and compassion aspects. In addition, looked at positively, people often find there is a sort of mental purification that could be seen as concomitant to the necesssity of Shila practice in calming down the surface mind to more easefully allow access to deeper levels.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, people have many theories. For example, the Hevajra Tantra states, "those with compassion eat meat."

frankie said:
Now, in your dedicated training and experience you may know this not at all to be a requirement. And, as you say, there are great teachers in full agreement with you. Of course, equally, there are many who will say otherwise.

Malcolm wrote:
As I pointed out, Bhavaviveka hashed all this out in the Mahāyāna context in the Tarkajvala hundreds of years ago. Meat pure in three ways is acceptable. There was once a suffering animal. But not when you buy a steak, etc. in a market. A steak, lacking a consciousness, does not suffer even if you burn it to a crisp or cut it into a thousand pieces. The point is not diet, it's liberation.

The other issues, climate change, industrial agriculture, are all separate issues that are not related to the whether there is negative karma involved in eating meat pure in three ways.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 11:43 PM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:


Knotty Veneer said:
Gotta say Malcolm that sounds more than a tad Jesuitical. If I did not demand meat, there would be no reason for the butcher to kill it.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, that is not just not how things work, karmically speaking.

Knotty Veneer said:
I may not bear the same karmic debt as the one who takes the life but if they killed it because I and people like me would buy it, I am implicated in the death.

Malcolm wrote:
You are implicated in all kinds of things because you are a living breathing creature on this planet. That does not mean you bear a karmic debt for climate change, mass extinctions, and so on, that are presently occurring. In fact, if humans were to stop eating meat (which will never happen), cows, and so on would be rendered extinct within centuries. We tend to kill any large animals we don't use, unless we keep them as pets. The best survival strategy for land animals is to remain domesticated for their products. Of course no one wants to hear this, but it's a fact.

In any case, diet and liberation are not connected.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 11:04 PM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:


frankie said:
You have the desire and intention to eat the meat...fueling the demand and thereby associating your mindstream with the actions. You eat the meat - completion.

Malcolm wrote:
The issue, again, is not eating. It is killing. Because people do not really understand karma, they import all kinds of strange notions into their understanding. The Buddha did not list meat-eating under the ten nonvirtues, only killing. And to be involved in that nonvirtue one has to either kill a being oneself or deliberately, volitionally, encourage someone to do so. Picking up a chicken breast does not meet that test. It simply doesn't. That is why the Buddha taught that it was permissible to eat meat pure in three ways.


frankie said:
Not a "magical connection" - a causal link.

Malcolm wrote:
Causation is not necessarily karma. Karma is a very specific kind of causation.

If you wish to understand this in a more precise way, then consult chapter 4 of the Abhidharmakośabhaṣyaṃ.

If we accept your idea, even organic agriculture involves you in killing for food, due to use of pesticides and so on. But vegetarians always come up with excuses for why it is not the same...forgetting that the Buddha forbade monastics to farm because of the number of creatures killed by the occupation of farming—from tilling to harvesting. But someone has to grow food so people can eat. Thus we have this idea of the golden age, where we lived off fruit from trees, uncultivated grain crops, and so on, where our food consumption involved no nonvirtue on the part of anyone. But we do not live in that world.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 10:10 PM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:


KathyLauren said:
You craved it, therefore you demanded it, therefore the store stocked it, therefore the butcher killed it.  No amount of magic can break that chain of karma.  The killing was done for you, even if the butcher didn't know who you were.

Malcolm wrote:
"Karma is intention and what proceeds from intention." I have my karma, a butcher has theirs. There is no magical connection which transfers a butcher's karma to me, no chain of karma, per se, unless I actually order a butcher to slaughter an animal on my behalf, see it butchered on my behalf, or hear of it was butchered on my behalf.

If what you say is true, then every vegetable one consumes is also attended by someone's intention somewhere to produce food and prevent other sentient beings from eating it by killing them, before that food is sent to market for consumption.

Your logic is very faulty from the point of view of karma. If you want to discuss the economics of industrial agriculture, its deleterious environmental impacts, its contribution to climate change, water pollution, soil degradation, and so on, that's a completely different conversation, and one I am happy to have.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 9:59 PM
Title: Re: vaccine bodhicitta etc
Content:
rai said:
if you accept a 3rd dose of covid vaccine before grandpa in Etiopia get his 1st are you  breaking the  bodhisattva vow?

...well how about if you are under 40 and get the first dose before grandpa in Haiti…

Crazywisdom said:
A vaccine prevents harm to others which if you catch Covid you can cause harm and death. So based on basic ahimsa one should get the vaccine.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 9:58 PM
Title: Re: The Q-hole status: September 2021
Content:
Schrödinger’s Yidam said:
Didn’t HBO out Ron Watkins as “Q”?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 9:54 PM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:


JimTempleman said:
I'm actually trying to fit a modern understanding of human perception into the Buddhist framework, and not the other way around.

Malcolm wrote:
This will never work. This is your first error, that is, feeling you can " fit a modern understanding of human perception into the Buddhist framework."  If it isn't broken, there is no need to fix it. Otherwise, the assumption you are making here is that Buddhas teachings are inadequate to the times. To present this point of view on a traditionalist Buddhist website is the very height of hubris.

JimTempleman said:
How can anyone possibly cut off Chan or Zen from the origin of Buddhism? I guess its specifically the methods of practice that you want to keep segregated. When you look back at the history of the development of Buddhism in, say China, where do you see this kind of segregation taking place? I guess Dogen should have stayed in Japan.

Malcolm wrote:
You are not practicing Chan or Zen. You cannot practice Chan or Zen by reading a book and then trying to meditate. Chan and Zen are oral traditions in which working with a teacher is not only recommended, but is mandatory. The same is true of Theravada, Tibetan Buddhism, and so on.

JimTempleman said:
If that were the case throughout the history of Buddhism there would only be a single linage. Don't teachers adopt skillful means suitable to each individual?

Malcolm wrote:
You are not a teacher, or so you have said. Also, this is overblown. The teachings are not adapted to persons, they are adapted to afflictive profiles and levels of intelligence. We have three afflictions, desire, hatred, and ignorance, and everyone has some mixture of these. When it is said there are 84,000 dharma skandhas, this is reference to the teachings meant to address these three afflictions, separately and combined. These afflictions cause us to engage in actions, and those actions result in suffering in this and future lives. In general, we practice three trainings: discipline to counteract desire; samādhi to counteract hatred; and wisdom to counteract ignorance. Practicing discipline eliminates rebirth in the three lower realms. Practicing samādhi eliminates rebirth in the desire realm; and practicing wisdom eliminates rebirth in the three realms altogether. This is from the point of view of our own personal benefit. Developing bodhicitta, the wish to attain full buddhahood for the benefit of sentient beings involves practicing the six perfections for the benefit of others.

The whole point of the Dharma is to reverse this cycle of endless, uncontrolled rebirth in the three realms, both for ourselves and for others. If one does not accept rebirth, there is no point in practicing Buddhadharma at all, because one is negating the very point of practicing Buddhadharma to begin with.

JimTempleman said:
And how you exactly do you keep them from learning through experience?

Malcolm wrote:
Even the Buddha had to deal with Māra when he was on the seat of awakening. We have far more issues with Māra than the Buddha, since we are still ordinary, unawakened people, and our capacity for being deceived is far greater than our capacity to ascertain where we have erred. Every tradition of Buddhadharma has many teachings concerning experience, and how to judge an authentic experience from a deceptive experience (most of them). The problem is that, without a teacher, one will be unable to ascertain the difference, just a person with no knowledge of jungle plants will be unable to ascertain which ones will sustain them and which ones will kill them.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 9:31 PM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
JimTempleman said:
Something happened that night that transformed  Gautama into the Buddha. Let's not argue about what it was this time, just accept that it was a change.

Malcolm wrote:
The Buddha gave a very detailed account of his awakening. So there is no need to argue what it was. It is quite well known.

He first recalled 90k+ lifetimes, understood that these lifetimes were a result of karma, suffering. He then entered into the eight dhyānas to eliminate traces for rebirth in their corresponding lokas, but seeing for each of them that they were suffering, that there was a cause for that suffering, there was a cessation for that suffering, and a means to bring about that cessation. He then entered Vajropama Samadhi, eradicated all traces connecting him with samsara. That's it and that's all. No altered states of consciousness, etc. There was also an episode with Papayin Māra, aka Kamadeva, just prior to his final awakening.

Samadhi, concentration, etc. create traces in rebirth in ordinary people. This is why it is said by many awakened masters prajñā must be cultivated first. What is prajñā? Right view, the first of the eight limbs of the path of nobles.

Observing the rising, abiding, and passing away of thoughts is not in itself profound. Even a child can do this. That does not constitute right view. Right view is discussed here:

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.117.than.html#s1

If you wish to understand what samādhi is in Mahāyāna, then you should consult this sūtra, in particular chapter 13.

https://read.84000.co/translation/toh127.html


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 7:20 PM
Title: Re: vaccine bodhicitta etc
Content:
rai said:
if you accept a 3rd dose of covid vaccine before grandpa in Etiopia get his 1st are you  breaking the  bodhisattva vow?

...well how about if you are under 40 and get the first dose before grandpa in Haiti…

Malcolm wrote:
Of course not. In order to assist others, a bodhisattva must preserve themselves.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 7:19 PM
Title: Re: The Q-hole status: September 2021
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://apple.news/AMnTPRkBgQGWrtabV5cX1PA


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 6:55 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
PeterC said:
The depressing thing is that everyone knew where this was headed long, long ago.

Malcolm wrote:
Correct, and Biden wanted out a decade ago. He opposed the surge, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 6:52 PM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:



Aemilius said:
In the market analysis  monks and other persons are nameless individuals called consumers of goods. Because this market exists, it can be known how much meat has to be produced in the coming years to satisfy the market need for it. The consumption of meat is the driving force, it causes the production of meat, i.e. the raising and slaughtering of animals and processing their meat. The market is not really concerned with the volitions of the meat consumers. The volitions of consumers do not change the mechanism of it. As long as people want to eat meat, there is the market for it. Monks and other people are equally just nameless consumers, whose habits create the demand for meat, right now and in the future.

Malcolm wrote:
Correct, but prohibition is not against eating meat, it is against killing. Meat does not suffer. It’s dead flesh. One can’t kill it. Seeing, requesting, or killing an animal for meat involves karma and it’s result. Buying a steak in the market does not. The market argument is a valid one from the point view of climate change etc., but it’s irrelevant to liberation.

Aemilius said:
The animal has been killed because of one's desire for meat. It is the functioning of the market. Demand creates production. Consumers do not directly kill animals, but their habit of eating meat causes the slaughtering of animals. If no one wanted to eat meat, the animals would not be killed.  The market is caused by one's desire for meat. Buying a steak keeps the market going.

Malcolm wrote:
If people stopped killing  animals for food (fat chance of that happening), then there would be no meat to purchase. I would be fine with that. Hydrocarbon extraction is also killing the planet, but no one is going to stop driving anytime soon, or using the internet to vocalize their deeply-felt opinions, so, we mustn’t pretend that being vegetarian is saving any being from anything. Also, there is no relationship between diet and liberation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 6:42 PM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:


JimTempleman said:
In the future would you find the expression: 'The Method of the Noble Truths' more acceptable?

Malcolm wrote:
It’s not the four noble truths, it’s the four truths of nobles.

The only method in these four truths is the eightfold path.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 6:36 PM
Title: Re: The Q-hole status: September 2021
Content:
FiveSkandhas said:
Does the "QAnon" conspiracy theory / freakshow / online cult / all-round mess still exist as of autumn 2021? Are there still "drops" being made? Any die hard believers left?

Or did the whole thing die a merciful death?

I ask because I came across somebody who claimed it not only still exists as a phenomenon but is actually "still growing."

I found the latter claim hard to swallow. I personally have heard nothing about it in months. But who knows what goes on  in dark corners of the internet? It remains a worrisome issue. People have lost family members to this nonsense.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s evolved, but still going strong.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 7:49 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Please define samādhi.

JimTempleman said:
Samadhi, or what is also referred to as "meditative absorption," "unified mind," and "one-pointedness of mind." There are, however, many levels of samadhi, some shallow, some deep.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, samadhi is one-pointedness. It’s a mental factor all sentient beings have, all the time.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 7:40 AM
Title: Re: So sad
Content:
TharpaChodron said:
I know a 13 year old girl who is boxing, she is also of Mexican-American heritage. I detest how dangerous and violent this "sport" is, but to her she feels it's  empowering. She told me she goes to fight in boxing matches and says to herself, "I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to make progress."  It is twisted that in order for some to feel they have some power, they end up being turned into "fighters", like Roman slaves/Gladiators pleasing the elites. It's always the poorest who find boxing as their way up, be it in Cuba, Mexico, you name it. Rich white dudes don't box. They don't need to.

Malcolm wrote:
My distaste for boxing began when I was in 7th grade, and some guys in Gym class were hassling me for having long hair (1974). The coach, a major asshole, gave us boxing gloves, and had us fight in front of the whole class. Needless to say, I more or less just kept my head down. It sucked. Also, all the guys on the football team sucked too. Hence my distaste for both sports.

TharpaChodron said:
For sure. I’ve never been fond of gym class and dumb jocks myself. Then you find out later in life that they aren’t all morons, they’re sometimes working class heroes, some maybe even Rhodes Scholars. But not Tom Brady, that guy is a douche.

Malcolm wrote:
I don’t have anything against football, other than the fact I would never allow any kid of mine to play. I also have nothing against boxers or football players. It’s the sports I object to.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 7:35 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:
Vajrasambhava said:
Hi Malcolm,
Don't you think that buying a steak in the market is directly or indirectly involved in the process of requesting meat, ergo killing Animals?

Malcolm wrote:
No, for many reasons which have been outlined in this thread.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 4:55 AM
Title: Re: So sad
Content:
TharpaChodron said:
I know a 13 year old girl who is boxing, she is also of Mexican-American heritage. I detest how dangerous and violent this "sport" is, but to her she feels it's  empowering. She told me she goes to fight in boxing matches and says to herself, "I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to make progress."  It is twisted that in order for some to feel they have some power, they end up being turned into "fighters", like Roman slaves/Gladiators pleasing the elites. It's always the poorest who find boxing as their way up, be it in Cuba, Mexico, you name it. Rich white dudes don't box. They don't need to.

Malcolm wrote:
My distaste for boxing began when I was in 7th grade, and some guys in Gym class were hassling me for having long hair (1974). The coach, a major asshole, gave us boxing gloves, and had us fight in front of the whole class. Needless to say, I more or less just kept my head down. It sucked. Also, all the guys on the football team sucked too. Hence my distaste for both sports.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 4:44 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:
frankie said:
It's sometimes good just to be honest with oneself.

Eating meat is not karmically optimal...it is not compassionate.

Malcolm wrote:
Eating meat that is pure in three ways is a neutral karma, like drinking water and most of our activities. It can be transformed through intention. It can be compassionate. One merely needs the method to make it so.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 4:40 AM
Title: Re: So sad
Content:



Johnny Dangerous said:
That worked out fantastically with the prohibition of alcohol, drugs, etc.

Malcolm wrote:
Just expressing my opinion JD. I also think guns should be illegal and the second amendment should be repealed. Again, just an opinion.

TharpaChodron said:
Can we keep football?

Malcolm wrote:
Nope. You will all be forced to watch Ted Lasso until your eyes bleed.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 3:44 AM
Title: Re: What y’all think?
Content:
Danny said:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/college-university-fall-higher-education-men-women-enrollment-admissions-back-to-school-11630948233

Malcolm wrote:
Too much time spent on Halo, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 3:40 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:


JimTempleman said:
Malcom, I think narhwal90 just confirmed my point:

Malcolm wrote:
We are not talking about Soto Zen here. This is the general meditation forum. Please define samādhi.

reiun said:
A general definition we all might agree on would be "meditative absorption". If not talking Soto, then not Tibetan, Nichiren, etc. either. Or Rinzai, whose Four Categories are most familiar to me.

Malcolm wrote:
That does not answer the question, it only leads to another question, what is meant by "meditative absorption?"

My point is, how can someone know if they are in samādhi if they cannot define it? What are its characteristics? These things are very precisely defined by in Buddhadharma. There are very precise indicators for what a samādhi is, and what a samādhi isn't. There are also very many different kinds of samadhis, hundreds and thousands of them.

People throw these terms around promiscuously, as if they understand what they mean, but frankly, in my experience, people often have no idea what they actually mean.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 3:08 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:


JimTempleman said:
Malcom, I think narhwal90 just confirmed my point:

Malcolm wrote:
We are not talking about Soto Zen here. This is the general meditation forum. Please define samādhi.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 at 3:06 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
JimTempleman said:
Had I been working with a teacher I would have reported it. I have no idea what he or she might have made of it. You might not know it, but there is a fairly extensive branch of Soto Zen that pretty much ignores samadhi, treating is as just 'scenery' along the never ending path of Zazen.

Malcolm wrote:
Please define samādhi.

JimTempleman said:
Giving you my definition or Master Sheng Yen's definition won't address my reference above your question.
I was referring to the phenomena described in the post: "Are Zen teachers awakened?"
You can find here: https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=34065

Malcolm wrote:
Which post? There are 13+ pages.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 11:58 PM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
JimTempleman said:
Had I been working with a teacher I would have reported it. I have no idea what he or she might have made of it. You might not know it, but there is a fairly extensive branch of Soto Zen that pretty much ignores samadhi, treating is as just 'scenery' along the never ending path of Zazen.

Malcolm wrote:
Please define samādhi.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 11:13 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Queequeg said:
We don't have packs of orphans living in garbage dumps.

Malcolm wrote:
No, they live out of dumpsters, since we have largely banned landfills.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 11:11 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Clearly you are aware of this history. It amazes me journalists don't harp on this.

Malcolm wrote:
Many of them are too young for this to be on their radar. The average age of a journalist in the US is 39.

This story does not sell newspapers.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 9:15 PM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:



Aemilius said:
"Pure in three ways" doesn't hold water. Each person who eats meat habitually or sporadically creates demand for the production of meat in the future. This is how the market works, and nowadays most people know it. At the time of Shakyamuni the science of economics and market analysis had not yet developed, and this example of "pure in three ways" was accepted, but it can't be accepted anymore.

Malcolm wrote:
Sure it can. The issue is volition, not economics.

Aemilius said:
In the market analysis  monks and other persons are nameless individuals called consumers of goods. Because this market exists, it can be known how much meat has to be produced in the coming years to satisfy the market need for it. The consumption of meat is the driving force, it causes the production of meat, i.e. the raising and slaughtering of animals and processing their meat. The market is not really concerned with the volitions of the meat consumers. The volitions of consumers do not change the mechanism of it. As long as people want to eat meat, there is the market for it. Monks and other people are equally just nameless consumers, whose habits create the demand for meat, right now and in the future.

Malcolm wrote:
Correct, but prohibition is not against eating meat, it is against killing. Meat does not suffer. It’s dead flesh. One can’t kill it. Seeing, requesting, or killing an animal for meat involves karma and it’s result. Buying a steak in the market does not. The market argument is a valid one from the point view of climate change etc., but it’s irrelevant to liberation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 8:47 PM
Title: Re: translation of Dra Talgyur and its commentary by Vimalamitra
Content:
krodha said:
How terrible.

yagmort said:
it is.

Malcolm, will you make use of the work has already done by the original team? will Adriano and Jim continue to be a part of the project or it will be entirely your personal work?

Malcolm wrote:
Starting from scratch. But of course, I will consult Adriano where needed, and I have the support of Lama Chonam, and Tulku Dakpa, who will assist me when I need it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 9:21 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
JimTempleman said:
If I had a teacher I’m not sure that he or she would feel comfortable with my way of taking everything apart & putting it back together.

reiun said:
Sorry, that comes off as just a dodge. It sounds more like you are trying to assert superiority or unassailability.

"teacher" comes up with Ctrl-F 54x in this thread, so I will belabor it just once more, but with a quote from someone not already participating:

It must be stressed that there is no true Zen practice without a teacher.

-Meido Roshi

This has obvious implications for what comes out of your practice. But also know that a Zen teacher might actually support or validate your experience. Evaluating a student's work is what good Zen teachers are expert at. Perhaps it is your own comfort level at risk.

Malcolm wrote:
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 3:02 AM
Title: Re: So sad
Content:



Johnny Dangerous said:
I think a harm reduction approach is the sanest one, if one wants to focus their energies on things like this.

Malcolm wrote:
The best way to reduce the harm of boxing is not to do it.

Johnny Dangerous said:
That worked out fantastically with the prohibition of alcohol, drugs, etc.

Malcolm wrote:
Just expressing my opinion JD. I also think guns should be illegal and the second amendment should be repealed. Again, just an opinion.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 2:49 AM
Title: Re: So sad
Content:



Johnny Dangerous said:
I think a harm reduction approach is the sanest one, if one wants to focus their energies on things like this.

Malcolm wrote:
The best way to reduce the harm of boxing is not to do it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 2:08 AM
Title: Re: So sad
Content:
Danny said:
https://www.fox5ny.com/news/boxer-jeanette-zacarias-zapata-dies-days-after-fight

Zapata, from Mexico, suffered a series of power punches in the corner of the ring. After a solid uppercut, she seemed stunned near the end of the fourth round. A final right hook knocked her mouthguard out and left her unable to return to her corner after the bell rang.

Malcolm wrote:
Boxing should be illegal.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 2:07 AM
Title: Re: purity
Content:
Heimdall said:
It's not a bad thing to embrace your own cultural heritage as a good thing. It only gets bad if it goes too far.

PadmaVonSamba said:
Isn’t the concept of “my heritage”, which means everything created by other people in the past, basically plagiarism?

Heimdall said:
Whether you like it or not, your own cultural experience defines who you are and how you perceive the world.


I mean let's look at you - you worked in an incense shop. The idea of that in my cultural experience is totally foreign; here in the West people don't generally do that. Yet all those experience, all the incense smells you've experienced, the people you've worked with - to some extent, they all are a part of who you are. Without your culture, you wouldn't have been Buddhist, because your ancestors gave you the necessary foundation stones to find Buddhism.

So you should be thankful for your ancestors for that.




As another example, if you are born and raised in a Western country, most people are not genuinely aware of how much the Judeo-Christian framework consciously and unconsciously influences their perceptions, down even to the level of political movements and socio-political philosophy, conceptions of "good" and "evil", and down even to the level of basic cultural custom.

Elaborating that, in Christianity, unlike any other religion in the world, the lower-classes are seen as having intrinsic moral value due to the fact that they suffer more and they less prone to being slaves to materiality. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven", "It's easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven". Additionally, both Judaism and Christianity have this utopian fantasy where the world will eventually collapse, and the good will enter the Heavenly Jerusalem.

In my understanding, this conception of "the moral superiority of the lower classes" is totally alien to Buddhism. The Buddha himself was an upper-class prince. Sure, we should help the poor, and sure, the upper classes may be prone to spiritually destructive practices (In the Buddha's own words, "living like a Deva"), but everyone here has karma to work out and should strive to achieve enlightenment. There's nothing inherently valuable about being lower class or morally evil about being upper class - a Buddhist king has to keep the eight precepts anyways. And the place we find ourselves in are a product of Karma anyways.


But given the background of Judeo-Christian values, is it any wonder why Marx, and his contemporary disciples, have totally embraced this worldview of "oppressor and oppressee" by various identity groups where the oppressee, by virtue of being oppressed, is seen as morally superior? Or that Marx and his followers have this utopian vision about the social structures collapsing and ushering in an egalitarian utopia like some kind of Heavenly Jerusalem on Earth? The only reason why these political frameworks got such a holding in the West is likely a product of Judeo-Christian values where "good" is defined as "poor, oppressed, detached, meek" and bad is "rich, powerful, greedy, Caesar", and the relatability of the corrupt world withering away and a perfect one coming in.

Even down to expressions like "God bless you" when someone sneezes or "God damn it" or "What the hell", all products of Judeo-Christian influence.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 2:03 AM
Title: Re: The Origin Of Tibetan Singing Bowls
Content:


climb-up said:
Well, yeah. But that’s different than wether someone is intentionally lying or has taken claims made on good faith.

Malcolm wrote:
Caveat emptor.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 1:03 AM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:


PadmaVonSamba said:
But just to be clear, in the meantime, whatever animals have been raised for slaughter will still be slaughtered, whether they end up in a butcher shop or sold for pet food. The producers won’t spend another penny on feed if there’s no payoff in it.

Malcolm wrote:
A lot of vegans own pets, to whom they feed meat.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 12:42 AM
Title: Re: The Origin Of Tibetan Singing Bowls
Content:




climb-up said:
But he’s a bönpo right? So he’d be going by that timeframe?

Malcolm wrote:
2500 years ago, there was only the Buddha, in India.

climb-up said:
But is that how Bönpo see it?
I thought that Bönpo trace their founding to Tonpa Sherab Miwo who they place in 16,000s BCE.

Malcolm wrote:
No comment. As far as sound healing with singing bowls go, there was no such thing before the 1980's.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, September 6th, 2021 at 12:19 AM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
JimTempleman said:
. If you think the presentation is flawed, I’d like to hear how you would correct it.

Malcolm wrote:
This is why you need a teacher.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 11:21 PM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
JimTempleman said:
I’m trying to explain how my own practice & experience can readily be interpreted in terms of the Four Noble Truths. My problem is that if I don’t present it as a system, the points I’m making won’t hold up.
Malcolm wrote:
There are many errors in your presentation. Too many to enumerate.

JimTempleman said:
– My errors are innumerable; I vow to listen to all of your criticism with an open mind.

Malcolm wrote:
To begin with, you need a qualified teacher. Start there.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 10:58 PM
Title: Re: translation of Dra Talgyur and its commentary by Vimalamitra
Content:
yagmort said:
thanks Malcolm, both for the reply and your efforts.
excuse my ignorance, what about vima nyingthig? was any of it translated? any ideas about full cycle translation?

Malcolm wrote:
Bits and pieces, three phrases of Garab Dorje, seven nails of Shri singha, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 10:57 PM
Title: Re: Emptiness practice off the cushion
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 10:36 PM
Title: Re: Emptiness practice off the cushion
Content:


Rick said:
Yes I am not fond of committing to one thing.

Malcolm wrote:
Then, Ferdinand, you will never get anywhere.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 10:34 PM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The fact that you are proffering meditation advice without having trained under a qualified teacher is the point.

JimTempleman said:
I'm just trying to clarify an earlier teaching.

Malcolm wrote:
When an unqualified physician prescribes medicine, they harm the patient, and thereby, their own reputation.

You should try studying the dharma properly, before you presume to teach others.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 10:25 PM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:


JimTempleman said:
If you can cite this method being taught by an ordained teacher, I'd love to see it!

Malcolm wrote:
There are many errors in your presentation. Too many to enumerate.

Your motivation is not the point. The fact that you are proffering meditation advice without having trained under a qualified teacher is the point.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 10:02 PM
Title: Re: The Noble Truths as Skillful Means
Content:
Unknown said:
Let me be clear from the onset that I do not claim to be enlightened. I probably botched my opportunity because (1) I was not working with a teacher, and (2) I am not Buddha. (But then had I been working with a teacher I doubt if I would have made this discovery. And if I had become enlightened, I’m not sure if I’d be working through the details involved in writing this explanation.)

Malcolm wrote:
Since you don’t have a teacher, did not train with a teacher, etc., you should not be writing explanations as if you are a teacher. It’s like someone who never studied medicine writing prescriptions. It’s highly unethical.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 9:58 PM
Title: Re: Emptiness practice off the cushion
Content:
Rick said:
Well at least the stone can take solace from knowing it is immersed in water. And, who knows, maybe a crack will form and some will seep inside?

Malcolm wrote:
If you just want follow your own trip, why bother asking questions?

You don’t understand the meaning of refuge, that’s your basic problem.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 9:39 PM
Title: Re: translation of Dra Talgyur and its commentary by Vimalamitra
Content:
yagmort said:
it was announced some time ago that translation of Dra Talgyur and its commentary by Vimalamitra is in progress.

http://melong.com/the-drathalgyur-all-penetrating-sound-tantra/

since Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and Elio Guarisco passed away, what is the status of this project?

Malcolm wrote:
It never started. It however is my next project, with the encouragement of Adriano Clemente. It is a long text, so, maybe it will be published in four years. I think it has already been translated into French by JLA as far as I know.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 9:38 PM
Title: Re: Emptiness practice off the cushion
Content:
Rick said:
Striving to realize emptiness with good texts but no living teacher/sangha and with a good off-cushion but no on-the-cushion practice ...

A fool's errand? Or a good path (of the 84,000) for the right person? (A fool?)

Malcolm wrote:
This is just intellectualism. It is like being a stone in the bottom of the ocean. No matter how wet the surface becomes, the water never penetrates inside.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 8:39 PM
Title: Re: Future of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism
Content:
Chenrezig said:
The 5th built the Potala still under Mongolian support...

Malcolm wrote:
No, he expanded it. It was originally constructed by Songtsam Gampo.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 8:37 PM
Title: Re: Emptiness practice off the cushion
Content:



master of puppets said:
I don't know

Crazywisdom said:
The foam gathers and goes down a wide gullet.

master of puppets said:
can say many things..ı will ask, what is good what is bad, really?

you may as well disregard..


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 8:16 PM
Title: Re: Not wanting to practice unless my suffering is high
Content:



Jesse said:
Either way I appreciate all of the input, and advice. Bliss is honestly about the only thing that will motivate me to practice when I'm in a rut like currently. If I can manage to get some of that going maybe it will carry me a ways away from my current stagnant position.

Malcolm wrote:
You are always suffering, you just don't recognize it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 7:55 PM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:



Aemilius said:
He did discuss the livelihood of lay persons.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, which had the side effect of leading to a de facto caste system where butchers were considered the lowest of the low, because in Buddhist countries everyone ate meat and still do.

But the Buddha actually defined meat pure in three ways as acceptable, including in a Mahāyānā context, which you will discover if you read Bhavaviveka's treatment of the issue which I have presented here elsewhere.

Aemilius said:
"Pure in three ways" doesn't hold water. Each person who eats meat habitually or sporadically creates demand for the production of meat in the future. This is how the market works, and nowadays most people know it. At the time of Shakyamuni the science of economics and market analysis had not yet developed, and this example of "pure in three ways" was accepted, but it can't be accepted anymore.

Malcolm wrote:
Sure it can. The issue is volition, not economics.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 7:53 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Kim O'Hara said:
I might. Or I might just be restraining my speech about *Texans to Americans.

Malcolm wrote:
There, fixed it for you.

Kim O'Hara said:
Thanks. My bad.

I was actually going to write ...about some Americans to other Americans... which would have been better still because it would cover the point TharpaChodron made. I think I will have to wait until my next life to start aspiring to perfection in speech.


Kim

Malcolm wrote:
Well, all of this is actually Australia’s fault….Rupert Murdoch….


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 7:49 PM
Title: Re: The Origin Of Tibetan Singing Bowls
Content:
climb-up said:
Maybe this Rinpoche had some positive experiences with sound healing, thought they were meaningful and useful and just assumed that the historical claims were true?

Malcolm wrote:
2500 years? There wasn’t even Buddhism in Tibet 2500 years ago.


climb-up said:
But he’s a bönpo right? So he’d be going by that timeframe?

Malcolm wrote:
2500 years ago, there was only the Buddha, in India.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at 10:11 AM
Title: Re: The Origin Of Tibetan Singing Bowls
Content:
climb-up said:
Maybe this Rinpoche had some positive experiences with sound healing, thought they were meaningful and useful and just assumed that the historical claims were true?

Malcolm wrote:
2500 years? There wasn’t even Buddhism in Tibet 2500 years ago.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 9:53 PM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Didn't you also say an impartial mind is impossible? That one must choose wisdom? It would appear you're own evaluation of the situation would make Mahamudra practice impossible.

Malcolm wrote:
I said “choiceless awareness” was impossible. Awareness, by its very definition, is always awareness of something. I am pretty sure I did not say that one “chooses” transcendent gnosis. Of course, there are all kinds of things one chooses in order to discover that gnosis, such as a teacher, lineage, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 9:01 PM
Title: Re: Great Vegan Debate
Content:



Sunrise said:
The Buddha was skillful allowing the Sangha, who were beggars, to eat meat (not intentionally killed for them).

Malcolm wrote:
He also never discussed the diets of lay people.

Aemilius said:
He did discuss the livelihood of lay persons.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, which had the side effect of leading to a de facto caste system where butchers were considered the lowest of the low, because in Buddhist countries everyone ate meat and still do.

But the Buddha actually defined meat pure in three ways as acceptable, including in a Mahāyānā context, which you will discover if you read Bhavaviveka's treatment of the issue which I have presented here elsewhere.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 8:23 PM
Title: Re: purity
Content:
tingdzin said:
so no basis for "race pride" in the bad sense.

Malcolm wrote:
Khampas clearly think they are not Bodpas. Also the gtsang pas really distinguish themselves from the dbu pas, etc. But it is more regional than racial. They all come from the four clans (rus).


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 8:17 PM
Title: Re: purity
Content:
DGA said:
Here are a few examples that caught my eye.  I'm sure I glossed over more.

Drung, Deu, and Bon

Chapter 1, part 4, quoting from "Birth In Ling"



Of course, I notice these are all quotations from the same text.  I assume there are at least shades of meaning that distinguish the above from the below:

Chapter 8, section 1:

(p 106)

Malcolm wrote:
"Oh great, pure, divine race!"  (p 6)

lha sde dkar po: here "pure" is translating dkar po, or "white." sde is not usually translated as race. It is basically a military term, and means "division, section, or segment." But given the context, I see why Adriano has chosen race (usually given for rigs).

"let the pure (dkar po) people of Ling sing and dance!" (p 7)
"the deities have chosen a man from among the pure (dkar) Ling." (p 9)
"may his birth be like an ornament for the pure (dkar po) Ling!" (p 9)

"Dkar po" here as denotes good, virtuous, etc.

"as men do not distinguish good from evil, and do not know how to maintain purity (gtsang) and avoid impurity (dme), they create a basis for negativity"

gtsang here has the connotation of moral purity, chastity, proper sexual conduct; while dme has the connotation of adultery and incest.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 7:56 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Kim O'Hara said:
I might. Or I might just be restraining my speech about *Texans to Americans.

Malcolm wrote:
There, fixed it for you.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 7:17 PM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
You guys want to say powerful overwhelming devotion. But tears and emotion and all that is just attachment, opinion and bias.

Malcolm wrote:
Where did I call for tears and emotion? I said that in guru yoga, mahamudra is realized through merging the power of devotion with recognition of the nature of the mind, that’s all. It’s a different path than the two stages, but produces a similar gnosis.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 9:20 AM
Title: Re: Most Important Empowerments in the Sakya Tradition
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Vajrayoginī

n8pee said:
Why is this?

Malcolm wrote:
Apart from Lamdre, Naropa’s Khecari is the most important set of instructions in Sakya. It’s easy to practice, profound, and complete. According to the Sakya Tradition, it’s the ultimate practice lineage from the Cakrasamvara tantra tradition as preserved by this school.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 8:16 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:



Danny said:
So what’s the devotion? And why’s it “powerful”?

Malcolm wrote:
It's how, combined with recognition of the mind essence, one realizes mahāmudra through guru yoga.

Crazywisdom said:
Well seeing the guru as Vajradhara is enough. Milarepa taught the guru is an illusion.

Malcolm wrote:
Is the mind essence different than Vajradhara? If so, please explain how. Is the mind essence established as something that truly exists? If so, please explain how. If you can’t, then your distinctions are like saying this pure water is better than that pure water.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 6:05 AM
Title: Re: Emptiness practice off the cushion
Content:


Rick said:
Life is but a dream?

master of puppets said:
don't believe life is a dream.
for an awakened can not be.
because he is awakened.

Malcolm wrote:
That’s why an awakened one is awake. Even the Buddha said life is just like last nights dream, sheesh.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 4:50 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
It refers to the quality of devotion, literally “ the power of devotion” .

rai said:
thank you!

Danny said:
So what’s the devotion? And why’s it “powerful”?

Malcolm wrote:
It's how, combined with recognition of the mind essence, one realizes mahāmudra through guru yoga.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 4:48 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Covert ops, not an invasion. Drone strikes, the usual things people don't like but we do anyway.

Queequeg said:
That's the only answer I've gotten to the alternative to getting involved in Afghanistan, and it involves getting involved in Afghanistan.

Malcolm wrote:
It does not involve a full scale ground invasion.

Queequeg said:
OBL and his gang were responsible. There's no version of reality where the US does not go after him.

Malcolm wrote:
Sure, but a ground war? 2 Trillion? Come on.

Queequeg said:
I don't know where you guys were on 9/11 and in the aftermath. I was in NYC, and a couple drone strikes and special ops was not going to satisfy the urge for revenge.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, so we punished people who had nothing to do with, by claiming we were going after people we had supported with advanced tactical weaponry since the Carter years. Makes a lot of sense. Really, it was a total failure of leadership on every level.

Queequeg said:
People were lining up at the recruiting station. Americans were going to kick ass after such a direct attack like that. There was no alternative to a lot of death and destruction.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, there is often no alternative when American stupidity gets involved. We just decided to punish Muslims for allowing OBL to exist, and killed a million people in the process. It's indefensible. It is a war crime.


Queequeg said:
There was another message there - that was if you harbor people like OBL, expect to get your ass whupped.

Malcolm wrote:
But that did not happen, just like it did not happen in Vietnam, etc. And actually the Taliban was willing to hand over OBL:

https://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-te.attacks15oct15-story.html

There was a diplomatic solution, but Bush was under the influence of Darth Cheney. and opted to ignore it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 2:00 AM
Title: Re: Thou shall bring no false idols before me
Content:


Jesse said:
I still believe systems such as democracy would have a place, however with a better educated, less deluded public, society could elect beneficial public servants, based on merit and skill; rather than politics, greed, and the other asinine qualities we now base our elections on.

Malcolm wrote:
Eliminate the GOP and your wishes will be granted.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 1:47 AM
Title: Re: Emptiness practice off the cushion
Content:
Rick said:
Which means all the bogeymen in my life (fears, neuroses, sorrows, suffering, grief) are just that ... bogeymen!

Malcolm wrote:
Yes. But this ability to regard everything as dreams and illusions in post-equipoise ought to arise from profound confidence in emptiness, otherwise, it may fall into a kind of nihilism.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 12:55 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:



Crazywisdom said:
Because it's arcane knowledge that only he knows. It's an exotic combination of characters that dazzles the eye....

Malcolm wrote:
Cone knows Tibetan.

Crazywisdom said:
Hanji


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 12:53 AM
Title: Re: Most Important Empowerments in the Sakya Tradition
Content:
Schopenhauer said:
What are the most important empowerments in the Sakya tradition, besides the Hevajra and Lamdre empowerments?

Malcolm wrote:
Vajrayoginī

Then in no particular order:
Vajrakīlaya
Sarvavidyā
Guhyasamāja
Vajrabhairava
Cakrasamvara
Mahākāla


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 12:50 AM
Title: Re: Emptiness practice off the cushion
Content:
Rick said:
What off-the-cushion practices are good for deepening one's relationship with emptiness?

Malcolm wrote:
Regarding all phenomena as dreams and illusions.

Rick said:
Life is but a dream?

Malcolm wrote:
no more real than last night's dream, yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 12:31 AM
Title: Re: Recommended Reading Before The Indian Classics
Content:
Padmist said:
Before I embark on reading the Indian Classics (Nagarjuna, Asanga, Vasubandhu, etc), their commentarial work, shastras, treatises, (MMK, 5 Maitreya Texts, Abhidharmakośakārikā, etc) are there books you'd recommend I read first to make reading these classics easier to understand?

Malcolm wrote:
Sakya Pandita's Clarifying the Sages Intent, Gampopa's Ornament of Liberation, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 12:09 AM
Title: Re: Thou shall bring no false idols before me
Content:


Jesse said:
I would prefer to see a technologically advanced society which is guided/governed by great Bodhisattvas.

Malcolm wrote:
This is just philosopher king ideology. It does not work in reality. I am fine with the conventional wisdom of ordinary people, even if it is far, far less than perfect.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 11:48 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Sādhaka said:
There was a reason for some people.

Malcolm wrote:
Sure, a lot of people on the beltway lined their pockets, most of that 2 trillion was spent here.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 11:46 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Queequeg said:
Dharmasherab says the US should never have gone into Afghanistan in the first place

Malcolm wrote:
I agree.

Queequeg said:
and I would like to know what the correct response should have been to 9/11 if it didn't involve going into Afghanistan.

Malcolm wrote:
Covert ops, not an invasion. Drone strikes, the usual things people don't like but we do anyway.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 11:38 PM
Title: Re: Emptiness practice off the cushion
Content:
Rick said:
Greet!

What off-the-cushion practices are good for deepening one's relationship with emptiness?

Many thank!

Rick

Malcolm wrote:
Regarding all phenomena as dreams and illusions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 11:03 PM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
Aka Mos gus pa’i rtsal.

rai said:
which gives 0 results in google

Crazywisdom said:
Because it's arcane knowledge that only he knows. It's an exotic combination of characters that dazzles the eye....

Malcolm wrote:
Cone knows Tibetan.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 10:21 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:



Queequeg said:
What should have been the response?

Malcolm wrote:
What we did in Abbottabad. Waited, watched, and then eliminated OBL when we had the chance. No reason at all to spend 2 trillion dollars on nothing.

47,245 civilians died in this war. Seems a little excessive, not to mention the number of civilians who died in Iraq. Total numbers here as of 2019:

https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2019/Direct%20War%20Deaths%20COW%20Estimate%20November%2013%202019%20FINAL.pdf


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 7:47 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Dharmasherab said:
The US should not have got involved in the first place back in 2001.

Malcolm wrote:
Another SCOTUS debacle.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 6:08 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Queequeg said:
For those who don't know, this law bans abortions after the sixth week and then authorizes anyone to bring a lawsuit against anyone who performs or assists anyone obtain an abortion, awarding them $10,000 and attorneys fees and costs if they win. This means someone who loses this case as a defendant will have to pay $10,000 and the plaintiff's attorifees and costs that could easily be in the six figure range. One of these cases could bankrupt a doctor or counselor. You can bet anti abortion organizations will line up to support these cases. No one will want to do these procedures.

You can bet red states will all copy this law.

It's a shit show.

Malcolm wrote:
GOP solution to demographic crisis?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 6:06 PM
Title: Re: The Origin Of Tibetan Singing Bowls
Content:
Lhasa said:
I have a singing bowl that came from the estate of a high Sakya lama, an abbot, who brought it out of Tibet in the 1950's. It is hand carved, crudely,  rough, not polished, not pretty, not commercial. Rather ugly, really.  It was used in tantric water rituals.  It has a wonderful sound.  This was long before the new age bowls appeared.

Garchen Rinpoche is now sharing a recording of a gong-like 'bowl' from Gar monastery in Tibet.  He says it is a 'liberation by hearing' sound and he is playing it now before his live-stream teachings.  You can hear it on his youtube live stream videos from the last month or so.

Malcolm wrote:
I’ve been in the Sakya school for thirty years. Water offerings, yes, sound healing with metal bowls, no.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 6:03 PM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:



conebeckham said:
Both an experience of extreme devotion,

Malcolm wrote:
Aka Mos gus pa’i rtsal.

rai said:
which gives 0 results in google

Malcolm wrote:
It refers to the quality of devotion, literally “ the power of devotion” .


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 7:51 AM
Title: Re: Anam Thubten
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
Yes, actually he was.

Tathāgata arhat samyaksambudda is his common title.

heart said:
arhat = buddha?

SilenceMonkey said:
* namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa *

Arahant is one of the praises of Lord Buddha Shakyamuni ~ You'll find it in a number of sutras, as well as general praises of the Buddha. It means "Worthy One" according to the Theravadins.

བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ་ དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ་ ཡང་དག་པར་རྫོགས་པའི་སངས་རྒྱས་དཔལ་རྒྱལ་བ་ཤཱཀྱ་ཐུབ་པ་ལ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལོ།
CHOM DÄN DÄ DE ZHIN SHEG PA DRA CHOM PA YANG DAG PAR DZOG PÄI SANG GYÄ PÄL GYÄL WA SHAKYA THUB PA LA CHHAG TSHÄL LO
(transliteration courtesy of FPMT)

Malcolm wrote:
It’s funny, that’s how Tibetans translate Jain use of the term, rather than “destroyer of the enemy.”


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 7:49 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Queequeg said:
Domestically, if the Dems can hold on at the mid-term,

Malcolm wrote:
Yesterday, SCOTUS may handed the midterms to the Dems.

PeterC said:
You mean Texas?  It’s going to help, but may not be enough.

It’s also quite possibly the right decision.  The really insidious thing about the Texas taliban’s law is that it turns the whole of the population into the enforcers.  It creates a cause of action for any citizen against any doctor or patient. That’s socially pretty horrible, but it’s also quite clever, because that makes it a lot harder for SCOTUS to review before there is an actual case.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s a patently illegal law.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 5:58 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:



conebeckham said:
It's one interpretation, I suppose, but the point is that uncontrived devotion is an overwhelming state of mind, but one which is very lucid and direct, which serves to focus--and in the proper circumstances, instructions will "take"--the student will have an experiential glimpse, a direct glimpse, without conceptualization.Frankly, the whole point of Tummo is also to create a similar state of mind, an overwhelming but lucid mind of bliss, to achieve the same purpose.

Crazywisdom said:
Honestly I don't know what overwhelming has to do with anything. Tummo of bliss is an example wisdom. The point of devotion as a path is direct perception, which comes from pith instructions. It's not the same at all. So have to disagree.

conebeckham said:
Both an experience of extreme devotion,

Malcolm wrote:
Aka Mos gus pa’i rtsal.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 4:23 AM
Title: Re: Future of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism
Content:
Chenrezig said:
The future of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism is not diminished in any way over 70 years but instead gained the world attention becoming the most important faith in the world.

Malcolm wrote:
This is somewhat overblown.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 4:19 AM
Title: Re: Anam Thubten
Content:


heart said:
I believe you, but the Buddha wasn't an arhat.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, actually he was.

Tathāgata arhat samyaksambudda is his common title.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 4:16 AM
Title: Re: purity
Content:
DGA said:
I'm reading Drung, Deu, and Bon. In the translated excerpts in that text, I see frequent reference to or appeal to purity.  The "pure race."  the pure teachings.

What is translated as "pure" in this context, and what is meant by it?

thank you

Malcolm wrote:
Page number, chapter, thanks.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 4:16 AM
Title: Re: The Origin Of Tibetan Singing Bowls
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
It is, frankly, a fraudulent claim. One has to question ethics of the folks who make this shit up.

PadmaVonSamba said:
Not the only fraudulent claim on that website

Täpa said:
Thank you all for the fast replies. I know Bon is frequently accused of plagiarism and things like that by other Tibetan schools. And now again they might dig their own grave with this? It might be a silly 'mistake' if this really is nonsense.

Malcolm wrote:
This is just an appeal to people with new age tendencies. You may notice that Bonpos do not teach their serious curriculum of Madhyamaka, Abhidharma, etc. These texts, though borrowing from Buddhist texts, are not simply copies of Buddhist texts as commonly thought.

The modern Bonpos focus on rituals, and so on, things that have marketing appeal to a certain kind of Westerner. As far as I know, aside from singing bowls, with is complete and utter nonsense, virtually everything else one sees these geshes teach is sourced in authentic Bon traditions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 2:58 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Then on 226 of same book there's a quote from Lord Jigten Sumgon that says the culminating devotion is not providing service for a long time or making great offerings, it's seeing the guru as Dharmakaya.

Malcolm wrote:
And Virupa asserts that by serving the guru one can attain mahāmudra without meditating at all, if one is of the highest capacity.

Crazywisdom said:
That also seems to be what Dzogchen tantras say, it comes by way of apt descriptions. It seems all these pith instructions are in agreement.

Malcolm wrote:
Generally, yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 2:35 AM
Title: Re: The Origin Of Tibetan Singing Bowls
Content:



Täpa said:
It claims the bowls are used for over 2500 years by monks.

Malcolm wrote:
It is, frankly, a fraudulent claim. One has to question ethics of the folks who make this shit up.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 2:34 AM
Title: Re: Anam Thubten
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
You find many places where the Buddha smiles.

clyde said:
Yes, the Buddha smiles (It’s a significant event in the Zen tradition.), but nowhere is it recorded that he laughs or that he causes others to laugh.

heart said:
Probably because the people who wrote it down, centuries after it happened, lacked as sense of humor.

/magnus

Malcolm wrote:
One of the listed qualities of arhats is that they do not laugh.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 1:29 AM
Title: Re: Minnesota Teen Prepares for Life as a Reincarnated Lama
Content:
Schrödinger’s Yidam said:
It seems puberty is usually what derails western tulkus. Celibacy is a hard sell for a male teenager that has had access to porn.

Malcolm wrote:
It derails a lot of Tibetan tulkus as well. Porn is everywhere.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at 12:34 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Then on 226 of same book there's a quote from Lord Jigten Sumgon that says the culminating devotion is not providing service for a long time or making great offerings, it's seeing the guru as Dharmakaya.

Malcolm wrote:
And Virupa asserts that by serving the guru one can attain mahāmudra without meditating at all, if one is of the highest capacity.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 2nd, 2021 at 10:54 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Queequeg said:
Domestically, if the Dems can hold on at the mid-term,

Malcolm wrote:
Yesterday, SCOTUS may handed the midterms to the Dems.

Queequeg said:
The Texas abortion ruling? That law is crazy.

Malcolm wrote:
Yup. That and Covid.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 2nd, 2021 at 10:51 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Queequeg said:
Domestically, if the Dems can hold on at the mid-term,

Malcolm wrote:
Yesterday, SCOTUS may handed the midterms to the Dems.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 2nd, 2021 at 7:26 PM
Title: Re: Kalachakra in Dzogchen Community
Content:


RobertoKhorviano said:
All the more reason to switch from long Kalachakra empowerements to much simpler Anu-Ati style way of the transmission (without discussing details here: like the Kalachakra empowerement used on Tenerife). This way giving empowerement would be less taxing for HHDL's human vehicle.

Malcolm wrote:
Gelukpas and Sakyapas won’t accept theses kinds of empowerments as ripening empowerments, generally speaking.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 2nd, 2021 at 7:12 PM
Title: Re: Anam Thubten
Content:


clyde said:
But Anam Thubten has a sense of humor, something that is missing from the suttas,

Malcolm wrote:
Not if you know how to read them.

clyde said:
Perhaps, but nowhere, at least as far as I know and no search of the AccessToInsight website, does one find in the suttas “the Buddha laughed”.

Malcolm wrote:
You find many places where the Buddha smiles.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 2nd, 2021 at 7:10 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Queequeg said:
And that's a wrap.

Ten days from now will be the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

We need to turn inward. We've neglected too much domestically. The world out there will need to take care of itself and not expect the US's involvement, for good or bad.

Arnoud said:
I think most of the world agrees with that. And would have preferred that from the start.


Sādhaka said:
Ron Paul’s been saying that for decades.

Malcolm wrote:
Libertarian-style isolationism is inadequate in every respect to issues we face in the modern world.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 2nd, 2021 at 4:13 AM
Title: Re: Anam Thubten
Content:


clyde said:
But Anam Thubten has a sense of humor, something that is missing from the suttas,

Malcolm wrote:
Not if you know how to read them.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 2nd, 2021 at 4:03 AM
Title: Re: Lama Lena Testimonies/Credentials
Content:
Matt J said:
Is it possible she is using kyerim in a broader way than people are used to?

Malcolm wrote:
Creation stage is creation stage. It has no broader meaning.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, September 2nd, 2021 at 4:00 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:


tobes said:
Point C. i.e. the critique of Wallace was that he was being 'less than inspiring' for assuming that most people will not attain liberation on this life. Yet this is a very pragmatic, justified and fair assumption as you point out here (but not there).

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, he was being less than inspiring.

Here, I am pointing out the cause of lack of success in Vajrayāna practice (lack of devotion to one's guru as a buddha in fact), and for those who care to see it, the remedy (devotion to one's guru as a buddha in fact).

On the other hand, Nāgārjuna stated in the Pañcakrama:

When falling off of a mountain peak, 
some think they are not falling, even though they are falling 
When the beneficial instruction of the guru is received,
some think they are not liberated, even though they are liberated.

So you see, I am pretty consistent, even across posts.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 1st, 2021 at 4:27 AM
Title: Re: Fiction with Buddhist influences
Content:
PeterC said:
Mishima’s Sea of Fertility tetralogy.  The ingredients are all Buddhist, although the story isn’t really about the Dharma.  It’s heavy going and a little fascist in places (notably Running Horses), but it’s an important work.

Malcolm wrote:
A little fascist? Mishima was a lunatic.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, September 1st, 2021 at 2:37 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:
Schrödinger’s Yidam said:
Sarah Harding says in the introduction to "Creation and Completion" that when practicing Mahamudra your winds naturally go into the central channel, so it is not mentioned. But you can also do the same thing by drawing the winds into the central channels via the Yogas. So the Yogas are Completion Stage practice in their own right.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, there are three inner empowerments, and there are completion stage practices which correspond to each one.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 11:44 PM
Title: Re: IS it possible to have 2 yidams?
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
They are practicing as one Yab yum.

Malcolm wrote:
Nevertheless, this descends from Ghantapāda, whether it is one, five, or the sixty-two deity body mandala version. There is also the simplified sahaja aka natural version, with one face and two arms.

tony_montana said:
Hi, forgive me but I need to ask a kinda silly question: If a person receives the empowerment of the sahaja-Chakrasamvara (like in Drikung Kagyu and other Kagyu lineages) can this person also self-visualize as the 12-armed Chakrasamvara?

Malcolm wrote:
Not sure. Probably not. However Sahaja firms are for completion stage


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 11:41 PM
Title: Re: IS it possible to have 2 yidams?
Content:
Danny said:
So I’m saying in order.. Luipa, then Ghantapāda's

Cuz at some point 3 really became two. Not three

Cuz there was a blending,
...

It’s not super clear

It’s actually super fascinating.

Malcolm wrote:
There three because Luipa wrote the first Cakrasamvara Sadhana, Ghantapada and Krishnacarya composed their own based on their own realization, but actually they are all in the same lineage.

Danny said:
Ok, sure but there’s by my reckoning, 10 tantras on Heruka chakrasamvara?

Malcolm wrote:
There are several. According to the Naropa Guhya-anta tradition, there are five main tantras.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 9:24 PM
Title: Re: IS it possible to have 2 yidams?
Content:
Danny said:
So I’m saying in order.. Luipa, then Ghantapāda's

Cuz at some point 3 really became two. Not three

Cuz there was a blending,
...

It’s not super clear

It’s actually super fascinating.

Malcolm wrote:
There three because Luipa wrote the first Cakrasamvara Sadhana, Ghantapada and Krishnacarya composed their own based on their own realization, but actually they are all in the same lineage.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 8:21 AM
Title: Re: IS it possible to have 2 yidams?
Content:
Danny said:
I realized it’s also the color of the faces,
Not just the yum posture ..it’s so complex

Malcolm wrote:
Yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 8:21 AM
Title: Re: IS it possible to have 2 yidams?
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
They are practicing as one Yab yum.

Malcolm wrote:
Nevertheless, this descends from Ghantapāda, whether it is one, five, or the sixty-two deity body mandala version. There is also the simplified sahaja aka natural version, with one face and two arms.

conebeckham said:
Doesn't Ghantapada's system stem from Luipa's?  (whose Samvara has the same "both legs up/wrapped around" iconography, BTW)...

I do understand that Drikung's sadhana is in the Ghantapada lineage.....

Malcolm wrote:
Luipa's system emphasizes the creation stage; Kṛṣna's emphasizes the creation stage and completion stage in equal measure; Ghantapāda's system emphasizes the completion stage.


conebeckham said:
whose Samvara has the same "both legs up/wrapped around" iconography, BTW

Malcolm wrote:
True, there are mainly differences in the retinue depictions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 7:42 AM
Title: Re: IS it possible to have 2 yidams?
Content:



Crazywisdom said:
They have Vajravarahi also wrapping both legs held up by Chakrasamvara.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, this is the five-deity Ghantapāda Cakrasamvara.

Crazywisdom said:
They are practicing as one Yab yum.

Malcolm wrote:
Nevertheless, this descends from Ghantapāda, whether it is one, five, or the sixty-two deity body mandala version. There is also the simplified sahaja aka natural version, with one face and two arms.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 7:39 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Ok get a topic going for that. What's the use of refuting Coemergent Mahamudra?

Malcolm wrote:
No one refutes the name. Everyone teaches a species of Connate Mahāmudra, including the Sakyapas.

It is the method that is under dispute, and whether the way things that are presented by some early Kagyu masters is the way things were actually presented by Indian masters.

If you are interested in such polemics you can read Sakya Pandita's Three Vows and Clarifying the Sage's Intent. His objections went unanswered by Kagyupas for nearly three centuries.

We really don't need to litigate this in this forum. It's above our pay grade. It's best left for Khenpos to argue about. It's what they get paid for.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 7:32 AM
Title: Re: Mahamudra Dharma Protectors
Content:
conebeckham said:
In general, the Sarma schools practice their own traditional forms of Mahakala and Mahakali.

Malcolm wrote:
The iconography of which is entirely based on Nyingma tantras...

conebeckham said:
Interesting.  The Eight Chapter Tantra, 25 Chapter Tantra and 50 chapter Tantra were early translations?  It's interesting, given that so many of these Mahakala forms are linked with various Sarma yidams.....Hevajra and GurGon, Demchok and ChakShipa, etc.

Malcolm wrote:
It is actually a tantra called the "mkha' 'gro me lce.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 7:31 AM
Title: Re: Mahamudra Dharma Protectors
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Not very prominent in Drikung Kagyu.

Malcolm wrote:
I received the lung for all the Drikung Dharmapālas many years ago (1991). Mahākāla was prominent in the texts translated for the Frederick, MD. Dharma Center by Khenchen Konchok Gyaltsen, where I imagine they are still in use today.

conebeckham said:
I would imagine Chakshipa, yes?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, and crow headed Mahākāla etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 4:57 AM
Title: Re: IS it possible to have 2 yidams?
Content:
Danny said:
Which one of the three Khorlo Demchok lineage do drikung practice?
The 64 ? Also please what yum position is vajradakini? Wrapped around or one leg planted?

Thanks

Crazywisdom said:
They have Vajravarahi also wrapping both legs held up by Chakrasamvara.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, this is the five-deity Ghantapāda Cakrasamvara.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 4:55 AM
Title: Re: Mahamudra Dharma Protectors
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
Mahākāla and Mahākāli are the general protectors of secret mantra. All lineages practice these two protectors. Of all protectors, they are the most reliable, and are found in many tantras, both old and new.

Crazywisdom said:
Not very prominent in Drikung Kagyu.

Konchog Thogme Jampa said:
Yamantaka is in Garchen Drikung

Malcolm wrote:
Yidam, not dharmapāla.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 4:50 AM
Title: Re: Mahamudra Dharma Protectors
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Not very prominent in Drikung Kagyu.

Malcolm wrote:
I received the lung for all the Drikung Dharmapālas many years ago (1991). Mahākāla was prominent in the texts translated for the Frederick, MD. Dharma Center by Khenchen Konchok Gyaltsen, where I imagine they are still in use today.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 4:36 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
In the Kagyu context these are primordially inseparable.

Malcolm wrote:
This is the case in Vajrayāna in general. However, most people cannot practice these things in this way, hence Vajradhara recommended a gradual approach for us stupid, unintelligent people who need baby steps.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 2:49 AM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:
Lhasa said:
"Realization", as a word, has been so over used and misused.  In the Buddhist context, what does it mean, are there synonyms?  I'm trying to get past my hindu/new age imprints.

Malcolm wrote:
"Realization" (rtogs pa) means combining understanding (go ba) with experience (nyams myong).


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 2:40 AM
Title: Re: Mahamudra Dharma Protectors
Content:
conebeckham said:
In general, the Sarma schools practice their own traditional forms of Mahakala and Mahakali.

Malcolm wrote:
The iconography of which is entirely based on Nyingma tantras...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 2:03 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:
yagmort said:
do we even have undistorted lineages anymore? i got the impression whatever it was Tilopa has taught is no more. they used to practice yidam as development stage and 6 dharmas of Naropa for upper door and karmamudra for lower door as completion.. things have changed.. nothing stays the same in sansara

Malcolm wrote:
This is a difficult point in Tibetan Buddhism. The Sakyapas assert that there is no path of mahāmudra independent of the two stages, the Kagyupas do. The decision as to who is technically correct is above my pay grade. Both the Sakyapas and the Kagyus have produced many masters who realized mahāmudra.  So, it is best to decide on a lineage, follow it, and not get involved in polemical disputes over these issues.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 31st, 2021 at 12:48 AM
Title: Re: Mahamudra Dharma Protectors
Content:
Konchog Thogme Jampa said:
So Dzogchen has Ekajati, Rahula and Dorje Legpa as its  protectors.

Does Mahamudra have its own protectors?

Malcolm wrote:
Mahākāla and Mahākāli are the general protectors of secret mantra. All lineages practice these two protectors. Of all protectors, they are the most reliable, and are found in many tantras, both old and new.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 30th, 2021 at 11:50 PM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:
Passing By said:
but you're not meant to be visualizing purelands all the time since it's referring to appearances/experiences in general.

Malcolm wrote:
In post-equipoise yogas, all appearances are the deity, all sound is mantra, all thoughts are gnosis. These are the three 'khyer so, the three attitudes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 30th, 2021 at 7:45 PM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
But if you can provide a quote from a tantra that says no lama knows the level of students, I might believe you.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no citation from any tantra I know of that says a guru can do so. This idea is inferred from the notion that those on the bhumis can know the minds of others. But most gurus are not bodhisattvas on the bhumis, despite endless propaganda about tulkus and so on. In fact, the Vajrayāna system was taught so that ordinary people can transmit the teachings, and that is stated in the tantras. There are examples of this in the 84 Mahāsiddhas, for example, the tale of Śantipa and Kotalipa. The former gave empowerment to the latter, and the latter attained mahamudra siddhi. To expressed his gratitude, Kotalipa flew through the air to visit Śantipa, who did not recall him, but when confronted with Kotalipa's realization, Śantipa requested teachings and attained mahamudra realization himself. A realized guru is not required by a student who has faith that their guru is a buddha.  Most of us do not have this sincere faith, even though we brag about this and that teacher's realization constantly. This is why main reason why people do not realize the fruit of Vajrayāna teachings in one lifetime.

tobes said:
It's not fair/right to expect consistency across different threads, but it is striking how you argued so robustly against this very point on the bhumi/Alan Wallace thread.

Malcolm wrote:
Huh? Which point, there are several. Here to make this easier:


a.There is no citation from any tantra I know of that says a guru can do so.
b.A realized guru is not required by a student who has faith that their guru is a buddha.
c.Most of us do not have this sincere faith, even though we brag about this and that teacher's realization constantly. This is the main reason why people do not realize the fruit of Vajrayāna teachings in one lifetime.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 30th, 2021 at 5:14 AM
Title: Re: All for what?
Content:
Justmeagain said:
We moved house recently. The stress was untenable. The inadequacy of the whole process in this country left me with no sleep, tense during the day, unable to sit as I was obsessed with finding somewhere for my family to live. It was without doubt an experience I will NEVER willingly partake of again. Renting for us from now on. We are now renting a beautiful a 200 year old farmhouse up in the hills in Somerset.

Why disappointed? Because all the years of sitting, the cold mornings, the retreats, the chanting and the study meant nothing. Because when I needed that inner resource to help me manage and cope it wasn't there. I reacted like someone who had never sat on a cushion in their life.

I struggle gather the inspiration to sit now.

Maybe I should have gone to church instead!!!

Probably misguided but there it is.

Malcolm wrote:
If you think you are a basket case now, imagine how homicidal you would be otherwise. Just a thought.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 30th, 2021 at 4:31 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:


Passing By said:
Speaking of yidam sadhana and Dzogchen......Is there even any difference between divine pride, viewing everything as the display of the deity/mandala and trekchod?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, the former is the creation stage, the latter is the completion stage without objects.

Ideally these are practiced in tandem, but beginners are generally encouraged to practice first one, then the other, from elaboration to nonelaboration. I've been at this for 30 years. I have met _very_ few people, less than a handful, who are capable of practicing trekcho in absence of some support.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 30th, 2021 at 4:30 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa (split from "Choiceless awareness"
Content:
Arnoud said:
I guess the question that remains is if Vipashyana is something where the mind is active or not as that seems the difference between your (Malcolm and CW) views?

Malcolm wrote:
The mind is always active. For example, Tilopa's dictim "Don't think" does not mean "Be an inanimate object." It means don't let oneself be ruled by or grasp onto concepts. That only works is if one has authentic vipaśyanā.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 10:20 PM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
But at the same time, and I think ChNN also said this, for a lama to give direct introduction, the rigpa'i tsal wang, that lama must have a realization of rigpa.

Malcolm wrote:
What CHNN actually said is that if a prospective teacher wants to give transmission of Dzogchen teachings and does not have confidence, then they should stick to giving empowerments of Dzogchen, including the rig pa'i rtsal dbang, in a formal, detailed way.

KDL said much the same thing to me personally, albeit slightly differently. He stated that if the guru has little realization or the student has little faith, then the transmissions should be done in an elaborate way, following ritual manuals in a detailed fashion. If on the other hand the guru has realization or the student has great faith, then things can be done in a  much simpler way.

Crazywisdom said:
Even in two stages a lama must have accumulated the mantras and pujas and there should be some signs.


Malcolm wrote:
The minimum requirement stated in the tantras is that one has done the approach retreat and the fire puja, i.e. by number.

Crazywisdom said:
What ChNN actually said was the two have try to be in the same state.

Malcolm wrote:
You do understand that ChNN said a lot of things at a lot of different times, right?

Crazywisdom said:
And yet if someone can sit tight lipped and open minded there are in Vajrayana and Dzogchen pith instructions and short anuyoga deity methods that open up the possibility for a swifter route than the major tantras.

Malcolm wrote:
Frankly, most of the puffery in various Vajrayāna systems is somewhat overblown, and meant primarily to rouse enthusiasm in potential students. Long sadhanas are for beginners.

Crazywisdom said:
Related with this thread Buddhism pith instructions do have something like choiceless awareness. Tilopa's Upadesha is many ways of instruction on that.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, here we will have to disagree. Tilopa's instructions are not instructions to remain in a passive state sans vipaśyanā. It is very clear when you examine Krishnamurti, that this is what he is advocating.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 10:12 PM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Anyway this transmission was given to us several times over the course of many years. Clearly HH Drikung Chetsang and Garchen Rinpoche and the lamas they guide thought it was worth doing.

Malcolm wrote:
Sure, I received this transmission from Garchen Rinpoche when he gave the Five Fold Mahamudra in Cambridge, MA, 2001.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 9:30 PM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
But at the same time, and I think ChNN also said this, for a lama to give direct introduction, the rigpa'i tsal wang, that lama must have a realization of rigpa.

Malcolm wrote:
What CHNN actually said is that if a prospective teacher wants to give transmission of Dzogchen teachings and does not have confidence, then they should stick to giving empowerments of Dzogchen, including the rig pa'i rtsal dbang, in a formal, detailed way.

KDL said much the same thing to me personally, albeit slightly differently. He stated that if the guru has little realization or the student has little faith, then the transmissions should be done in an elaborate way, following ritual manuals in a detailed fashion. If on the other hand the guru has realization or the student has great faith, then things can be done in a  much simpler way.

Crazywisdom said:
Even in two stages a lama must have accumulated the mantras and pujas and there should be some signs.


Malcolm wrote:
The minimum requirement stated in the tantras is that one has done the approach retreat and the fire puja, i.e. by number.

Crazywisdom said:
I think the implication here is that you must be a guide to a place you know.

Malcolm wrote:
Generally speaking, this is sound. This is why we both agree beginners should, if possible, rely on lineage heads when seeking empowerments.

However, my point in a now deleted post is that there are students of various capacities, and ratcheting everything up to the level of mahasiddhas every time someone mentions the gradual path is counterproductive, just as when someone is talking about setting a table with silverware, immediately jumping to how the table does not exist because it is empty, etc. is also counterproductive.

You will certainly agree that there can be no mahāmudra realization without complete devotion to one's guru. Most people do not have that level of devotion, especially in the beginning, and usually only because of past life cultivation of the Vajrayāna path. Hence the reason we regularly make aspirations to encounter our guru in lifetime after lifetime. And, as we know, people usually overestimate their own level of competency.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 9:22 PM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
In the Manjugosha Vajra Song, Saraha says

"Just by hearing of mahamudra
for one instant: Regardless of possessing or not possessing the vessel, One attains suchness in one life by a mere show of it."

Malcolm wrote:
If one is a so called chigcharwa. However, Zhigpo Dudtsi, a famous Dzogchen master, pointed out, "Apart from Saraha in India and Ling Repa (founder of the Drukpa ineage) in Tibet, I have not found a single sudden realizer even though I have searched far and wide."

Crazywisdom said:
That is, as Hevajra says,

"Unspoken by others, the co-emergence
Cannot be found anywhere.
Be it known that it is [found]
By following the guru till the end,
And your own merits."

Malcolm wrote:
This is a reference to the third empowerment. This citation is also slightly incorrect. It is missing "time," which refers to the third empowerment.


Crazywisdom said:
But everyone should be clear about what the intelligent can do.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, clearly we are not "intelligent."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 11:35 AM
Title: Re: The attaintment in chan according to ten bhumis standard
Content:
Genjo Conan said:
Wonderful.  What stage was Linji on?  Or Huangbo?  Could Dogen manifest simultaneously in one million Buddha realms, or just ten thousand?  Do you have a citation for that?

Malcolm wrote:
The point missed here is that bhumis do not refer to realizations, paths do. Bhumis are just measures of qualities.

In terms of awakened people, there is the path of seeing (first bhumi), and the path of cultivation (second through tenth). These two paths make up the ten bhumis. The path of no more learning is buddhahood.

The point is that when one has reached the path of seeing and entered the path of cultivation, buddhahood is inevitable, in some lifetime or another.

So, Dogen was pointing out something important. On the other hand, the realization of a buddha and that of a first stage bodhisattva are not really that different. They have realized the same emptiness. The difference is only the level of cultivation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 10:27 AM
Title: Re: Faith & Reason
Content:
Schrödinger’s Yidam said:
There are three sources of authority in Buddhadharma: direct perception, inference, and testimony of reliable witness.
“Testimony of reliable witness” means “taking something on faith” in common parlance. Nice to see you supporting the validity of taking something on fait!

Malcolm wrote:
You have not been paying attention then. I have always maintained that there are three authorities in Buddhism, and have quoted the Eastern Gatehouse Sutta frequently to make this point. But this faith is a reasoned faith, and not a mere "accepting it because someone said something" faith.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 10:25 AM
Title: Re: Your / "a" Buddhist interpretation of Jungian Synchronicities?
Content:
Matt J said:
Maybe those are provisional teachings for people who lack confidence in Buddhism or who feel insecure about their practice.

Malcolm wrote:
No, it is a simple observation that only dependent origination is correct view, and that this is the unique teaching of the Buddha. We can always make excuses and object to this and that. But at the end of the day we have to shit or get off the pot.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 10:20 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
But if you can provide a quote from a tantra that says no lama knows the level of students, I might believe you.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no citation from any tantra I know of that says a guru can do so. This idea is inferred from the notion that those on the bhumis can know the minds of others. But most gurus are not bodhisattvas on the bhumis, despite endless propaganda about tulkus and so on. In fact, the Vajrayāna system was taught so that ordinary people can transmit the teachings, and that is stated in the tantras. There are examples of this in the 84 Mahāsiddhas, for example, the tale of Śantipa and Kotalipa. The former gave empowerment to the latter, and the latter attained mahamudra siddhi. To expressed his gratitude, Kotalipa flew through the air to visit Śantipa, who did not recall him, but when confronted with Kotalipa's realization, Śantipa requested teachings and attained mahamudra realization himself. A realized guru is not required by a student who has faith that their guru is a buddha.  Most of us do not have this sincere faith, even though we brag about this and that teacher's realization constantly. This is why main reason why people do not realize the fruit of Vajrayāna teachings in one lifetime.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 10:05 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
True. He taught the Six Dharmas for those of lesser intelligence.

Malcolm wrote:
That's the point. And it is very clear what the tantras say. For example, the Hevajra Tantra states:

The creation stage
and the completion stage,
the two stages in which to dwell evenly,
are the dharma explained by Vajradhara.

There are many such citations in the tantras. Also Nāgārjuna states in the Five Stages:

Those wishing to practice the completion stage,
should abide well in the creation stage.
The method is the gradual path
said by the Buddha to be like a staircase.

So here, it is without dispute that Vajrayāna practice is a (comparatively) gradual path for those who do not attain awakening during the empowerment. It would be great if we were all like Saraha and Indrabhūti I, and attained awakening during the empowerment. But we aren't and we don't, and that's why we practice sādhanas, maintain samayas, and so on, the usual work of Vajrayānis. It is also recognized in Dzogchen teachings that most people cannot practice the direct Dzogchen path, as indicated by Mañjuśṛīmitra, and hence we practice the indirect path.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 9:47 AM
Title: Re: can you reincarnate backwards in time?
Content:
Matt J said:
I don't know about that. There are plenty of teachings about how all appearances are mind, etc. What, if anything lies beyond those appearances is unknowable, and wouldn't really exist anyway.

Malcolm wrote:
Appearances (snang ba) are one thing. Apparent objects (yul snang) are another. The former is the basis for the latter. For example, water, amrita, pus and blood, and boiling metal are appearances; the liquid substance upon which these appearances are based is an apparent object.

However, I am not going to continue to discuss this because well, I have better things to do than try and disabuse people of their attachment to views. Especially since they live in the real world, and if their kid was hit by a car they would not be thinking, hmmmm, this is just an appearance of my own mind, therefore, I have no one to sue but my own mind.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 2:02 AM
Title: Re: Your / "a" Buddhist interpretation of Jungian Synchronicities?
Content:


Matt J said:
The error I think it is presuming that other spiritual practitioners are less intelligent, less discerning, less experience based, etc. than we are.

Malcolm wrote:
They may be more intelligent, more discerning, and have more experience (whatever that means), but outside of Buddhadharma, they don't have correct view. This is why the Buddha declared in many sūtras that outside of his dharma and vinaya, there were no stream entrants, etc., in other words, no awakened people.

Also, he excluded the possibility of pratyekabuddhas while his Dharma was present in the world. Of course, no one is binding you to accept this.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 12:47 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
Well Tilopa said the conceptual keeping of precepts obscures the luminosity.

Malcolm wrote:
And Buddha Vajradhara stated that maintaining the three vows is the root of the path. But I guess we all just have to be buddhas before we can walk.

Crazywisdom said:
Tilopa was a manifestation of Vajradhara. He talked about nonaction and no path to walk.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, and he also talked about something to do and somewhere to go, hence his instructions on the six dharmas. He understood that not everyone was born a mahāsiddha. YMMV.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 11:31 PM
Title: Re: Has anyone tamed the ego in terms of mental health
Content:


Johnny Dangerous said:
Dharma practice in particular (once a person is stable enough) I think leads to mental and emotional resilience on a deep level, which is actually more important than "taming" anything.

Malcolm wrote:
The term "taming" ('dul ba, damya) really refers to the process of obtaining the mental and emotional resilience on a deep level. When one has tamed one's afflictions, even if they are still present in the mind stream, one has reached the level of patience. Patience (bzod pa, kṣānti) is the quality of resilience you are referring to.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 10:37 PM
Title: Re: So much Pain and Confusion.
Content:



ConfusedOne said:
I've come here for a bit of help. I've read these forums for a while and many of the members seem to be very knowledgeable; thank you

Malcolm wrote:
The cure for your situation is cultivating loving kindness and compassion.

ConfusedOne said:
TBH, that's the one really good thing I've taken away from Buddhism so far. I no longer see insects as insignificant creatures. Color on someone's skin seem not so different anymore. People's words seem to matter a lot less now. And finally, I feel so bad for these people with hundreds of millions of dollars yet never seem satisfy. They have enough to last them 10 life times yet keep chasing; every time the number increases there is that fleeting feeling of joy that is gained and people mistaken it for purpose, not realising that they've chased and will continue to do so for many more lives to come in the hopes of finding satisfaction.

Malcolm wrote:
A practitioner has to fly on two wings: emptiness, to cut attachment to existence; compassion, to cut attachment to nonexistence.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 9:51 PM
Title: Re: nyingma lineages/cycles structures of practice.
Content:


yagmort said:
3. did Kunzang Dechen Lingpa mostly practiced Düdjom Tersar Tröma ? if not then what else? also, what kind of practices his own termas contain, if that is possible to say?

Malcolm wrote:
KDL's Termas have seven cycles in general: Guru RInpoche Yizhin Gyalpo, Kunzang Thukthik (a standing form of Guru Rinpoche), Drollo, Troma, Dechen Karmo, Kurukulla, and  Simhamukha. The main three roots are Guru RInpoche Yizhin Gyalpo,  Dechen Karmo (Yeshe Tsogyal) and Drollo. There are many other practices as well.

He also has an earth terma as well, called Tsasum Drildrup, three roots combined into one practice.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 9:30 PM
Title: Re: So much Pain and Confusion.
Content:



ConfusedOne said:
I've come here for a bit of help. I've read these forums for a while and many of the members seem to be very knowledgeable; thank you

Malcolm wrote:
The cure for your situation is cultivating loving kindness and compassion.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 9:28 PM
Title: Re: IS it possible to have 2 yidams?
Content:
Inedible said:
What use would you have for a tutelary deity you can't communicate with?

Josef said:
Tutelary deity is probably not the best translation of yidam. Yidam is more of a reference ones commitment to practicing that path, and in Vajrayana practice this primarily is through reliance on the manifestation of the deity. The idea of "tutelary" doesnt really correspond to the meaning of the word.

Malcolm wrote:
Correct, pledged deity (yid dam lha, samadana devatā) is more accurate, though the term also translates iṣṭadevatā, chosen or favored deity.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 8:55 PM
Title: Re: Faith & Reason
Content:
Schrödinger’s Yidam said:
Let’s take the example faith in karma and reincarnation. Ordinary beings cannot directly know it to be true. That “not knowing” is unawareness by definition. However once buddhahood is realized, a being can then see the workings of karma, and faith in that doctrine is no longer an issue.

Malcolm wrote:
Incorrect. There are three sources of authority in Buddhadharma: direct perception, inference, and testimony of reliable witness. As for the latter, since we can trust the Buddha's teachings on the four truths of nobles, we can infer that his teachings on rebirth and karma are correct. Moreover, one does not even need to be an awakened person to have recall of past lives, meaning that anyone who develops sufficient samadhi can observe these things for themselves. Since many yogis and awakens people have indeed confirmed this, we can accept karma and rebirth as true on the basis of that authority. Thus testimony is considered a valid form of knowledge, and therefore, in this instance, faith is not a form of ignorance, but an informed belief. It is only materialists who believe the only valid form of knowledge is direct perception. You are not a materialist, are you?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 8:55 AM
Title: Re: Faith & Reason
Content:
Schrödinger’s Yidam said:
I’ve been told that faith is a form of unawareness. However it is unawareness configured in such a way so as to most readily become enlightened awareness.

Malcolm wrote:
Depends on what kind of faith one is referring to. Śraddha, dad pa, normally translated as faith, is a mental factor that brings clarity to the mind. I would not call that unawareness. However, there is blind faith, and that is a kind if ignorance.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 7:36 AM
Title: Re: can you reincarnate backwards in time?
Content:
Matt J said:
A "clearly apparent nonexistent" apart from, or external to mind is incoherent.

Malcolm wrote:
It depends on what one understands by the term.

The term is meant to unify the two truths, not support a mind-only presentation.

You should consult Gorampa's Differentiation of Views, where he disputes Tsonghapa's claim that only the Prasangika Madhyamaka system supports external objects conventionally. Without Gorampa, there is no Mipham or Ganden Chophel, since they largely hew to his presentation of Madhyamaka in general.

And that is also clearly besides the point in this thread. The conventional buddhist position on time is that it depends on outer objects. Specifically it is measurable in units of moments of thought. No outer object, no thought, no time.

A real madhyamaka does not waste time disputing conventional truth. In conventional truth, there are outer objects, hence there is time, etc. We only dispute ultimate existence, not things like vases, pillars, chairs, and so on.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 3:15 AM
Title: Re: can you reincarnate backwards in time?
Content:



Matt J said:
I'm with Mipham and Gendun Choephel on this one.

Malcolm wrote:
No, actually you are not. It is not the case that either scholars asserts there are no outer objects. See below.

Mipham:
In reality, if we apply reasoning, then not only at an ultimate level, but also conventionally speaking, arising is never really observed. If production were observable and proven conventionally, then it would follow that conventionally true phenomena such as the aggregates and elements would become immune to ultimate analysis. It would also follow that ultimate or truly existent arising would not be refuted.
Since Mipham here admits that aggregates and elements are conventionally true, he also admits that outer objects are conventionally true. The aggregate of matter, for example, includes the five sense organs and the five sense objects.



GC: There are those who fear that if vases, pillars, and so on were refuted through reasoning, everyone would come to espouse nihilistic views of nonexistence. Their worries are pointless. For in the case of ordinary, everyday beings who are looking at a vase in front of them, how is it possible that a nihilistic view regarding the vase to be utterly nonexistent could arise?
Here, GC admits there are other objects. How could be otherwise?


Matt J said:
Even if such an outlook did happen to arise in someone, he or she would directly cognize that the vase can still be seen and touched. Therefore, if a mind naturally arose that thinks, "The vase is appearing to me, but while appearing, it is utterly nonexistent," that is the Middle Way view known as "the two-fold collection of appearance and emptiness that cognizes how appearing phenomenon do not exist in the way they appear." How is that nihilism?

Malcolm wrote:
Here, GC also admits there are outer objects. How could it be otherwise? I never maintained that there were truly existent outer objects. I just stated that madhyamakas accept outer objects, as both of your citations show. It matters very little if we call them "clearly apparent nonexistents" as do Mipham and GC, following Gorampa, or "mere existents," following Tsongkhapa and his followers. The point is actually the same.

Matt J said:
"he or she would directly cognize that the vase can still be seen and touched."

Malcolm wrote:
Based on contact, there is sensation. Our sense of time, as Vasubandhu states, is based on objects. This is conventionally true.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 1:01 AM
Title: Re: What are the major literary work of the 17 Nalanda Masters and the major commentaries to their work?
Content:
Padmist said:
What are the most popular, major works of the 17 Nalanda Masters and the commentaries to their work?

Malcolm wrote:
https://fpmt.org/mandala/archives/mandala-for-2012/july/the-seventeen-pandits-of-nalanda-monastery/

https://www.shambhala.com/the-seventeen-panditas/


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 12:24 AM
Title: Re: can you reincarnate backwards in time?
Content:



Matt J said:
BB's deconstruction of external objects was spot on. It was his affirmation of idealism that is problematic. Take it as a non-affirming negation.

Malcolm wrote:
You did not make a non-affirming negation.

Matt J said:
Or are you saying that inner and outer are established existents?

Malcolm wrote:
Where this exists, that exists. In other words, without contact, there can be no sensation, etc. You are suggesting that sense consciousnesses arise in absence of contact. Not even the yogacarins negate subject and object conventionally. In Madhyamaka, we just accept things as they appear to ordinary people. Ordinary people experience objects.


Matt J said:
Can show me a mind-independent object? A colorless, shapeless, odorless, tasteless, silent so-called matter underlying these appearances?

Malcolm wrote:
Without contact, no sensation—six and seven in the limbs of dependent origination.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 28th, 2021 at 12:00 AM
Title: Re: IS it possible to have 2 yidams?
Content:


Inedible said:
Congratulations. When you are talking to the first one, that's the one. When you talk with the second one, that's the one.

Malcolm wrote:
One does not talk to yidams. They are methods for practice, not beings to interact with.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 27th, 2021 at 11:19 PM
Title: Re: can you reincarnate backwards in time?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
In Buddhadharma it is generally held that our perception of time is dependent upon outer objects.

Matt J said:
I've never encountered an "outer object," only mind-based appearances. So...

Malcolm wrote:
Nonsense, Bishop Berkeley. Appearances without apparent objects are, frankly, impossible.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 27th, 2021 at 10:55 PM
Title: Re: can you reincarnate backwards in time?
Content:
Matt J said:
Personally, I think all this "backwards in time" stuff is taking a metaphor literally. Metaphorically, we compare time to physical objects, such as rivers or land. Accordingly, we can move back and forth along a river or a piece of land, so why not with time?

But time is not like that at all, that is just a spatialized concept. The past is waiting somewhere in the multiverse like our backyard waiting to be discovered. If I were to reify time, I would say everything is always here all at once, and in constant flux. All connection with any sort of past (i.e. memory) occurs here and now.

Malcolm wrote:
In Buddhadharma it is generally held that our perception of time is dependent upon outer objects.

"I would say everything is always here all at once..."

Such a views winds up with the same contradictions identified in Saṃkhya. The Sarvāstivādins are so-named because they held that "all that exists,"  meaning that past, present, and future all exist simultaneously. Vasubandhu dispenses with the Sarvāstivādin theory in chapter 2 of the Kośabhaṣyaṃ.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 27th, 2021 at 10:46 PM
Title: Re: Your / "a" Buddhist interpretation of Jungian Synchronicities?
Content:
Matt J said:
God is not posited as an object among objects, or as having parts, so this would be called a category error.

Malcolm wrote:
Correct.


Matt J said:
Whether one's belief is adequately justified is another matter, but it is not invented whole cloth out of nothing.

Malcolm wrote:
From a Buddhist point of view, it is invented whole cloth, out of nothing.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 27th, 2021 at 9:57 PM
Title: Re: Your / "a" Buddhist interpretation of Jungian Synchronicities?
Content:
Matt J said:
Well, it's not based on nothing at all. They just assemble a different story based on the elements available.

Malcolm wrote:
An imputation of a self on the basis of the aggregates actually possesses a basis of imputation, something which is directly perceived, i.e. the aggregates.

Not so for a universal consciousness. What is its specific basis of imputation? The universe? Since that has never been directly perceived by anyone, how can it form a basis of imputation for a self? It is a mere imputation without a basis.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 27th, 2021 at 7:10 AM
Title: Re: Your / "a" Buddhist interpretation of Jungian Synchronicities?
Content:
Jesse said:
If one can hallucinate singular selves, why can't they hallucinate a unified self?

Malcolm wrote:
A  self nominally designated on the basis of the aggregates is quite different than a universal designated on nothing at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 27th, 2021 at 7:08 AM
Title: Re: Atisha about Padmasambhava?
Content:
Viach said:
It turns out that he deliberately ignored Padmamambhawa. But why?

Malcolm wrote:
How is it that you conclude he deliberately ignored Padmasambhava? He never mentions Darikapa either. Or Luipa, Virupa, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 27th, 2021 at 7:02 AM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:
Lhasa said:
And what is the difference between Recognition and Realizing?  If one has Recognized, then what?

Malcolm wrote:
Cultivation on the Vajrayana paths of accumulation and application. There is no such thing as introduction to the nature of the mind in sutra.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 27th, 2021 at 4:43 AM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:
Lhasa said:
Recognition of the Nature of Mind is the realization of the path of Seeing?

Malcolm wrote:
No. Realizing the nature of the mind is the path of seeing.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 27th, 2021 at 4:20 AM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:


Fee said:
But if, for example, one has realized all this, is born again and does not receive such training:
Has one then really "forgotten"? I can't even imagine that one can actually fall back into complete ignorance from such a stage.
Is this really possible? Or do I get something wrong?

Malcolm wrote:
These are qualities, not realizations. However, in each birth after attaining the path of seeing, it becomes easier and easier to meet the teachings and so on.

Fee said:
Thank you, that is helpful. And also a bit more positive, because as I understand your reply, nothing is actually really "lost", but a potential remains and makes understanding increasingly easier.

You will probably have noticed it already: I am not yet so firm and trained in these things. That's why I now ask another question, which probably seems stupid, but is actually meant seriously:

What exactly is the difference between qualities and realizations? I have now been thinking about this a little longer and have also searched through various books, but I couldn't find anything.
For me, the two are very closely related. But this is more a feeling than actual knowledge. Therefore, I would be very interested in the difference.

Malcolm wrote:
Thew five paths, the paths of accumulation. application, seeing, cultivation, and no-more leaning are realizations.

The ten bhumis, which begin with the path of seeing, and are included on the path of cultivation, are measurements of progressive qualities due to cultivation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 27th, 2021 at 4:17 AM
Title: Re: Your / "a" Buddhist interpretation of Jungian Synchronicities?
Content:



Heimdall said:
Even apparently? (e.g., I apparently have a self, but in reality, there is no self)

Malcolm wrote:
Even apparently. A nominal self is admitted in Buddhadharma. But there is no teaching in Buddhism of a cosmic consciousness even nominally.

Jesse said:
The closest thing would be Vijnana.

Malcolm wrote:
One's consciousness is an appearance for oneself. A cosmic consciousness is not. Hence the former can be designated nominally, the latter cannot.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 27th, 2021 at 1:06 AM
Title: Re: Your / "a" Buddhist interpretation of Jungian Synchronicities?
Content:
Heimdall said:
Does it suggest some grand consciousness and oneness that we are all tapped into?

Malcolm wrote:
Such an entity is strictly refuted in Buddhadharma.

Heimdall said:
Even apparently? (e.g., I apparently have a self, but in reality, there is no self)

Malcolm wrote:
Even apparently. A nominal self is admitted in Buddhadharma. But there is no teaching in Buddhism of a cosmic consciousness even nominally.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 26th, 2021 at 10:24 PM
Title: Re: Atisha about Padmasambhava?
Content:
Viach said:
On the way, Atisha did not understand who Padmasambhava was, or, on the contrary, understood very well who he was and therefore ignored him deliberately.

Malcolm wrote:
It is unlikely that Atisha was unaware of Padmasambhava. Atisha was at Samye and expressed astonishment at the number of Sanskrit Manuscripts held there.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 26th, 2021 at 9:33 PM
Title: Re: Your / "a" Buddhist interpretation of Jungian Synchronicities?
Content:
Heimdall said:
Does it suggest some grand consciousness and oneness that we are all tapped into?

Malcolm wrote:
Such an entity is strictly refuted in Buddhadharma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 26th, 2021 at 7:37 AM
Title: Re: Some discussion on Tilopa
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
Well Tilopa said the conceptual keeping of precepts obscures the luminosity.

Malcolm wrote:
And Buddha Vajradhara stated that maintaining the three vows is the root of the path. But I guess we all just have to be buddhas before we can walk.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 26th, 2021 at 2:47 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
Rick said:
From Commentaries on Living by Krishnamurti:
You use discipline, control, as a means to gain tranquillity, do you not? Discipline implies conformity to a pattern; you control in order to be this or that. Is not discipline, in its very nature, violence? It may give you pleasure to discipline yourself, but is not that very pleasure a form of resistance which only breeds further conflict? Is not the practice of discipline the cultivation of defence? And what is defended is always attacked. Does not discipline imply the suppression of what is in order to achieve a desired end? Suppression, substitution and sublimation only increase effort and bring about further conflict. You may succeed in suppressing a disease, but it will continue to appear in different forms until it is eradicated. Discipline is the suppression, the overcoming of what is. Discipline is a form of violence; so through a ’wrong’ means we hope to gain the ‘right’ end. Through resistance, how can there be the free, the true? Freedom is at the beginning, not at the end; the goal is the first step the means is the end. The first step must be free, and not the last. Discipline implies compulsion, subtle or brutal, outward or self-imposed; and where there is compulsion, there is fear. Fear, compulsion, is used as a means to an end, the end being love.

Malcolm wrote:
As I saiid, he is an idiot. Śīla in Sanskrit means "to cool down." He was not a very-well educated man in matters of the Dharma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 26th, 2021 at 2:45 AM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:


Fee said:
But if, for example, one has realized all this, is born again and does not receive such training:
Has one then really "forgotten"? I can't even imagine that one can actually fall back into complete ignorance from such a stage.
Is this really possible? Or do I get something wrong?

Malcolm wrote:
These are qualities, not realizations. However, in each birth after attaining the path of seeing, it becomes easier and easier to meet the teachings and so on.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 26th, 2021 at 2:12 AM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:


Heimdall said:
Like seriously - what is there to be gained by such needless (emphasis on need less) antagonism? Nothing.

Malcolm wrote:
It's clearly for shits and giggles, with nothing better to do.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 26th, 2021 at 2:04 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:


Rick said:
Jiddu said o'er and o'er again: Any form of discipline, no matter how subtle, limits freedom.

Malcolm wrote:
Then he was an idiot. Without śila, there is no samadhi, without samadhi, there is no prajñā.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 26th, 2021 at 1:58 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
Rick said:
It's almost as if Krishnamurti used the analytical language of nondual traditions, philosophers, and psychoanalysts ... but used it to point to things like a poet might point to things: vividly but vaguely. Just my take!

Malcolm wrote:
It's important differentiate epistemic nondualism with ontological nondualism. The former is recognition that dependent origination makes it impossible for one to adhere to views of permanence and annihilation, in other words, the middle way free from all extremes. The latter is the idea that there is only one thing without a second and that all diversity is a false perception of one thing. The latter view is not compatible with buddhadharma at all, including dzogchen. Dzogchen teachings directly negate the latter form of nondualism in many places, not to mention the other buddhist systems.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 26th, 2021 at 1:24 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
Rick said:
Thanks, Malcolm. Assuming I understand what Krishnamurti meant, his notion was that by being choicelessly aware of objects and events in the present moment, choiceless 'right' action ensues.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no guarantee of this. Right action comes from śila, discipline.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 26th, 2021 at 12:29 AM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:



Crazywisdom said:
What matters is Buddha's lesson

Malcolm wrote:
Which depends on the inclination of the person being taught.

Crazywisdom said:
It's also depends on two truths.

Malcolm wrote:
Which are inseparable.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 26th, 2021 at 12:22 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:



Rick said:
As Krishnamurti understood it (afaik) choiceless awareness is awareness of objects, as they happen to arise in consciousness: you hear a sound, stay with it (without thinking about it) for as long as the mind wants to stay with it, then you feel a breeze, then smell a pancake, and so on. That doesn't sound like shamatha without an object to me, but as it no doubt obvious as the dickens, I'm no expert.

Malcolm wrote:
In Buddhadharma, this is called "following objects" and "being distracted."

In stable śamatha combined with mindfulness, one registers sense objects as they arise, but one never follows them. In Dzogchen, one makes contact with all sense objects, but one does not follow them or drift along with them. That is how "one-pointedness" is defined in the latter system.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 at 8:53 PM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
PadmaVonSamba said:
Anyway, ‘choiceless awareness’ is not the same thing as ‘choosing to be unaware’.

Malcolm wrote:
It's not a supportable concept in buddhadharma. Its just a term that makes some people feel wise when they utter it, even though it is basically meaningless in a buddhist context.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 at 8:50 PM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:


PadmaVonSamba said:
And what you are saying is that ‘going non-dual’ is impossible to begin with. If that’s the case, why do so many teachers and teachings emphasize it? Why is it taught that the nature of all phenomena is emptiness?

Malcolm wrote:
All phenomena are the same in that they are ultimately empty, just as all fires are the same in that they are hot. But all phenomena are not the same, nor are all fires the same.



PadmaVonSamba said:
And once that emptiness is seen, then even what appears as dualistic phenomena have ‘one taste’.

Malcolm wrote:
All fires are hot. All phenomena are empty.

PadmaVonSamba said:
The inseparability of samsara abs Nirvana...

Malcolm wrote:
Samsara and nirvana are inseparable indeed, because when samsara is thoroughly understood, that is nirvana, to paraphrase Nāgārjuna.

PadmaVonSamba said:
It is interesting to me, however, that one argues the mind cannot conceive without duality (which by definition implies more that one object) and at the same time argue that the mind can only conceive one object at a time.

Malcolm wrote:
No, mind cannot conceived without duality, because, relatively speaking, without an object and a sense organ, there will be no sense consciousness. Unless one wishes to asserted that all phenomena are "mind-only," one must accept this dualistic state affairs.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 at 11:05 AM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:
haha said:
People do always cherry-picking in their logic, and forget the casual relation with their claim and assertion. Here I am being a devil advocate. According to so called Abhidharma, Caturmaharajakayikas reside on the Mt. Meru whereas the Thirty-three Gods are at the summit of Meru (it is related to Indra). If there is no hair of the turtle (Mt. Meru), sir, you are not buying the garment of turtle hair (Maharajakayikas and Indra’s abode). If there is no Mt. Meru, where do those gods reside? (lol)

Malcolm wrote:
Meru is a transfiguration of the Tibetan plateau, with Jambudvipa, India, located to the south. Ptolemy mentions the Kurus quite independently of and 6 centuries prior to Vasubandhu.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 at 8:07 AM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
But in truth Buddha did not care two whits about the deva realms.

Malcolm wrote:
He certainly understood and taught that birth as a deva was a less than desirable outcome for Dharma practitioners. But he also understood that for some people, birth in deva realms was all they aspired to, so he taught the vehicle of humans and devas.

Crazywisdom said:
What matters is Buddha's lesson

Malcolm wrote:
Which depends on the inclination of the person being taught.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 at 2:14 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Nondual awareness means not liking or disliking, not contriving self or other. It means freedom from extremes. This is fundamental Buddhism.

Malcolm wrote:
Which skandha does "nondual awareness" belong to? "Self and other" is a knowledge obscuration, which even tenth stage bodhisattvas have.

Freedom from extremes means being free from reified notion of existence and nonexistence due to not understanding dependent origination. It does not mean rooting around like a dog or a pig in the garbage.

Crazywisdom said:
Self and other is dual. Without these nondual. Skandhas are dual.

Malcolm wrote:
Umm, is one ever without the skandhas? Is there such a thing as a sentient beings that has no skandhas?

Even the Buddha had skandhas. So according to your logic, the Buddha was hopelessly caught in dualism.

The Buddha taught very clearly that freedom from existence and nonexistence, from proliferation of extremes, was his teaching of dependent origination. There really isn't any other kind of absence of duality in the Dharma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 at 2:02 AM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
But in truth Buddha did not care two whits about the deva realms.

Malcolm wrote:
He certainly understood and taught that birth as a deva was a less than desirable outcome for Dharma practitioners. But he also understood that for some people, birth in deva realms was all they aspired to, so he taught the vehicle of humans and devas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 at 1:09 AM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
Also especially Kagyu said visions of deities and such are just effects in channels and they are just illusions.

Malcolm wrote:
Not especially Kagyu, this is common in all schools. The inner body gives rise to external appearances because there is a correlation between them. For example, it is held that bardo beings, pretas, hell beings, and devas do not see the sun or the moon because they lack the red and white bodhicittas since they are apparitionally born.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 at 1:02 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:


Rick said:
That thought had occurred to me also. If awareness is taken to mean nondual awareness, then *all* awareness is choiceless. It's happening right now, effortlessly, all you need to do is ... be aware of it.

Does that sound about right to you?

Malcolm wrote:
There is no such thing as nondual awareness. Your definition proves my point.

Crazywisdom said:
Nondual awareness means not liking or disliking, not contriving self or other. It means freedom from extremes. This is fundamental Buddhism.

Malcolm wrote:
Which skandha does "nondual awareness" belong to? "Self and other" is a knowledge obscuration, which even tenth stage bodhisattvas have.

Freedom from extremes means being free from reified notion of existence and nonexistence due to not understanding dependent origination. It does not mean rooting around like a dog or a pig in the garbage.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 at 1:02 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
PadmaVonSamba said:
I think the idea that there is a sort of broad, innate awareness which we lose when we narrowly choose ‘this or that’ is also expressed in the famous Zen writing:

Malcolm wrote:
Refusing to choose is a choice.

There is no awareness that is separate from the mind itself.

The mind always is involved with accepting and rejecting.

Thus, there is no such a thing as "choiceless awareness."

Crazywisdom said:
From early suttas to Vajrayana pith instructions the one constant is to develop a mind free from acceptance and rejection. Do you deny this?

Malcolm wrote:
I think this principle is completely misunderstood. Why? We are also told from the early sutras on up through Vajrayāna teachings that we must accept this and reject that, for example, we must reject nonvirtue and accept virtue, and so on, develop the wisdom to know what to accept and what to reject.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 at 12:18 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:



PadmaVonSamba said:
to simply rest the mind without conceptualizing things? Sorry, but I don’t find that too difficult. Just don’t try too hard.  I think a lot of people who meditate can do it.

Malcolm wrote:
Conceptualization is the natural function of the mind. The mind conceptualizes automatically. As long as one is breathing, one is conceptualizing. Whether one is resting the mind or not, the mind goes right on conceptualizing. "Resting the mind" does not mean "rest in a concept-free state." Because people think it does, they incorrectly meditate, resulting in birth as animals or unconscious devas.

PadmaVonSamba said:
I think we are talking about two very different things.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no awareness apart from a mind that is aware. There is no skandha of awareness, there is no āyatana of awareness, nor is there a dhātu of awareness. Awareness is a mental factor (caitta, sems byung) which accompanies a mind (citta, sems).


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 24th, 2021 at 11:32 PM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:



Crazywisdom said:
For all you know the verses about devas were just a rhetorical device for dramatic effect. And well known to whom? To guys who never saw a deva?  This is more like how many angels can fit on the head of a pin.

Malcolm wrote:
Ok, so for you it’s all metaphor and poetry. So much for your criticisms of novel interpretations.

Seeker12 said:
Indeed, the modern habit of picking and choosing to fit our understanding.

Malcolm wrote:
One should not be too harsh with old CW. We all pick and choose. None of us accepts Mt. Meru, per se, though It is pretty clear that cosmology is based on  a pan Indo-European+ idea of an axial mountain. In Buddhiat epistemology, however, the category of the knowable includes hidden phenomena, which are not accessible to the ordinary perceptions of human beings.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 24th, 2021 at 8:43 PM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
It is sort of sticking out like a sore thumb nobody sees Indra or any other deva.

Malcolm wrote:
What makes you think that anyone other than those endowed with the devacaksu saw devas during the Buddha's day? And its well known devas don't generally hang out with humans. They only like humans with pure discipline. There is no much of that these days...

Crazywisdom said:
For all you know the verses about devas were just a rhetorical device for dramatic effect. And well known to whom? To guys who never saw a deva?  This is more like how many angels can fit on the head of a pin.

Malcolm wrote:
Ok, so for you it’s all metaphor and poetry. So much for your criticisms of novel interpretations.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 24th, 2021 at 5:41 PM
Title: Re: Xi's Gamble
Content:
RobertoKhorviano said:
First fully accept Tibet into China

Malcolm wrote:
The Tibetan people will never stand for this.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 24th, 2021 at 5:39 PM
Title: Re: Atisha about Padmasambhava?
Content:
Viach said:
Has Atisha ever said anything about Padmasambhava? (I can't find it in any way)?

Malcolm wrote:
Not my knowledge.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 24th, 2021 at 5:38 PM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
It’s not possible to stop conceptual activity. Go ahead, try. Get back to me on that.

PadmaVonSamba said:
to simply rest the mind without conceptualizing things? Sorry, but I don’t find that too difficult. Just don’t try too hard.  I think a lot of people who meditate can do it.

Malcolm wrote:
Conceptualization is the natural function of the mind. The mind conceptualizes automatically. As long as one is breathing, one is conceptualizing. Whether one is resting the mind or not, the mind goes right on conceptualizing. "Resting the mind" does not mean "rest in a concept-free state." Because people think it does, they incorrectly meditate, resulting in birth as animals or unconscious devas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 24th, 2021 at 8:32 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:


PadmaVonSamba said:
First, here you are conflating compassion and awareness.

Malcolm wrote:
No.

PadmaVonSamba said:
Next, yes. One is primary, one is secondary. That’s the point. They are not the same thing.

Last, I could easily tear the labels off the cans and not know which is which, making the fact of choosing a moot point, just as when one generates  compassion to all beings regardless of what label they have: human, animal, preta, etc.

Malcolm wrote:
That’s fine, but it does not render one indifferent.

PadmaVonSamba said:
One can rest in awareness that is free of conceptualizations. No?

Malcolm wrote:
Depend on what one means by “free.”

PadmaVonSamba said:
Since ‘choosing’ is a type of conceptual activity, then if one is resting in a non-conceptual state, one would not be engaged in a conceptual activity, such as ‘choosing’.

Malcolm wrote:
Some people have this idea that “resting in a nonconceptual state” means a state of absence of thoughts. But this is a very incorrect idea. The mind is always with concepts. It’s function is thinking. Since there can be no awareness in absence of a mind, it is clear that “resting in a nonconceptual state” does not mean being in a state with no conceptual activity. It means resting in state where one is not dominated by conceptual activity. It’s not possible to stop conceptual activity. Go ahead, try. Get back to me on that.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 24th, 2021 at 3:31 AM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
It is sort of sticking out like a sore thumb nobody sees Indra or any other deva.

Malcolm wrote:
What makes you think that anyone other than those endowed with the devacaksu saw devas during the Buddha's day? And its well known devas don't generally hang out with humans. They only like humans with pure discipline. There is no much of that these days...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 24th, 2021 at 2:50 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
Danny said:
Indifference is not neutral, it’s
Either lazy or non caring.
So to my stupid mind it carries negative intentions.

A non position.. is a position.

PadmaVonSamba said:
Indifference can mean that.
It also means not holding an opinion for or against.

Suppose a hungry stray cat shows up at your door, and you happen to have two cans of cat food. One is fish and the other is chicken.  Out of a sense of caring, you want to feed the cat. Do you care which can you open?  Probably not. You may be totally indifferent as far as which can is opened, as long as the cat is fed.
This shows that indifference itself has nothing to do with compassion.
Indifference towards whether the cat starves or not is a different issue.
Likewise, one can have awareness without picking and choosing, and still practice compassion.

Malcolm wrote:
Practicing compassion is a choice. So no, you cannot have awareness free of choices. You may not care whether you feed a cat tuna or chicken as long as it is fed, but that does not mean your action is "indifferent." The goal of feeding the cat is a choice, the food is secondary. And you do have to choose which can. The cat isn't going to choose for you.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 24th, 2021 at 1:44 AM
Title: Re: IS it possible to have 2 yidams?
Content:
Tsering Gyurme said:
IS it possible to have 2 yidams?

Malcolm wrote:
Every time you take any empowerment or initiation, you are making a promise to hold that deity as your yidam. Hence you can have hundreds, there is no limit.

The key of course is to practice all yidams in one yidam, all mantras in one mantra, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 24th, 2021 at 1:00 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
This is just just a form of indifference. What’s profound about that? This not even shamatha, much less insight.

PadmaVonSamba said:
So, how is not clinging to the three poisons not practicing indifference?

Malcolm wrote:
The three poisons are the cause of grasping, not objects of grasping.

Freedom from the three afflictions arises from recognizing how they are the direct cause of actions that result in suffering. One refrains from grasping objects of desire, for example, because one understands how that leads to the suffering of change. One refrains from grasping objects of anger, understanding how that leads to the suffering of suffering, and one refrains from grasping objects of ignorance, because one understands how that leads to the suffering of pervasive formations.

PadmaVonSamba said:
How is generating compassion towards both friends and enemies not practicing indifference?

Malcolm wrote:
Indifference is often mistaken for equanimity, especially by beginners. An indifferent person will not generate compassion towards either friends or enemies. A bodhisattva may have equanimity, but they are never indifferent towards sentient beings.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 23rd, 2021 at 9:52 PM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
The term “awareness” itself implies a subject and an object. One cannot be aware of a nondual awareness, by definition, since it cannot be reflexively aware.

PadmaVonSamba said:
While that may be true, the subject/object dichotomy is not the same as the subject engaged in “choiceless awareness”.

It’s like, if someone hands me a lunch menu, yes there is a difference between me and the menu. But if I say, “oh bring me whatever—it doesn’t make any difference to me” this is like the meditator who simply observes. And at some point, the distinction between observer and that which is observed (subject and object) becomes moot. When choosing ceases, it ceases to be a cause. It is no longer a contributing factor supporting the subject/object duality.

Malcolm wrote:
This is just just a form of indifference. What’s profound about that? This not even shamatha, much less insight.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 23rd, 2021 at 9:25 PM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
There is no such thing as nondual awareness.

Rick said:
If awareness is taken to mean a subject (awarer) and an object (awared), nondual awareness makes no sense.

If awareness is taken to mean no subject, no object, just awareness, nondual awareness would be the right term for it.

We all know subject/object awareness exists (conventionally), we experience it 10,000 times a day. As for whether subject/object-free 'pure' awareness exists, well, that's (way!) above my pay grade, though I'm sure Buddha said something definitive about it.

Malcolm wrote:
The term “awareness” itself implies a subject and an object. One cannot be aware of a nondual awareness, by definition, since it cannot be reflexively aware.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 23rd, 2021 at 9:20 PM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:



Crazywisdom said:
Heresay isn't evidence. Seeing devas is meaningless.

Malcolm wrote:
There are three acceptable authorities in Buddhadharma: direct perception, inference, and testimony of reliable witnesses, such as the Buddha.

Crazywisdom said:
Sure. Who is the most recent witness of this Indra coming into position? Buddha? Then we will have to scrutinize if Buddha really said this. Overall, this fanciful talk does Buddhism no good.

Malcolm wrote:
So, instructing people to recognize the three deviations of bliss, clarity, and nonconceptuality to prevent birth in desire, form, and formless realms should just be ignored? We no longer accept birth realms other than the animal and human realm? What about rebirth itself? Is all this “fanciful talk”?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 23rd, 2021 at 8:30 AM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Nonsequitur. Your quote does not follow from my response This quote is about nirvana not the existence of devas. Devas are only important as a teaching on karmic perception and conceptual samadhi. Seeing or believing in devas is not important for anything.

Malcolm wrote:
The five abhijnas are included here, for example, the devacakshu.

Crazywisdom said:
Heresay isn't evidence. Seeing devas is meaningless.

Malcolm wrote:
There are three acceptable authorities in Buddhadharma: direct perception, inference, and testimony of reliable witnesses, such as the Buddha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 23rd, 2021 at 7:57 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
muni said:
awareness with choice sounds as grasping

Rick said:
That thought had occurred to me also. If awareness is taken to mean nondual awareness, then *all* awareness is choiceless. It's happening right now, effortlessly, all you need to do is ... be aware of it.

Does that sound about right to you?

Malcolm wrote:
There is no such thing as nondual awareness. Your definition proves my point.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 22nd, 2021 at 8:41 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The mind always is involved with accepting and rejecting.

PadmaVonSamba said:
Actually, it’s not. You are in fact unconsciously aware of a lot more sensory stimuli than you are consciously aware of, that also you have no positive or negative feelings about.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no such thing as “unconsciously aware.”

If you are unconscious you are unaware, and  vice versa.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 22nd, 2021 at 6:38 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
Rick said:
Krishnamurti regarded thought as limited, and that to experience the unlimited, if it existed, something other than thought was called for. He called this intelligence and said that being choicelessly aware in the present moment might enable intelligence to manifest.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no kind of awareness intelligence that can be found outside the mental aggregate.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 22nd, 2021 at 2:38 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
PadmaVonSamba said:
I think the idea that there is a sort of broad, innate awareness which we lose when we narrowly choose ‘this or that’ is also expressed in the famous Zen writing:

Malcolm wrote:
Refusing to choose is a choice.

There is no awareness that is separate from the mind itself.

The mind always is involved with accepting and rejecting.

Thus, there is no such a thing as "choiceless awareness."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 21st, 2021 at 10:55 PM
Title: Re: Most Important Texts in the Kagyu Tradition
Content:
Schopenhauer said:
What would you say are the most important texts in the Kagyu tradition?

Malcolm wrote:
Uttaratantra
Hevajra Tantra
Jewel Ornament.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 21st, 2021 at 3:37 AM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Important to notice, because Buddha said so is not a reason. Buddha said to check for yourself.

Malcolm wrote:
Its a reason.

Crazywisdom said:
"Excellent, Sariputta. Excellent. Those who have not known, seen, penetrated, realized, or attained it by means of discernment would have to take it on conviction in others that the faculty of conviction... persistence... mindfulness... concentration... discernment, when developed & pursued, gains a footing in the Deathless, has the Deathless as its goal & consummation;
Nonsequitur. Your quote does not follow from my response This quote is about nirvana not the existence of devas. Devas are only important as a teaching on karmic perception and conceptual samadhi. Seeing or believing in devas is not important for anything.

Malcolm wrote:
The five abhijnas are included here, for example, the devacakshu.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 20th, 2021 at 7:11 PM
Title: Re: How does one escape "the dark pit"?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
To assert “becoming ” is to assert a nonexistent becomes an existent.

Mitra-Sauwelios said:
No, that's just your faith in grammar talking.

Malcolm wrote:
Nagarjuna:

Without relying on the relative, the ultimate will not be understood;
Without realizing the ultimate, nirvana won’t be obtained.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 20th, 2021 at 7:05 PM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
While it’s quite impossible for a high level bodhisattva not to know they are highly realized, it’s entirely possible for a bodhisattva on the impure bhumis to be unaware that they are in fact on the bhumis.

prsvrnc said:
To be on the impure bhumis, the bodhisattva must have already had a direct cognition of emptiness. How could they not know that they've had that direct cognition?

Malcolm wrote:
They forget, because of rebirth.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 20th, 2021 at 10:05 AM
Title: Re: How does one escape "the dark pit"?
Content:
Mitra-Sauwelios said:
Yet surely Nagarjuna does not negate dependent arising. The question he asks is not a rhetorical question to which the answer is self-evidently "nowhere" (except perhaps in a paradoxical sense, "in no absolute location"). Instead, his point is precisely that what arises dependently is neither an existent nor a nonexistent (or both an existent and a nonexistent: conventional truth and ultimate truth, respectively).

Malcolm wrote:
To assert “becoming ” is to assert a nonexistent becomes an existent.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 20th, 2021 at 9:54 AM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:


tobes said:
Do you really believe that everyone who enters the Vajrayana or Dzogchen paths will be liberated in that lifetime?

If not, then Wallace is right.

Malcolm wrote:
If liberation means, as it does, irreversible freedom from being under the power of afflictions at some point in one’s life, then he is quite wrong.
While it’s quite impossible for a high level bodhisattva not to know they are highly realized, it’s entirely possible for a bodhisattva on the impure bhumis to be unaware that they are in fact on the bhumis.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 20th, 2021 at 9:48 AM
Title: Re: Question about mindfulness in Tibetan Buddhism
Content:


dpcalder said:
Do Tibetans also believe in simply being mindfully aware of our activities throughout our daily lives, without passing positive or negative judgment on them, the way that Theravada Buddhists do?

Malcolm wrote:
Of course.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 20th, 2021 at 9:47 AM
Title: Re: Choiceless awareness
Content:
Rick said:
Happy to:
Choiceless awareness is posited in philosophy, psychology, and spirituality to be the state of unpremeditated, complete awareness of the present without preference, effort, or compulsion.
It's a quote from Wikipedia's article on choiceless awareness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choiceless_awareness and like most Wikipedia articles, it should be taken with a grain of salt. But I think it's quite good.

Key is the choiceless part. Often it only applies to the awareness itself. But Krishnamurti stipulated that everything in the process needed to be fully choiceless:
He did not offer any method to achieve such awareness; in his view application of technique cannot possibly evolve into, or result in, true choicelessness – just as unceasing application of effort leads to illusory effortlessness, in reality the action of habit. Additionally, in his opinion all methods introduce potential or actual conflict, generated by the practitioner's efforts to comply. According to this analysis, all practices towards achieving choiceless awareness have the opposite effect: they inhibit its action in the present by treating it as a future, premeditated result, and moreover one that is conditioned by the practitioner's implied or expressed expectations.
Is there any Buddhist practice that is similar to either of these two flavors of choiceless awareness?

Malcolm wrote:
There is no such thing. Mental factors always arise with consciousness.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 20th, 2021 at 9:37 AM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:


tobes said:
Do you really believe that everyone who enters the Vajrayana or Dzogchen paths will be liberated in that lifetime?

If not, then Wallace is right.

Malcolm wrote:
If liberation means, as it does, irreversible freedom from being under the power of afflictions at some point in one’s life, then he is quite wrong.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 20th, 2021 at 2:38 AM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:


Crazywisdom said:
Important to notice, because Buddha said so is not a reason. Buddha said to check for yourself.

Malcolm wrote:
Its a reason.

Crazywisdom said:
"Excellent, Sariputta. Excellent. Those who have not known, seen, penetrated, realized, or attained it by means of discernment would have to take it on conviction in others that the faculty of conviction... persistence... mindfulness... concentration... discernment, when developed & pursued, gains a footing in the Deathless, has the Deathless as its goal & consummation;


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 20th, 2021 at 2:36 AM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:
Archie2009 said:
There seemed to be a lot of Gelugpas in the retreats that formed the basis for Wallace's Wisdom Experience restricted Dzogchen courses. When discussing Madhyamaka Wallace routinely turns to Tsongkhapa's interpretation (compatibillity issues?).

Malcolm wrote:
That just fine.

Archie2009 said:
His Gelug background continuously shows, for example in repeatedly stressing achieving śamatha as a basis for recognising rigpa being acceptable to a particular Gelug lama he knows. "That ought to do it." As if I would value the judgement of a Gelug lama most of all in such matters. To me it felt like Dzogchen viewed through a Gelug lens sometimes. Please correct me if I'm wrong or being unfair.

Malcolm wrote:
There really isn't any difference between trekcho, kagyu/geluk mahamudra, khordey yermey, etc. Just differences in terminology and approach. But it is best not to mix them all up.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 19th, 2021 at 10:59 PM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:
Matt J said:
Wallace has had some ideas that aren't always echoed by other teachers. For example, 24 hour samadhi for the first jhana, and mastering the jhanas as a prerequisite for Dzogchen.

Malcolm wrote:
Wallace has never properly studied Longchenpa. Had he done so, he would not be promulgating these ideas. But it does keep his retreats full.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 19th, 2021 at 10:47 PM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:


tobes said:
They would be very sobering figures. I've heard a few of Wallace's teachings, and I like this about his approach. It's usually qualified by 'it is possible, but not for most of us.' One might call this 'not very inspiring,' but it is also *irrefutably* true.

Malcolm wrote:
Since we are discussing Dzogchen teachings here, what Wallace says is just not the case.


tobes said:
I think being grounded on where one is on the path (if indeed, one has even managed to accomplish entering one) and where one can realistically hope to go in one's lifetime (given one's punya and level of effort) is super important.

Malcolm wrote:
The promise of Vajrayāna teachings in general is liberation in this life, at the time of death, in the bardo, or within seven to sixteen births.

The blanket promise of Dzogchen teachings is liberation in this life, at the time of death, in the bardo, or in a natural nirmanakāya buddhafield, no exceptions, even if one cannot find time to practice much.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 19th, 2021 at 10:42 PM
Title: Re: How does one escape "the dark pit"?
Content:
Mitra-Sauwelios said:
is in between Being and non-Being, namely a Becoming.

Malcolm wrote:
Again incorrect, as this implies the third extreme. Nagarjuna also rejects “becoming,” just as he rejects “going” and so one.

PadmaVonSamba said:
I don’t think ‘becoming’ in this sense means establishing, to become some thing, but rather, it refers to a sort of ongoing emergence.

Malcolm wrote:
Which Nāgārjuna negates:

An existent does not arise from an existent.
An existent does not arise from a nonexistent.
A nonexistent does not arise from an existent.
A nonexistent does not arise from a nonexistent.
Where then, is there arising?


PadmaVonSamba said:
It’s like the brief moment of transition in the morning, of becoming awake from being asleep.

Malcolm wrote:
Nāgārjuna would negate that under the same logic he negates going, becoming, and so on.

"Apart from have awakened or not awakened, there is no [present] awakening."

Actually, the idea of "becoming" is a Jain idea, which involves the notion that an entity can simultaneously exist and not exist. Nāgārjuna refutes this in the Sixty.

PadmaVonSamba said:
Suppose if you could stretch that brief moment out, into a continuous awakening, like a fountain that just keeps gushing water.  I think what is being suggested is like that. Attainment isn’t a finite or fixed state. It is, you might say, “infinitely happening”.

Malcolm wrote:
Again, this is not a view found in the teachings of the Buddha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 19th, 2021 at 10:26 PM
Title: Re: The Heart Sūtra as a Dhāraṇī - Silk
Content:
Zhen Li said:
I haven't had a chance to go through this yet, but perhaps to add a bit to the ongoing discussions on Prajñāparamitā here, there's a new article on the Heart Sūtra by Jonathan Silk.

https://www.academia.edu/50907811/The_Heart_Sutra_as_dharani

Malcolm wrote:
Nothing really new here, just another forensic analysis and a negation that Hōryūji manuscript is the oldest extant version of the Heart Sūtra.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 19th, 2021 at 8:22 PM
Title: Re: How does one escape "the dark pit"?
Content:
Mitra-Sauwelios said:
is in between Being and non-Being, namely a Becoming.

Malcolm wrote:
Again incorrect, as this implies the third extreme. Nagarjuna also rejects “becoming,” just as he rejects “going” and so one.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 19th, 2021 at 6:53 AM
Title: Re: How does one escape "the dark pit"?
Content:
Mitra-Sauwelios said:
Malcolm, yes, I know the things I mentioned are just the innate purity of the mind, i.e. its emptiness. And I already thought things like the Ground (ghzi) were just upayas, as you seem to suggest. Still, that does mean it's the case that such things are often presented as a kind of substitute for atman or Brahman: Shentong, for example, claims that absolute reality is not empty of self-nature, only of other-nature;

Malcolm wrote:
The term "ground" is incorrect for gzhi (sthana), though it has gained wide usage. It's a hangover from Western philosphy.

As for gzhan stong, it's not exactly like that. But that it too complicated a discussion.


Mitra-Sauwelios said:
and Svatantrika claims that emptiness is not itself empty.

Malcolm wrote:
???


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 19th, 2021 at 4:58 AM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:
fckw said:
Or did I misunderstand something here?

Malcolm wrote:
Pratyekabuddhas are not on the bodhisattva bhumis at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 19th, 2021 at 1:28 AM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:
Matylda said:
So if your people practice koans in their own unique way, what for they try to confront teachers of other traditions, who know nothing about it? And why to claim that they gave any recognition?

Malcolm wrote:
A classic example:
Dr. Mark Epstein recalls an encounter between Kalu Rinpoche and Korean Zen master Seung Sahn that took place twenty years ago at the home of a Harvard professor....Seung Sahn opened the debate, reaching into his gray robe and removing an orange. With classic Zen theatrics he held the orange toward his opponent’s face and yelled: “What is it?!” The elderly lama just continued to finger his prayer beads. Seung Sahn tried again, holding out the orange and demanding to know: “What is it?!”... while everyone waited for the old lama to manifest unfettered Mind, he remained silent. Finally, Kalu Rinpoche whispered to his translator. Then the translator said (to paraphrase) “Rinpoche wants to know,”What’s the matter with this guy? Hasn’t he ever seen an orange before?’”
https://tricycle.org/magazine/dumbfounded-dharma/


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 19th, 2021 at 12:44 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/us/politics/afghans-deaths-us-plane.html?smid=url-share

No words.

Norwegian said:
After seeing this and the depressing clip of it happening, the first thing I come across afterwards is Lauren Boebert making jokes about the people falling into their deaths, and then, reading about Sean Hannity plugging MyPillow while talking about Kabul...

https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-plugs-my-pillow-americans-family-stuck-kabul

...


Malcolm wrote:
At least the Afghani people are fighting back:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/08/18/world/taliban-afghanistan-news
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/18/evacuations-from-kabul-speed-up-as-taliban-promises-peace-live

The training wheels are off. It is now up the Afghan people to fight their own democracy and self-determination.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 at 11:32 PM
Title: Re: Music time
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 at 11:28 PM
Title: Re: Music time
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 at 10:51 PM
Title: Re: How does one escape "the dark pit"?
Content:


Mitra-Sauwelios said:
Now of course, in Buddhism, there is no atman, but there is the clear light."

Malcolm wrote:
This is just the innate purity of the mind, i.e. its emptiness.

Mitra-Sauwelios said:
the dharmakaya,

Malcolm wrote:
This just the realization of that emptiness.

Mitra-Sauwelios said:
Buddha-nature,

Malcolm wrote:
Is just luminosity, the innate purity of the mind, which is its emptiness.

Mitra-Sauwelios said:
the Ground.

Malcolm wrote:
The basis [gzhi] just represents the emptiness one has not realized.


Mitra-Sauwelios said:
The atman or Brahman of Hinduism is understood not to be a God—which would just be the self once more—, but the subtlest and "deepest" level of the mindstream—which is ultimately the cosmic process or the flux of phenomena—itself.

Malcolm wrote:
This is rooted in Samkhya. Samkhya and Buddhadharma are not compatible. In Samkhya, the five elements are the final evolutes of prakṛti. In Buddhadharma, the five elements are not evolutes of one primordial substance. Further, there is no permanent knower in Buddhadharma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 at 9:23 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/us/politics/afghans-deaths-us-plane.html?smid=url-share

No words.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 at 7:46 AM
Title: Re: Astro(nomy/logy)
Content:
Danny said:
Actually it’s astrology/cosmology from the fundamental tantra of manjushri.
36 houses on the celestial sphere - 12 are the most influential on the world, ruled by 27 stars.

It’s all around page 156 - 159 in Kongtrul’s
Myriad Worlds.

What’s interesting to me is that the stars named are all the same Arabic and Greek names we use today.

Would have been very nice if the stars named in the tantra could have been left original and crossed referenced with the Arabic and Greek names. That would have been cool.

Hmm

Malcolm wrote:
Cornu’s book has these cross referenced.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 at 2:45 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The United States dropped about 1,228 cluster bombs containing 248,056 bomblets between October 2001 and March 2002.

Tlalok said:
So crazy the Taliban came back.

Malcolm wrote:
They never left.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 11:55 PM
Title: Re: Most Important Texts in the Gelug Tradition
Content:
Schopenhauer said:
What would you say are the most important texts in the Gelug tradition? Besides the works of Tsong-Kha-Pa.

Malcolm wrote:
Depends on which angle you are sussing out.

Take a look at the Library of Tibetan Classics, that will give you some idea.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 11:47 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


PeterC said:
The U.S. military, at times joined by British forces, has been conducting air strikes on targets in Afghanistan for over a week as part of the administration's efforts to capture bin Laden and his associates.

Malcolm wrote:
This is where this adventure lost my support, as soon as this was made public in October, 2001.

PeterC said:
The United States dropped about 1,228 cluster bombs containing 248,056 bomblets between October 2001 and March 2002.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 10:59 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Queequeg said:
I get everyone complaining about how this is going down. There is no orderly way to withdraw from a war with your tail between your legs and an enemy yelling yahoo and shooting their guns in the air as they roll into town. Of course there is going to be a panic and a rush for the doors. What was the alternative? Keep the bombing campaign going in the Kabul suburbs while asylum applications are being processed? Please.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no way two ways about it. Biden is messed up. Defense Secretary Austin in particular messed up. There are any number of ways this could have gone better. Desperate people falling to their deaths off of US transport planes onto the tarmac is just not a good look for "nation building."

What we did not do was build infrastructure, roads, etc. We spent 88 billion on training their army and police, and only 33 billion on infrastructure. Where do you think that money should have been spent? I know where we ought to have spent it. But as we all know, the war on terror was warped our sense of priorities. We spent years looking for terrorists around the world, only to find the most dangerous terrorists are in our own backyard, tweeking on Qanon meth.

American hegemony is preferable for many reasons to a Chinese hegemony. But we screwed up because we actually had no policy for administering Afghanistan other then the Neo-con, "Lets stay for a hundred years" as Bolton was stating this morning.


Queequeg said:
This is why I said it was brave of Biden to take this one for the team. It would have politically been easier to muddle through and keep the war going with a string of excuses for another decade. It would have just been putting this debacle off.

Malcolm wrote:
I think Biden was distracted. Understandable, but not acceptable. He may very well lose the next election because of this—and that is terrifying. There is an entire military that is pissed at him, who think their entire effort— dead, wounded, and all— was a complete waste of time.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 10:29 PM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:


fckw said:
Huh? So who is Amithaba and why does the entire pure land school pray to him to be reborn in Dewachen? Of course you could split hairs and argue that people only do that in order to find perfect circumstances to practice, or that deities are supposed to be not inherently self-existing, or make any other such philosophical statement - but in applied daily life of Buddhists, how is that actually any different from relying on deities in a soteriological manner? The vast majority of Buddhists actually don't give a fig whether the deities to which they pray are as real or not as Hindu deities, only people in this forum do. And, while they might believe to be very representative of Buddhists around the globe, fact is: they aren't. Majority of Buddhists actually don't write or speak English, so you won't find them in this forum.

Malcolm wrote:
Amitābha is not a mundane deity. Amitābha is a buddha, a tathāgata. Arguably, one might suppose that Sukhavati is not really different than Vaikuntha in intent. Certainly the description of Vaikuntha in the Bhagavata Purana is arguably identical in many ways to the description of Sukhavati, apart from the presence of women:
Vishnu/Narayana resides in Vaikuntha with Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, in palaces with crystal walls. The parks there shine like final liberation itself, and contain wish-fulfilling trees, which blossom all the year round. There are fragrant winds, and creepers dripping with honey near bodies of water. Cries of exotic birds mingle with the humming of bees, and magnificent flowers bloom everywhere. Devotees of Vishnu along with their beautiful wives travel in aerial vehicles made of jewels, emeralds and gold, but the beautiful smiling residents of this realm cannot distract the minds of the opposite sex, since everyone is absorbed in Krishna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaikuntha

These descriptions have their literary origin in the descriptions of the Persian gardens of Cyrus and Darius:

https://www.gardenvisit.com/history_theory/library_online_ebooks/ml_gothein_history_garden_art_design/persian_gardens_cyrus_darius

It is true what you say that most Buddhists in the world have naive faith, in that they are Buddhists principally for cultural reasons, focusing on merit accumulation for a better rebirth. But that's ok. It's a valid path as it is taught by the Buddha.

What Buddhists around the world do not expect, unlike Hindus, is that they will attain liberation by praying at their local wat, temple, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 10:12 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Queequeg said:
This might not be a popular idea, but I don't think democracy is necessarily the most important element in a stable society. I would argue a powerful, self sustaining, self interested civil bureaucracy might be more critical. Look at India - there is no way that country should be able to hold together but for their love of bureaucracy.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, they inherited that from Britain. Before Britain, India was a collection of small, independent principalities, resembling pre-unification Italy and Germany. India was forged by British Empire.

We definitely lost our way in Afghanistan. This debacle will come to be known as Biden's Folly. While certain Il Douche got the ball rolling, Biden did not play this round of bocci well at all. People falling off of US planes...f&^k. That more or less tells the rest of the world what they can expect from the USA. I'd say that 2024 is more in play than it was a month ago.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 8:43 PM
Title: Re: Dating the Bamyan Diamond Sutra ect...
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Round and round the theories go,
Where they end no one can know…

Zhen Li said:
Where it ends for a practitioner is to simply accept it as buddhavacana and that historical speculation is not part of the Buddhist path.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes. We agree on thus point. But people keep spinning out theories, engaging in endless proliferation, it’s gotten to the point where Buddhology means studying the endless speculations of western scholars.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 1:16 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Kim O'Hara said:
From the outside, it often looks as though this is fundamentally based on American Exceptionalism: that it's okay for the US to do stuff (like killing non-nationals, anywhere in the world) that it somehow isn't okay for other nations to do.

Is that how it appears to Americans? Some Americans, at least?

Malcolm wrote:
Our foreign policy in thus respect is founded on the Monroe Doctrine, the notion we have the right to interfere militarily anywhere in North America if it’s in our interest to do so. We expanded our concept of this sphere of interest during the Spanish American war, and further extended it due to WWI and our 1918 Expedition to Siberia to confront The Red Army. Effectively, US foreign policy, initiated by an interest in securing our backyard, included the entire yard. I’d be very surprised if this changed anytime soon.

PeterC said:
The Philippines would probably date the expansion of the backyard to 1898 when the US invaded and occupied their country in breach of various treaties it had signed.  Nobody seems to care much about that story, though.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, that was part of the Spanish American war.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 12:49 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
PeterC said:
That said. The one thing that I think they did right is actually write down a legal framework for it, however much we disagree with that framework. That means it becomes open to review by legislators, potentially also courts, it can be debated, future administrations can revisit it and discuss whether it made sense, etc.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, that was part of my point. One can’t just label my government lawless, they went to great pains to justify any actions under the patriot act and renewal of the AUMF as lawful. I don’t agree with my government about this and have voted for years for the better of the two imperialist parties in the US, since the Greens here, etc., are largely even more incompetent than the people in charge now. At least Biden has attempted to restore some institutional memory, though why anyone would want to work in gvt. after the Trump shitshow is beyond me.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 12:21 PM
Title: Re: How does one escape "the dark pit"?
Content:
Heimdall said:
Freedom from suffering. Suffering does not mean "suffering" in the Buddhist paradigm as I'm using it (how one's will and mind reacts to phenomena), but the natural ordinary mental and physical responses to phenomena that naturally arise and need to be suppressed through work (which in of itself is the suffering of natural ordinary and mental physical phenomena)

PadmaVonSamba said:
If you look at externals for the source of happiness, you won’t find anything that lasts.

Malcolm wrote:
One won’t find it inside either.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 12:08 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
... Decades of Bad foreign policy...

Kim O'Hara said:
From the outside, it often looks as though this is fundamentally based on American Exceptionalism: that it's okay for the US to do stuff (like killing non-nationals, anywhere in the world) that it somehow isn't okay for other nations to do.

Is that how it appears to Americans? Some Americans, at least?

Malcolm wrote:
Our foreign policy in thus respect is founded on the Monroe Doctrine, the notion we have the right to interfere militarily anywhere in North America if it’s in our interest to do so. We expanded our concept of this sphere of interest during the Spanish American war, and further extended it due to WWI and our 1918 Expedition to Siberia to confront The Red Army. Effectively, US foreign policy, initiated by an interest in securing our backyard, included the entire yard. I’d be very surprised if this changed anytime soon.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 9:59 AM
Title: Re: Jodo Wasan
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The rousing of bodhicitta is always a mind free of affliction, like a lotus that grows from muck, even in an afflicted person. How one rouses it is less of an issue than rousing it. ... The afflicted state of an individual is of no consequence at all with respect to rousing of the two bodhicittas.

Zhen Li said:
Yes, this is the point here. There is nothing about the deluded mind that can give rise to bodhicitta. While Shinjin carries with it other qualities besides bodhicitta, it is for this reason that it is said that with Shinjin "one attains nirvāṇa without severing afflictions."

Malcolm wrote:
You missed the point, bodhicitta (lotus) can only grow in a contaminated mind (muck).


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 9:26 AM
Title: Re: Dating the Bamyan Diamond Sutra ect...
Content:
Leo Rivers said:
Thanks. And I will track down that post by Osborn.


See: http://hub.hku.hk/handle/10722/181019


They will request your name and e-mail as an agreement tot follow the rules.



Zhen Li said:
The abstract that is publically available there summarises the relevant argument quite well: While there are chiastic structures in both the opening and closing chapter clusters, they also persist throughout the entire sūtra. So, they probably were composed at the same time. That being said, it is possible for such things to be inserted by a redactor into parts that were composed separately.

While many other scholars besides Conze had ur-sūtra theories, claiming that the original core was different parts of the sūtra, I think that most would agree that his claim about the first two chapters is too simplistic. But Conze also admits that the Vajracchedikā, for instance, is not based on any part of the Aṣṭa. A lot of the dhāraṇi and esoteric based Prajñāpāramitā stuff also is not based on the Aṣṭa. But the Heart Sūtra is based on portions of a longer version (25,000 if I recall correctly) which itself is based on the Aṣṭa. So, Conze was not claiming that all of Prajñā literature is based on the first two chapters of the Aṣṭa, but only a certain strand of it.

Malcolm wrote:
Round and round the theories go,
Where they end no one can know…


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 9:21 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


TharpaChodron said:
I think it was poor planning on Biden’s part, not guts. They had ample time to plan and execute this exit. I’m not saying Trump would have handled it better, but I’m pretty sure everyone here would be blaming Trump for this unholy mess if he was president. It’s Biden’s administration’s mistake, ultimately. And I voted for Biden. Maybe pointing fingers is futile, but hypocrisy is still hypocrisy.

Malcolm wrote:
Hypocrisy is the least of it. Poor planning. Decades of Bad foreign policy. The only way this changes is legislatively. And that is difficult.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 7:43 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Genjo Conan said:
the White House Office of Legal Counsel is staffed by very good lawyers, so they're very good at finding ways to tell the President yes.  That's how we get torture memos.

Malcolm wrote:
Yup.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 5:59 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
With the exception of the bans on slavery and torture, most constitutional rights are not absolutes, but presumptive protections that may be overridden by compelling showings of governmental need and narrow tailoring.
I am quite certain that the government lawyers in the Bush, Obama, Trump, and now Biden administrations are using exactly this reasoning to kill foreign enemies summarily.

But he continues:
My claim is not that such categorical balancing is inappropriate, but that we should not cheat on the balance by drawing the line differently for non-nationals and citizens. While the definition of most constitutional rights contains an implicit consequentialist balance, the balance should be struck equally for all - even if it might appear convenient or politically tempting to strike it differently for some.

Queequeg said:
They'd need to set up one of those secret courts, like they do with NSA applications for wire taps. Presumably, the judges would stop egregious murders in the name of national security, but would probably green light most applications.

Malcolm wrote:
Then there is this, which sets precent and authorizes the President to:
to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/R41809.pdf

As such, combined with the 2001 SCOTUS decision concerning the question of whether noncitizens outside the US are entitled to due process, and the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF, P.L. 107- 40), its pretty clear that the US Government considers its decision to detain people in Guantanamo Bay and to kill people like OBL, etc., perfectly lawful. Also, this legitimizes as lawful, in the US Government's eyes, the covert action it took in Pakistan. Also, in the case of OBL's killing, members of Congress were alerted, and as police power rests in the hands of the legislature, as Congress signed off on it, which they did, from the US Government's point of view, all perfectly legal. So, while we can complain the US was not following the rule of law, it is pretty clear it thinks it did.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 4:50 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Genjo Conan said:
The President unquestionably has the authority to repeal previously-enacted Executive Orders, but EO 12,333 has never been repealed.

Malcolm wrote:
That we know of. There are PPD's, aka HSPD's, NSPD's, etc. They are generally secret and also have the force of law.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 3:52 AM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:



KeithA said:
It’s also considered bad form in Kwan Um to talk about kong an’s passed, and generally speaking, no one talks about practice stuff when we are just chatting before or after practice in the real world. It’s better for the op to discuss his questions with the teacher. But, I don’t think the op’s questions come anywhere near a precept violation, and certainly not to the level of being removed here in DW.

All this talk about Westerners and newcomers reminds of the discussions about “cradle Catholics” I hear sometimes. Round and round…

Malcolm wrote:
I don’t have a horse in this race. However, my first experiential exposure to Buddhism was a weekend at Daibosatsu Zendo when I was 16, in 1978.

KeithA said:
Zen doesn't seem to be good subject for forums.

Malcolm wrote:
Very little experiential dharma is. Forums are good for exploring general Buddhist concepts, but trying to discuss practice on open forums, well, not so much.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 3:43 AM
Title: Re: How does one escape "the dark pit"?
Content:
Heimdall said:
"The dark pit", "the abyss", "the Dark Night of the Soul", etc.

What's the Buddhist answer

Malcolm wrote:
The concept does not exist in Buddhadharma. There is no god, so there is no spiritual crisis precipitated by wishing to unite with god.


Heimdall said:
I don't see the point of anything any more for myself - nothing will ever truly lead to satisfaction in any meaningful degree to me.

Malcolm wrote:
As Santideva states:
All suffering comes from working for only one's own happiness.
All happiness comes from working for the happiness of others.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 3:05 AM
Title: Re: what is the difference between mahayana and theravada and tibetan buddhism
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
"black hat"

You mean the Karma Kagyu?

haha said:
It is saying something in a humorous way: Gelug for yellow, Karma Kagyu for black, old one for Nyingma.

Malcolm wrote:
When some people say "black hat" they mean Bonpos.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 2:56 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Queequeg said:
Remember all that bull shit?

Malcolm wrote:
Yup. Vividly.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 2:53 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Johnny Dangerous said:
I wasn't terribly upset about his death personally, but it's just another example of American hypocrisy and disregard for the rule of law except where it suits our interests.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, if OBL had managed to escape to America, he certainly would have been entitled to due process, etc., under the constitution (hence Gitmo, which is not part of the USA). However, Zavyadas v. Davis:
"It is well established that certain constitutional protections available to persons inside the United States are unavailable to aliens outside of our geographic borders. But once an alien enters the country, the legal circumstance changes, for the Due Process Clause applies to all 'persons' within the United States ..."
This is the legal theory under which OBL, Anwar al-Awlaki, and others have been killed by the United States, and will continue to be killed. They are not ignoring the rule of law. SCOTUS has decided that the law does not apply to noncitizens who run afoul of us, and hence complaints about "extra-judicial killings" fall on deaf ears.

Here is a rather long article on the subject of the rights of non-nationals, where I found the cited 2001 SCOTUS opinion.

https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1302&context=facpub

One conclusion this professor reaches is:
With the exception of the bans on slavery and torture, most constitutional rights are not absolutes, but presumptive protections that may be overridden by compelling showings of governmental need and narrow tailoring.
I am quite certain that the government lawyers in the Bush, Obama, Trump, and now Biden administrations are using exactly this reasoning to kill foreign enemies summarily.

But he continues:
My claim is not that such categorical balancing is inappropriate, but that we should not cheat on the balance by drawing the line differently for non-nationals and citizens. While the definition of most constitutional rights contains an implicit consequentialist balance, the balance should be struck equally for all - even if it might appear convenient or politically tempting to strike it differently for some.

Johnny Dangerous said:
There's that, as well as the larger picture which is a War or Terror that caused untold misery both at home and abroad.

Malcolm wrote:
We agree.

Johnny Dangerous said:
At least that part of the of the effort was spearheaded by that utter bastion of liberalism and peace, Barack Obama, making even grosser.

Malcolm wrote:
Obama is an expert in constitutional law. I am quite certain that his decision to kill OBL was predicated on the above SCOTUS decision.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 1:24 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Johnny Dangerous said:
Boy, it sure did us a lot of good once we found him and extra-judicially killed him.

Malcolm wrote:
Since he willingly confessed to the crime, well, a trial was just not in the offing, no matter who would have been president. It was a performative action.

Did it do us any good? No. Does capital punishment ever do any good? No.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 1:20 AM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:
Matt J said:
Idle speech has always struck me as purposeless or pointless speech. Here, we are talking about promoting wrong view, which seems more serious.

Malcolm wrote:
Idle speech comes from wrong view.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 at 12:32 AM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:
Matt J said:
The issue I've heard around it is that talking about it promotes conceptualization, i.e. "words and letters Zen."

Malcolm wrote:
What is idle speech other than the physical expression of rampant conceptualization?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 11:44 PM
Title: Re: what is the difference between mahayana and theravada and tibetan buddhism
Content:
haha said:
Mahayana has twofold divisions: Paramitayana and Mantrayana. The former is explained being based on the philosophy of the Sautrantikas, Yogacaras and Madhyamikas. And the latter is explained being based on the philosophy of the Yogacaras and Madhyamikas.

From another narrative, the Mahayana regards there is only one vehicle; ultimately, even sravaka (both gotras) also enters into Buddha vehicle.  Somewhere Asanga quoted that even Sakyamuni Buddha (or any Buddha) dwelled many eons in Sravaka Nirvana and then ultimately entered into the Buddha vehicle.

Theravada is just a branch of Sravaka vehicles whereas Tibetan Buddhism is just a branch of Mahayana, especially the Vajrayana/Mantrayana; it has several sects (black hat, yellow hat, old one, etc.) lol

Malcolm wrote:
"black hat"

You mean the Karma Kagyu?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 11:35 PM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
It’s clearly just against the rules in Japanese Zen, according to Matylda and Meido, etc. It is probably is considered idle speech.

Astus said:
In Japan they use the bodhisattva precepts of the Brahmajala Sutra. No idle speech included there.

Malcolm wrote:
I am quite sure that despite whatever literalism you would like to resort to, idle speech, one of the four verbal misconducts, is implicitly included.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 11:27 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
PeterC said:
The US could then have declared victory and gone home, and would probably be safer than it is today, now that it's spent two decades creating a generation of new enemies.

Malcolm wrote:
Largely correct. But that wasn't our goal. Our stated goal was hunting down OBL. We were looking in the wrong country, actually.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 10:38 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Kim O'Hara said:
I'm trying to think of any conflict between guerillas on their home ground and conventional forces far from theirs that ended well for the conventional forces. None come to mind.

Malcolm wrote:
Occupation troops have no stake in a war when the purpose isn't total eradication or complete subjugation of an indigenous population and settlement. This has been obvious since Alexander's campaigns.

The US never intended to settle Vietnam, nor Afghanistan, nor Iraq (and no, the amount of oil never was a reason for us to go into Iraq, lining the pockets of defense contractors, on the other hand, definitely a reason. The largest concentration of wealth in the US, actually the world, is in Washington DC area).

The success of the Chinese campaign against Tibet, for example, is based on the fact that the CCP always intended to settle the Tibetan plateau with Han Chinese.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 10:13 PM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:



Astus said:
Which precept is it against?

Malcolm wrote:
It’s clearly just against the rules in Japanese Zen, according to Matylda and Meido, etc. It is probably is considered idle speech.

KeithA said:
It’s also considered bad form in Kwan Um to talk about kong an’s passed, and generally speaking, no one talks about practice stuff when we are just chatting before or after practice in the real world. It’s better for the op to discuss his questions with the teacher. But, I don’t think the op’s questions come anywhere near a precept violation, and certainly not to the level of being removed here in DW.

All this talk about Westerners and newcomers reminds of the discussions about “cradle Catholics” I hear sometimes. Round and round…

Malcolm wrote:
I don’t have a horse in this race. However, my first experiential exposure to Buddhism was a weekend at Daibosatsu Zendo when I was 16, in 1978.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 10:00 PM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:
Matylda said:
Moreover talking about koans-dokusan, even talking about ones own practice is considered to be serious breach of Jukai vows.

Astus said:
Which precept is it against?

Malcolm wrote:
It’s clearly just against the rules in Japanese Zen, according to Matylda and Meido, etc. It is probably is considered idle speech.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 9:54 PM
Title: Re: What's the best-smelling / flavor of incense, and where do you buy from?
Content:
Queequeg said:
aloeswood - my preference.

Malcolm wrote:
Then you will like Agar 30 incense from Tibet. Its main ingredient is aloeswood, but has other herbs to balance it out. It is also a Tibetan Medical formula for excess vata. Can be ground and consumed as medicine.

Incense should be medicinally formulated. Its not just something to make your place smell better. There is a long ayurvedic tradition of inhaling smoke for lung health, etc. The origin of most incense in Buddhadharma derives from this tradition.

Queequeg said:
Excess vata - maybe that's why I'm instinctually drawn to it. It does make me feel good.

Can you explain a little bit about the Agar 31 and how it works?

Malcolm wrote:
Agar in general is very heavy, it is also cold, which one might think is bad for vata, but it’s heaviness is the key to counteracting the light quality of vajra. This incense uses three different types of agar, I.e lignum aloes. Generally Japanese incense only uses the aromatic variety.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 9:18 PM
Title: Re: Jodo Wasan
Content:
Zhen Li said:
There are a few understandings of bodhicitta in Vajrayāna. On the one hand there is "relative bodhicitta" which is aspiring to attain awakening and engaging in bodhisattva behaviour to attain it. "Absolute bodhicitta," on the other hand, is closer to the understanding in Jōdo Shinshū, where it might be understood as a mind that cognises emptiness.

Malcolm wrote:
These two kinds of bodhicitta are common Mahayana teachings. Relative bodhicitta in Vajrayana specifically refers to bindu, the yoga of which cause the realization of ultimate bodhicitta.

The rousing of bodhicitta is always a mind free of affliction, like a lotus that grows from muck, even in an afflicted person. How one rouses it is less of an issue than rousing it. Also, rousing bodhicitta in this life is taken as proof one has done so before. Unlike other vows, which expire at death, bodhicitta vows are only taken once. The afflicted state of an individual is of no consequence at all with respect to rousing of the two bodhicittas. After all, Shakyamuni Buddha first roused bodhicitta in hell.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 9:08 PM
Title: Re: What's the best-smelling / flavor of incense, and where do you buy from?
Content:
Queequeg said:
aloeswood - my preference.

Malcolm wrote:
Then you will like Agar 30 incense from Tibet. Its main ingredient is aloeswood, but has other herbs to balance it out. It is also a Tibetan Medical formula for excess vata. Can be ground and consumed as medicine.

Incense should be medicinally formulated. Its not just something to make your place smell better. There is a long ayurvedic tradition of inhaling smoke for lung health, etc. The origin of most incense in Buddhadharma derives from this tradition.

Archie2009 said:
A search only turns up Agar 31. Is that it?


Malcolm wrote:
Yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 8:05 PM
Title: Re: What's the best-smelling / flavor of incense, and where do you buy from?
Content:
Queequeg said:
aloeswood - my preference.

Malcolm wrote:
Then you will like Agar 30 incense from Tibet. Its main ingredient is aloeswood, but has other herbs to balance it out. It is also a Tibetan Medical formula for excess vata. Can be ground and consumed as medicine.

Incense should be medicinally formulated. Its not just something to make your place smell better. There is a long ayurvedic tradition of inhaling smoke for lung health, etc. The origin of most incense in Buddhadharma derives from this tradition.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 9:47 AM
Title: Re: Ultimate truth
Content:
Rick said:
"Seeing the groundlessness of the relative truth is the ultimate truth."

Malcolm wrote:
Why should there be anything more?

Rick said:
If that’s all there is … if the brass ring is to realize that brass rings are empty … then the whole imputed edifice of meaning and value and worth comes tumbling down. The infrastructure vanishes, the ground beneath my feet. I’m in freefall. Unless you’ve got the danger gene (definitely not me!), what’s to like about this?

Malcolm wrote:
It’s called liberation. What’s not to,like about it?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 6:08 AM
Title: Re: Ultimate truth
Content:
Rick said:
"Seeing the groundlessness of the relative truth is the ultimate truth."

Malcolm wrote:
Why should there be anything more?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 6:06 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Queequeg said:
. It's now blatantly clear that the government in Kabul was nothing but a front for the US.

Malcolm wrote:
We have all known, since 2002, that this was never going to end well.

My support for our expedition their ended in 2002 when I heard we were using cluster bombs on civilians.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 15th, 2021 at 9:46 AM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:


frankie said:
We are still dharma pups in the west,

Malcolm wrote:
Nonsense. We are the vanguard, the bodhisattvas who chose birth in the border lands during the degenerate age.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 15th, 2021 at 5:07 AM
Title: Re: Lungta where have all the prayer flags gone?
Content:
DGA said:
I'm noticing that there's less variety in Lungta than there used to be available for purchase here in the US, and they seem to go out of stock quicker.

Is there a bottom to this trend?  What to expect moving forward?

Malcolm wrote:
Supply chain disruption.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 15th, 2021 at 12:48 AM
Title: Re: Ultimate truth
Content:


Rick said:
Is emptiness *the* definitive Madhyamaka teaching? Mahayana teaching, Vajrayana, Tantra? Buddhist teaching?

Is realizing emptiness the brassiest brass ring? (Anam Thubten used to speak of enlightenment as the brass ring.)

Malcolm wrote:
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, August 15th, 2021 at 12:27 AM
Title: Re: Ultimate truth
Content:
Rick said:
Anam Thubten (from The Fragrance of Emptiness ):

"Prajnaparamita, or transcendent wisdom, is the nonconceptual understanding of the absolute."

1. If emptiness is the heart of ultimate truth, would prajnaparamita be the experiential realization of emptiness?

2. Does "understanding of the absolute" mean the same thing as "understanding of the ultimate truth?"

Malcolm wrote:
As for 1) yes. As for 2) the term don dam or paramārtha, is rendered in english as either "ultimate meaning" or "absolute meaning.
" In both cases it refers to emptiness.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2021 at 10:44 PM
Title: Re: Indra is a position, not a person
Content:
prsvrnc said:
So I guess I'm interested in how and why Mahayana Buddhism decided to incorporate Indra (Brahma, etc.) into their cosmology of the world and the various layers of interpretation there. It seems Mahayana Buddhism mentions them in passing but doesn't spend a lot of time discussing their importance or why they exist at all.

Malcolm wrote:
The Buddha interacted with devas, so they have been present from the start:
Inda, Soma, and Varuna,
Bharadvaja, Pajapati,
Candana, Kamasettha too,
Kinnughandu, Nigahandu,

50. Panada, Opamanna too,
Devasata and Matali,
Cittasena and Gandhabba,
Nala, Raja, Janesabha,

51. Satagira, Hemavata,
Punnaka, Karatiya, Gula,
Sivaka, Mucalinda too,
Vessamitta, Yugandhara,

52. Gopala, Suppagedha too,
Hiri, Netti, and Mandiya,
Pañcalacanda, Alavaka,
Pajjunna, Sumana, Sumukha, Dadamukkha,
With these Serisakka.
"These are the Yakkhas, mighty Yakkhas, the commanders, the chief commanders to whom (the molested one) should inform, cry aloud and shout saying: 'This Yakkha is seizing me, takes possession of me, is harassing me, assailing me, is harming me, and harming me intensely, and this Yakkha would not let me go!'

"This, Happy One, is the Atanata protection whereby monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen may live at ease, guarded, protected, and unharmed.

"Happy One, we now take our leave of you; for we have many duties to attend to (so said the four Great Kings)."

"Great Kings, it is time for your departure" (replied the Buddha).
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.32.0.piya.html


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2021 at 10:22 PM
Title: Re: Being on the high bhumis without knowing?
Content:
Fee said:
My question: According to your knowledge, is it possible for a bodhisattva to be on one of the higher bhumis without knowing it himself?

Malcolm wrote:
No, it is not possible.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2021 at 10:18 PM
Title: Re: Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in Tendai
Content:


Queequeg said:
I'm not all that familiar with it, but I understand in Yogacara there are Three Natures - Parikalpitasvabhava, Paratantrasvabhava, and Parinispannasvabhava. The first two are false, not true. Only the third has reality, is true.

Malcolm wrote:
That’s not at all correct. The absence of the Imagined nature in the dependent nature is the perfected nature.

The dependent nature Is both empty and not empty. This is the Yogacara idea of the middle way.

Queequeg said:
Thank you. I need to understand that better. On the syllabus.

Malcolm wrote:
Madhyāntavibhangakārikā and its bhaśyaṃ, translated by D'Amato as Distinguishing the Middle, or as translated by the Dharmacakra Translation Committee,  Middle Beyond Extremes.

The imagination of the unreal exists.
No duality exists in it.  
Also that emptiness exists,
hence it is neither empty nor not empty.
That being so, everything is explained—
it is the middle way,
because of its existence, its nonexistence, and its existence.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2021 at 11:13 AM
Title: Re: What's the best-smelling / flavor of incense, and where do you buy from?
Content:


TharpaChodron said:
Thank you for such a great guide to incense, I learned a lot. Must save for reference.

Malcolm wrote:
Everything is a matter of taste of course, but in my estimation, Mindroling #2 in the blue box is the best. It’s made in Tibet. Can be bought from potalagate.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2021 at 10:54 AM
Title: Re: Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in Tendai
Content:


Queequeg said:
I'm not all that familiar with it, but I understand in Yogacara there are Three Natures - Parikalpitasvabhava, Paratantrasvabhava, and Parinispannasvabhava. The first two are false, not true. Only the third has reality, is true.

Malcolm wrote:
That’s not at all correct. The absence of the Imagined nature in the dependent nature is the perfected nature.

The dependent nature Is both empty and not empty. This is the Yogacara idea of the middle way.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2021 at 5:44 AM
Title: Re: Rebirth: A worldview accepted before or after Buddharma study
Content:
PadmaVonSamba said:
Thank you. It’s nice to have one’s efforts recognized by a distinguished authority.

Malcolm wrote:
I am just saying that this contemplative analysis is misapplied when it comes to practical things like explaining death, rebirth, and the bardo, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2021 at 1:51 AM
Title: Re: Rebirth: A worldview accepted before or after Buddharma study
Content:


PadmaVonSamba said:
If it goes, it has a location.
Where is the mind located?

Malcolm wrote:
Heart cakra.

PadmaVonSamba said:
So, the heart chakra moves?

Malcolm wrote:
No, since it is part of the body.

You've taken the contemplative analysis of the mind over the cliff.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2021 at 12:11 AM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:


boda said:
Sectarian bias, of course.

Malcolm wrote:
Total nonsense. And uncalled for.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 11:14 PM
Title: Re: Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in Tendai
Content:
Caoimhghín said:
My understanding of the integrated middle is that these two contradictory truths are non-contradictory. Both are "true." Hongaku would have only one truth be true. It would have nirvāṇa be real and saṁsāra be false. I can comment more on this later.

Malcolm wrote:
Nāgārjuna does say:

"Since the Buddha has declared that nirvana alone is true,
what wise person would not imagine the rest was not false?"

The two truths inseparable, but are only true for sentient beings. Buddhas do not see two truths, but only one.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 11:08 PM
Title: Re: Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in Tendai
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Are afflictions substantial entities that need to be removed or not?

Caoimhghín said:
Ultimate, there are neither sentient beings nor afflictions. Conventionally, there are sentient beings who suffer on account of afflictions. As for their being "substantial entities," that is not even necessarily true conventionally, nor is it even necessarily true of all Śrāvaka Buddhisms.

Malcolm wrote:
So, we are in agreement that afflictions are not substantial entities to be removed, and I assume from your answer that you agree they are adventitious, rather than innate.

Now then, is the luminosity of the mind innate or adventitious?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 9:04 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Nemo said:
Now. Taliban have been very impressed with the economic development in areas of Xinjiang and want to bring that to Afghanistan.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, putting a million plus people in concentration camps is an excellent way to boost an economy...free labor.

Nemo said:
Do you have any proof that is what is going on from a reliable third party?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes. People I know in China.

Nemo said:
it's weird that none of the Muslim countries surrounding China think that happened.

Malcolm wrote:
What are you talking about? The Taliban in recent talks guaranteed the Chinese that they would not support Uighurs nor harbor them.

More importantly, follow the money.

Then there is this:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/8/uighurs-timeline

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/2/pakistan-imran-khan-china-uighurs

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/8/uk-government-urged-to-hold-china-to-account-over-uighurs

The Chinese did this to Tibetans as well, and are still interning Tibetans in concentration camps in large numbers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-54260732

https://unpo.org/article/21403

https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/opinion-mass-internment-camps-forced-population-swap-is-tibet-the-next-xinjiang-3394826.html

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/china-forces-500-000-tibetans-into-labour-camps-20200922-p55xyk.html

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Like-the-Uyghurs,-Tibetans-locked-up-in-re-education-camps-%28I%29-51131.html


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 9:03 PM
Title: Re: Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in Tendai
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
Are they truly real in any Buddhist school, or are they just dependently arisen phenomena, and therefore, empty (i.e. not truly real)?

Caoimhghín said:
This is how Āryanāgārjuna is able to declare that all things are, are not, are and are not, and neither are nor are not, and then declare it "the teaching of the many Buddhas."

Queequeg said:
Does he actually say that? I believe Nagarjuna argues that none of those positions is tenable.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, Nāgārjuna actual does say this.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 8:41 PM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Astus does not believe this, and thinks that reading things in books is sufficient.

Astus said:
Danyuan greatly esteemed Yangshan, and said to him…

Malcolm wrote:
I don’t see how these charming anecdotes relate to your previously stated position about the self sufficiency of autodidact Dharma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 8:35 PM
Title: Re: Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in Tendai
Content:


Caoimhghín said:
Except for kleśas, which according to hongaku are not truly real. That's the basic issue there.

Malcolm wrote:
Are they truly real in any Buddhist school, or are they just dependently arisen phenomena, and therefore, empty (i.e. not truly real)?

Caoimhghín said:
"Real" IMO is a utility that the Buddhas use to teach. The utility corresponds with the condition of the sentient beings they teach. This is how Āryanāgārjuna is able to declare that all things are, are not, are and are not, and neither are nor are not, and then declare it "the teaching of the many Buddhas." Only the conventional is like this. Ultimately, no one is taught. Conventionally, sentient beings are taught in a rhetorical 84,000 ways. It is a violation of the integrated middle to insist that no one is taught and that the conventional is false. Similarly, it is a violation, or diminution, of the conventional to say that all sentient beings are Buddhas and that they've no need for a basis, a path, a result, etc. As I see things, it's a matter of basic confusion between the two truths.

Malcolm wrote:
You are avoiding the question. Are afflictions substantial entities that need to be removed or not? After, all, the Buddha also describes them as adventitious in the shravakayana as well. Certainly, it is dumb to say that one is a Buddha while under the influence of afflictions, but that’s not being questioned.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 7:47 PM
Title: Re: Rebirth: A worldview accepted before or after Buddharma study
Content:


PadmaVonSamba said:
We talk about the mind leaving one body and going to another, but this may be completely backwards. It’s the body that comes and goes, isn’t it? Perhaps the mind doesn’t really go anywhere.

Malcolm wrote:
No, actually, it is the mind that goes. The body, after death, just remains (lus) and decomposes.

PadmaVonSamba said:
If it goes, it has a location.
Where is the mind located?

Malcolm wrote:
Heart cakra.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 12:17 PM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:


seeker242 said:
It's not "my idea". It's the Kwan Um schools idea.

Malcolm wrote:
Nevertheless, he apparently has a different idea than your school. He is after all entitled to his feelings on the issue, whether or not you care.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 12:14 PM
Title: Re: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Nemo said:
Now. Taliban have been very impressed with the economic development in areas of Xinjiang and want to bring that to Afghanistan.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, putting a million plus people in concentration camps is an excellent way to boost an economy...free labor.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 11:27 AM
Title: Re: Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in Tendai
Content:


Caoimhghín said:
Except for kleśas, which according to hongaku are not truly real. That's the basic issue there.

Malcolm wrote:
Are they truly real in any Buddhist school, or are they just dependently arisen phenomena, and therefore, empty (i.e. not truly real)?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 11:25 AM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:
seeker242 said:
To assert that there is, is just incorrect.

Malcolm wrote:
Apparently, Meido has a different idea than you.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 11:23 AM
Title: Re: Rebirth: A worldview accepted before or after Buddharma study
Content:


PadmaVonSamba said:
We talk about the mind leaving one body and going to another, but this may be completely backwards. It’s the body that comes and goes, isn’t it? Perhaps the mind doesn’t really go anywhere.

Malcolm wrote:
No, actually, it is the mind that goes. The body, after death, just remains (lus) and decomposes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 9:57 AM
Title: Re: Achi Chokyi Drolma Yidam
Content:
Danny said:
In a country of dharma practioners, why protect the dharma? From what?

Malcolm wrote:
Samaya breakers.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 9:54 AM
Title: Re: Rebirth: A worldview accepted before or after Buddharma study
Content:
ddorje said:
Thanks to everyone who responded, very interesting.

To those who adopted or accepted the view of rebirth (re-existence as Malcolm pointed out) - what convinced you of this view?

Would you say that it was:

1. something you came to through the logic presented in the canon (e.g, all things emerging from a cause and the example of the light of a candle being the same but not identical) and wouldn’t have accepted it without this presentation

2. something you accepted in a leap of faith/trust (after some reading and contemplation of course)

3. something that is a belief that enables the rest of the tradition you rest follow and respect

4. or something else entirely?


[I should say I’m asking this to understand how best to approach questions in the community about this topic that comes from a place of understanding. Appreciate your responses]

Malcolm wrote:
The materialist explanation of the origins of consciousness never made sense to me, even as a child.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 9:51 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
TharpaChodron said:
how can we ignore the plight of women in Afghanistan?

Malcolm wrote:
We shouldn’t. Don’t mistake my comment for apathy, it was an observation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 4:36 AM
Title: Re: Ultimate truth
Content:
frankie said:
There is something appealing and immediately accessible in his books and online teachings. They almost seem too easy and accessible, almost as if they are designed to cleverly slip by a cognitive process that would otherwise be designed to say' "Just hang on a minute there!"

Rick said:
My impression from two retreats I did with Anam Thubten a few years back:

He makes an effort to speak to the western mind: vocabulary, content, tone. (He often jokes around, gets his audience to relax with humor.) But when it comes to the basics, bodhicitta and rigpa and enlightenment, he's earnest and passionate. And afaik (hearsay), he has extensive training and skill as a formal dharma debater. He might be too loose and westernized for some, for people like me he's quite perfect.

Malcolm wrote:
I have no personal opinion about him nor do I know anything about him, other than what I related above. I never met him, but I hear he is a nice guy.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 2:36 AM
Title: Re: Rebirth: A worldview accepted before or after Buddharma study
Content:
PadmaVonSamba said:
In this sense, I feel that ‘rebirth’ is a somewhat clumsy and misleading term

Malcolm wrote:
Not at all, it is a translation of punarbhāva, "re-existence", literally speaking.

PadmaVonSamba said:
But “re-existence” implies “existence” which makes the whole thing easy to be misunderstood.
What I mean by clumsy and misleading is that there needs to be better English language vocabulary to really grasp what is being suggested, otherwise it’s very easy for someone to assume there is a truly existing being who then becomes another truly existing being.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, that's the point of the Buddhist presentation. We accept rebirth, but not rebirth of a soul, etc. We assert rebirth must be predicated on absence of inherent existence, and that it will not work otherwise.

The Indians did not have "better vocabulary" so the Buddhists just worked with what they had before them. Generally, Indians who accepted rebirth (and not all Indians did) assumed there was some essence or entity that went from one life to another. What we are dealing with here in the West is the Shirley Mclaine version of reincarnation, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 1:30 AM
Title: Re: Ultimate truth
Content:
Rick said:
His teachers were Nyingmas, as far as I know. Would that affect his meaning of 'groundlessness?'

Malcolm wrote:
Not really. And no, he was educated in the Geluk system, like most people who learn Dharma in Amdo, where Geluk is the dominant school. That has nothing to do with what tantric systems he practices or teaches. I have a friend who knows him quite well and lived with him for some years.

Even so, "groundless" means "without a basis," apratiṣṭhāna.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, August 13th, 2021 at 12:02 AM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:
Meido said:
Soto Zen also has such secret practice instructions transmitted orally and with kirigami, but these are not something to which lay practitioners will be privy.


Malcolm wrote:
Generally, speaking, AFAIK, Western teachers are not directly privy yet to such things, which, as I understand from Matylda, are only to be found among the most senior lineage masters of the Soto school. I could be wrong, and she can correct me, but this is what I understood from her posts on the subject.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 12th, 2021 at 11:42 PM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:
narhwal90 said:
The day I am told I can't discuss what I please with whom I please is the last day I attend there.

Malcolm wrote:
You should never become a Vajrayāni.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 12th, 2021 at 11:41 PM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:



Meido said:
Even if one does not choose to rely upon them, though - and even if one ignores the fact that most of what is important in Zen practice is still largely transmitted orally...

Malcolm wrote:
Astus does not believe this, and thinks that reading things in books is sufficient.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 12th, 2021 at 11:27 PM
Title: Re: Ultimate truth
Content:
Rick said:
Is that what Anam Thubten meant by groundlessness?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes. As I understand it, he is a Gelukpa by training.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 12th, 2021 at 10:51 PM
Title: Re: Ultimate truth
Content:
Rick said:
Anam Thubten (from The Fragrance of Emptiness ):

"Seeing the groundlessness of the relative truth is the ultimate truth."

In non-Shentong view, is that the ultimate ultimate truth? Or is there an ultimater ultimate truth: nonduality, tathata, _________ ?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, the absence of inherent existence of conventional entities is ultimate truth. That absence is nonduality, tathāta, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 12th, 2021 at 10:37 PM
Title: Re: Achi Chokyi Drolma Yidam
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu%3A254364

This paper contains an extensive discussion of Achi, including a translation of one of her important hagiographies, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 12th, 2021 at 10:02 PM
Title: Re: Online Teaching Series/Courses
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://onlinelearning.fpmt.org/index.php?lang=es_utf8


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 12th, 2021 at 9:41 PM
Title: Re: Rebirth: A worldview accepted before or after Buddharma study
Content:



PadmaVonSamba said:
In this sense, I feel that ‘rebirth’ is a somewhat clumsy and misleading term

Malcolm wrote:
Not at all, it is a translation of punarbhāva, "re-existence", literally speaking.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 12th, 2021 at 9:39 PM
Title: Re: Rebirth: A worldview accepted before or after Buddharma study
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
before


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, August 12th, 2021 at 6:07 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
That's not what actually happened. The statues at Bamiyan were targeted because the UN was spending millions of dollars to restore them as UN cultural heritage monuments, and none of the money was being spent in the local communities.

ssmcnq said:
The incidents at Bodhgaya ? The incidents at borobudur ? Nalanda? Maldives?

Malcolm wrote:
I don't think the Taliban were involved in that. However, the incident in Bodhgaya, and elsewhere were prompted by the Myanmar regime's treatment of the Rohingya, right?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 9:35 PM
Title: Re: Is the marketing of Buddhism valid, or a result of tanha?
Content:


Heimdall said:
I agree that Buddhism doesn't mandate proselytism like Islam or Christianity, but someone must've shared the Dharma and marketed it to convert the entire continent of Asia (it's not like the entire continent of Asia descends from India).

Malcolm wrote:
The adoption of Buddhism in Asian countries outside India proper was largely a result of royal decree, not proselytization of the masses.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 9:16 PM
Title: Re: Texts that destroy ""scientific" materialism
Content:
Vajrasambhava said:
It is directly knowable through being able to remember past lives and directly perieve the minds of others
Malcolm, thank you so much...it helps me a lot.
Is it possible to gain such abilities practicing Dzogchen?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, and any other system of Buddhist meditation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 9:15 PM
Title: Re: I'm back
Content:


DGA said:
Anyway, that's a sample of life's rich pageant.  That's what I've been doing with my life of late.

Malcolm wrote:
The three realms are impermanent;
migrating beings’ birth and death is equivalent to watching a show;
a being’s life is like a flash of lightening in the sky;
passing by as swiftly as a mountain waterfall.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 7:58 PM
Title: Re: Anti-vaxx sentiment in western sanghas
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
You know what? This isn't even worth it, across the board. You and Malcolm are going to keep thinking that everyone who won't get vaccinated is basically worthless, unethical and dumb....

Malcolm wrote:
Unless they have valid medical reason for not getting vaccinated, they endangering the lives of both themselves and others. That is unethical, and it is dumb.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 9:20 AM
Title: Re: Fake monk called out, made to remove robes on streets of London
Content:
SilenceMonkey said:
But I do think the Dharma is as important to protect as Democracy.

And of course this begs the question... How much of a threat are panhandlers in Buddhist robes, really?

Malcolm wrote:
The only way to protect Dharma is to practice Dharma.

SilenceMonkey said:
Well... that's clearly not true. There are many means of protecting the Dharma. Other than that, I would tend to agree with what you wrote.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s clearly true. How can a person who does not practice the Dharma protect it? In any case, the Dharma, as a relative institution, is compounded and therefore impermanent.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 5:12 AM
Title: Re: How to figure out the soluton to a koan
Content:
Meido said:
I recognize this is not a dedicated Zen forum. But the custom in most that are is that TOS will forbid such discussion, and delete topics that cross that line.


Malcolm wrote:
Still looking for that cheat sheet...damn! got the soup all over my shirt.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 5:10 AM
Title: Re: Is the marketing of Buddhism valid, or a result of tanha?
Content:


Heimdall said:
"Buddhists don't believe in God" (The devas? The Brahma realm? The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas themselves?)

Malcolm wrote:
Buddhism rejects a creator god. They don't necessarily reject all "supernatual" creatures.

Heimdall said:
"Buddhists don't believe in good and evil" (Then why are some actions good karma and some actions bad karma? Also, would it be wrong to inhibit the Dharma?)

Malcolm wrote:
Buddhists accept karma and its results.

Heimdall said:
"The Buddha was just a man" (...I don't think this is correct at all)

Malcolm wrote:
The Buddha was an extraordinary human being.

Heimdall said:
"The Buddha on his death bed told us to find the truth by ourselves; therefore, we shouldn't have to find a spiritual teacher, and we should be able to figure out the truth for ourselves" (Then why did the Buddhist disciples establish a Sangha, and teach that starting a schism in the Sangha is a "surefire" way to end up in the Hell realms - I think this is completely misunderstood)?

Malcolm wrote:
Yeah, no. This is not true. It is true Buddha did not appoint an heir. He told his senior disciples that the dharma was to be their teacher. He clearly did not mean that we were to dispense with teachers after he departed.

Heimdall said:
"Buddhists don't believe in converting others, and imposing your views on others (But isn't the preaching of the Dharma an act of good karma, as is the same of converting others?)

Malcolm wrote:
Most  Buddhists think that conversion is pointless. If you have developed the roots of virtue in past lives, this is shown by meeting the dharma in this life.


Heimdall said:
"Buddhism isn't a 'Faith-based religion' - in fact, it's an empirical, knowledge based religion that science supports" (Even though Faith in the Dharma is an act of good karma, and institutional science has different philosophical assumptions than Buddhism - so the two can't be completely compatible [i.e., science is logically positive / materialist, while Buddhism is not].

Malcolm wrote:
Buddhism is a religion, with nonfalsifiable beliefs, such as karma, rebirth, and so on.


Heimdall said:
"Buddhism isn't as sexually restrictive as Catholicism" (even though masturbation of all forms is seen as "sexual misconduct", the Dalai Llama (and many other historical Buddhist teachers) interpret this to mean all non pro-creative forms of sex, and I don't see how Tinder hookups aren't viewed as selfish, "tanha" actions - not to mention mere sex as a Buddhist monk is usually enough to get you defrocked).

Malcolm wrote:
That depends on the local culture.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 2:27 AM
Title: Re: Scientific study on brain activity of practitioners in tukdam
Content:



Johnny Dangerous said:
So this seems like a strange study, because they are not actually claiming to find the state, what they are saying (seemingly) is that they accept the state already exists, and that this or that outcome of brain imaging, EEG etc. is a result of that state.

Malcolm wrote:
One of leads on the study was Daniel P. Brown, so it is not surprising at all. And, three of the others are at the Center for Mindfulness.

Poppy L.A. Schoenberg
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Center for Mindfulness, Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Shrewsbury, MA, USA

Andrea Ruf
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Center for Mindfulness, Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Shrewsbury, MA, USA

Judson A. Brewer
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Center for Mindfulness, Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Shrewsbury, MA, USA


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 2:12 AM
Title: Re: Achi Chokyi Drolma Yidam
Content:


fckw said:
And yet the same sadhana text exposes the same letters to all practitioners without the slightest individual adaptations!

So, who is then right: The teacher who provides individualized explanations, or the sadhana text that does not?

Malcolm wrote:
The teacher, of course.

fckw said:
Of course. But why then do people in this forum (including me) so much enjoy bashing other teachers who have views diverging from the ones by one's own teacher?

Malcolm wrote:
Self-righteousness, attachment to views, sectarianism, and general affliction masking as "concern." We see it all the time.

fckw said:
I mean, shouldn't they know that every teacher simply provides individualized explanations according to his/her own view, and must be right according to your statement?

Malcolm wrote:
In Vajrayāna practice, there are four authorities, not only one: guru, scripture, intimate instruction, and experience. They must reinforce each other and not contradict each other.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 1:39 AM
Title: Re: Scientific study on brain activity of practitioners in tukdam
Content:
fckw said:
In ancient India a mantra was believed by many to be able to kill someone. Current post-modernists generally don't believe that.

Malcolm wrote:
Nevertheless, it happens, whether they believe it or not.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 1:37 AM
Title: Re: Scientific study on brain activity of practitioners in tukdam
Content:
fckw said:
By the way, there is a deeper reason why I keep asking these questions. This is quite a personal one, and has little to do with the subject of discussion. I have had the suspicion for quite a few years now that Vajrayana (as well as other ancient wisdom traditions from Asia) are subject to an insufficient differentiation of subjective and objective world phenomena. The two are not clearly distinguished.

Malcolm wrote:
That's because the distinction is ultimately quite arbitrary.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 1:19 AM
Title: Re: Scientific study on brain activity of practitioners in tukdam
Content:


fckw said:
That's a fair statement - in this case it's simply not accessible to Western science. As I said: The entire approach can rightfully be called "scientific" in its own way. As you express: Do the practice, get the results, see for yourself. However, it also means in reverse that the idea of bodies not decomposing à la tukdam must be put ad acta as fairy tales. (The corresponding science is still outstanding, though.) Tukdam, according to this logic, is ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY an "inner" phenomenon, whatever that may mean in detail.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, no. There are recorded  cases of practitioners like Sangye Tenzin, a Sakya Lama, who remained in Thukdam for 9 days:

https://sakyagurudarjeeling.wordpress.com/rinpoches/people/

And there are external signs when Thukdam is finished.

fckw said:
Did the standards applied by those observing tukdam's outer signs satisfy the standards commonly held by "Western" science? I have often heard such claims, but never seen any reliable proof, as in nearly all cases those involved in the situation and making both observations and statements about the post-mortem state commonly cannot be called unbiased, given the usually shared history they have with the deceased person.

Malcolm wrote:
People have been observing thukdam for more than 2000 years in all Buddhist schools.

Anyway, from last year:

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/schools/tibetan-scholar-in-rare-meditative-state-after-death-128361

fckw said:
On examination, it revealed the blood pressure of the body to be at 86, quite close to a living human, the CTA said.

Additionally, the suppleness of the skin, the apparently undecomposed state of the internal organs, the facial glow and warmth was noted under close examination.

It was supplemented by an examination of the neural activity of the brain of the deceased on July 28 and August 1 by a Taiwan University's psychology professor and his assistants who noted significant activity

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/tibetan-monk-shows-no-signs-of-decay-26-days-after-clinical-death

fckw said:
The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) reports that Geshe Tenpa Gyaltsen, a Buddhist scholar at Gaden Jangtse Monastery in southern India, who was declared dead some 26 days ago, has shown no signs of physical decay or decomposition. It is believed that the monk has entered a rare tantric meditative state known as thukdam (Tib: ཐུགས་དམ་).

The thukdam state, which has been observed in a number of advanced tantric practitioners in recent years, is a meditative condition in which the individual’s consciousness is believed to remain in the body despite and beyond physical death. This is believed to posptpone the usual signs of decay. Tibetan Buddhist literature describes a glow on the face and warmth in the body of the deceased, making them appear to be alive.

The Tibetan term thukdam is a combination of “thuk,” meaning mind, and “dam,” referring to the meditative state of samadhi or concentration. As recently reported, scientific studies of this state are underway. Most recently in August, the Taiwan-based Tibetan Buddhist monk and scholar Geshe Jampa Gyatso entered the state. Thereafter his body was observed by scientists from Academia Sinica, the pre-eminent academic research institution in Taiwan.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2021 at 12:51 AM
Title: Re: Scientific study on brain activity of practitioners in tukdam
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
I was referring only to Western science. It certainly falsifiable in Vajrayāna. Do the practice, get the result. Many people have done so, and reported they have attained the results. When people do not get results, they are practicing incorrectly.

fckw said:
That's a fair statement - in this case it's simply not accessible to Western science. As I said: The entire approach can rightfully be called "scientific" in its own way. As you express: Do the practice, get the results, see for yourself. However, it also means in reverse that the idea of bodies not decomposing à la tukdam must be put ad acta as fairy tales. (The corresponding science is still outstanding, though.) Tukdam, according to this logic, is ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY an "inner" phenomenon, whatever that may mean in detail.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, no. There are recorded  cases of practitioners like Sangye Tenzin, a Sakya Lama, who remained in Thukdam for 9 days:

https://sakyagurudarjeeling.wordpress.com/rinpoches/people/

And there are external signs when Thukdam is finished.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 10th, 2021 at 11:24 PM
Title: Re: Fake monk called out, made to remove robes on streets of London
Content:
SilenceMonkey said:
But I do think the Dharma is as important to protect as Democracy.

And of course this begs the question... How much of a threat are panhandlers in Buddhist robes, really?

Malcolm wrote:
The only way to protect Dharma is to practice Dharma.

If panhandlers in Buddhist robes were really a threat to the Dharma, the Dharma would have vanished more than 2000 years ago. There are have been imposter monks for as long as there has been a real Buddhist sangha.

No, far more dangerous to the Dharma than beggars wearing religious clothes panhandling in the streets are corrupt bhikṣus, whose only discipline is wearing robes without maintaining the vows they represent, while they collect money from naive devotees for their various monastery projects.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 10th, 2021 at 8:38 PM
Title: Re: Fake monk called out, made to remove robes on streets of London
Content:
Taikor.Taikun said:
To some Buddhists, they feel obligated to protect the Dharma, the monastery, the Sangha, every images n names of the Buddhas n Bodhisattvas.

Malcolm wrote:
Verbally assaulting people in public is just rude, and possibly illegal, no matter what one's reasons may be.

SilenceMonkey said:
Depends on the extent of the harm they've caused. If there is a cult leader brainwashing people and taking their money, I think behavior like hers would be warranted. Less than that, some fake tulku going around cheating people out of their money may also justify such verbal abuse. Fake monks on the street asking for money peacefully... maybe not. But if anyone was going to talk sense into them, it might be people like our chinese lady here.

Malcolm wrote:
Where I come from, people have a right to dress however they like, for whatever reason. And it is still assault, and it is still unlawful behavior.

SilenceMonkey said:
Looking from another angle... If you wanted a fake monk or fake lama to stop deceiving people, how would you get them to stop? Would you stand there all day with them, holding a sign saying "Don't give him money. He's fake."? Wouldn't last very long...

Malcolm wrote:
The only thing one can do is pass laws against panhandling.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 10th, 2021 at 8:29 PM
Title: Re: Help from Tara
Content:
karmadhatu said:
Hii dharma friends

thank you very much for all answers, I really appreciate it. Yes, my main point is to find  girlfriend who is dharma practicioner and I really believe that this can improve my practise, and also her:-) But I also think that is better to be alone then to have girlfriend without interest about dharma. Yes, I think that Tara maybe not bring me a girlfriend directly:-) but she can make circumstances for finding her, she give blessing zo find her more easy way then normal
So again thank much to all your answers

Malcolm wrote:
Well, then you will have to go to where the Buddhist girls are...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 10th, 2021 at 9:55 AM
Title: Re: If you sincerely want to 'dive deep' into the Saṁdhinirmocana Sūtra
Content:
Leo Rivers said:
I am glad Googling 84000 got me to the reference!

As to "the many places Powers made errors", I would like to know wither the erors changes the outcome of his diverse arguements, [especially as regarding the 'pivot' or 'progressive' model of transformation],or if just his  'making errors' means he ought be taken out with the trash.

Malcolm wrote:
Some of the errors are substantive. I am not saying Powers’ contribution isn’t important. But all translations are subject to improvement. I’ve always said this. Also, Gregory Forgues’ introduction is quite excellent and well written.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 10th, 2021 at 9:26 AM
Title: Re: What happens to the Mandala in case of heart transplantation?
Content:
Vajrasambhava said:
I congratulated Malcolm for his way to write it down so clear and strong, that's all

Malcolm wrote:
Thank you.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 10th, 2021 at 5:31 AM
Title: Re: What happens to the Mandala in case of heart transplantation?
Content:


Josef said:
The channels are not physical in the sense of being a part of the gross anatomical structure of the body but they are "embodied" as light, and are the support for the development of our physical form.

Malcolm wrote:
Nah, they are actually just the nerves, arteries, blood vessels, lymphatic system, and other passageways of the body, spoken of in a concealed way in the tantras. "Light" is not a sixth element.

Jangchup Donden said:
So then what is light? Some combination of fire and air?

Malcolm wrote:
Ordinary light is a product of either combustion or chemical reaction (fire flies), etc.

When we practice a deity, we imagine that it is in the form of light, but this light is the light of consciousness. We use visualizations to manipulate our physical body to produce various results, to experience various kinds of bliss, overcome illnesses, and so on. Sentient beings are composed of six things: earth, water, fire, air, space, and consciousness. Apart from these six dhātus, there is nothing else out of which sentient being is formed. It's pretty simple.

When one becomes accustomed the Buddhist view of the elements as well as the formation of the body, then much speculation vanishes.

If someone holds that there are no physical correlates to nāḍīs, vāyus, and bindus, then they must admit such visualizations are entirely imaginary and have no basis in conventional reality and no effect on the body.

Not only does such an assertion harm the basis of Vajrayāna teachings in general, it harms Dzogchen teachings as well. People who maintain such a view and call their practice "mahāmudra" or "atiyoga" are just practicing sutrayāna śamatha and vipaśayanā, which of course have no profound methods connected with the body. It is a farce to then discuss the harm to the body maṇḍala which may be entailed by surgery, suicide, and so on, since such a maṇḍala will also be just an imaginary conceptual construct.

Certainly someone might decide that this presentation of the universe is medieval, does not correspond with scientific materialism and so on. That's perfectly fine. But then it does not make much sense for them to engage in the creation stage and completion stage, ganacakras to please imaginary ḍākinīs, torma offerings to imaginary dharmapālas, and so on, nor to engage in the practice of caṇḍḹī yoga, karmamudra, and so on, much less trekcho and thogal.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 10th, 2021 at 4:53 AM
Title: Re: If you sincerely want to 'dive deep' into the Saṁdhinirmocana Sūtra
Content:
Leo Rivers said:
If you sincerely want to 'dive deep' into the  Saṁdhinirmocana Sūtra I recommend these works by John Powers in this order...

Malcolm wrote:
Then one needs to read the new translation at 84000, where the translator shows the many cases where Powers made errors.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 10th, 2021 at 3:06 AM
Title: Re: I'm back
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, August 10th, 2021 at 2:54 AM
Title: Re: Help from Tara
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
Why would Tārā, she who protects from eight fears, ever wish the suffering of change upon anyone? In any case it is a misuse of the teachings. Falls under, "If one is attached to this life, one is not a dharma practitioner."

xabir said:
Makes sense, but how should this be interpreted:

1.­27
This will dispel the heap of suffering
Inflicted by grahas, infectious diseases, and poisons,
Even in other beings.
If chanted twice, thrice, or seven times, 1.­28
Those who want children will come to have them,
Those who seek wealth will come to have that,
Each and every wish will be fulfilled,
And obstacles, entirely vanquished, will be no more.
1.­29

This completes the praise to the Blessed Tārā as spoken by the completely perfect Buddha.

Malcolm wrote:
As long as these aspirations are based on one's wish to practice dharma and support dharma, then no problem.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 9th, 2021 at 11:59 PM
Title: Re: Help from Tara
Content:


Minobu said:
, "If one is attached to this life, one is not a dharma practitioner."
also how does one who is attached to this life ....do dharma practice then...

Malcolm wrote:
Reflect on the certainty of death and the uncertainty of when it will happen, and the recognition that at death one can take nothing other than Dharma practice into the next life. This way, the dharma actually becomes the dharma.

And no, Tāra is not going to find any one a girlfriend or a boyfriend. That's just ridiculous.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 9th, 2021 at 10:48 PM
Title: Re: Bitcoin
Content:
cky said:
Try to step back from the "currency" idea for a moment and replace it with the concept of a simple asset or commodity, maybe like a piece of art, antiques, etc.

Malcolm wrote:
Bitcoin is definitely an antique among crypto currencies.

cky said:
Needs to be backed by a nation state?
No. It's simply barter trade if you will, currency is exchanged for the right to move a certain amount of digital data from place A to place B. That's all.

Malcolm wrote:
So, you are saying that bitcoin, or cryptocurrencies need actual currencies in order to be of value. And those currencies maintain their value because of confidence the market has in central banks. Hence, cryptocurrencies do depend on the present system of fiat currency.


cky said:
No utility?
Try sending your aunt in South Africa a few dollars. See how long it takes. Now try it with Bitcoin.

Malcolm wrote:
Umm, dude, paypal, xoom, western union, etc., all much easier and far more secure.


cky said:
Crash is coming?
People have been saying this since Bitcoin was at $5. It's getting old. We're at $40,000. Institutional investors are trading it. Young people put it into their investment portfolios. It's volatile for sure, but so far, long-term investment has paid off quite well.

Malcolm wrote:
Tulip Mania—single bulbs were being sold for the equivalent of 2.6 million dollars (3000 guilders) in today's money and more.

Sheep Mania—a single merino sheep in the US in 1807 cost $23,221 in today's money ($1000). By 1809, the price had crashed to ten percent of that number.

Some people made money, most people lost money—that is how it goes with speculative "investments."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 9th, 2021 at 10:01 PM
Title: Re: Help from Tara
Content:
Schrödinger’s Yidam said:
In Bokar Rinpoche’s book on Tara (“Tara the Feminine Devine”) he says that she’s okay with worldly requests. Helping with those types of requests can lead a person to making more meaningful requests, such as for Dharma.

He also says that since we see life dualistically she looks like a deity to us. However since she sees things as non-duality she knows she’s no different than our own mind.

I like that way of putting it.

Malcolm wrote:
Still not going to get this person a girlfriend.

Schrödinger’s Yidam said:
Oh ye of little faith.

Malcolm wrote:
Why would Tārā, she who protects from eight fears, ever wish the suffering of change upon anyone? In any case it is a misuse of the teachings. Falls under, "If one is attached to this life, one is not a dharma practitioner."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 9th, 2021 at 9:09 PM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:
Queequeg said:
So, how long before the Chinese give it a try?

Malcolm wrote:
Ten years.

Queequeg said:
It will be part of their Belt and Road initiative.

Malcolm wrote:
Until the Taliban decides they are being ripped off by the Chinese, and that won't take long at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 9th, 2021 at 9:05 PM
Title: Re: Anti-vaxx sentiment in western sanghas
Content:


Archie2009 said:
I think you'd be an idiot not to get the vaccine.

Malcolm wrote:
Seconded. The heart inflammation issue is a rare, and thankfully, very short term sequela of the mRNA vaccines.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 9th, 2021 at 7:22 PM
Title: Re: Anti-vaxx sentiment in western sanghas
Content:
MiphamFan said:
Wait for Novavax or worst case take Sinopharm or one of the inactivated virus vaccines

Much much milder side effects for both as far as I've seen.

Adenovirus vectors seem worse than mRNA.

Malcolm wrote:
Had Pfizer, zero side effects.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 9th, 2021 at 10:34 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Queequeg said:
Anti-Western is underselling it. These people want to convert the world by the sword. Anyone not with them is against them.

Malcolm wrote:
Nah, they just want to be left alone in their medieval world. They've been invaded again and again, and the same thing happens every time: empires die, and they continue.

Queequeg said:
That sounds about right, actually.

So, how long before the Chinese give it a try?

Malcolm wrote:
Ten years.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 9th, 2021 at 10:33 AM
Title: Re: Help from Tara
Content:
Schrödinger’s Yidam said:
In Bokar Rinpoche’s book on Tara (“Tara the Feminine Devine”) he says that she’s okay with worldly requests. Helping with those types of requests can lead a person to making more meaningful requests, such as for Dharma.

He also says that since we see life dualistically she looks like a deity to us. However since she sees things as non-duality she knows she’s no different than our own mind.

I like that way of putting it.

Malcolm wrote:
Still not going to get this person a girlfriend.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 9th, 2021 at 10:32 AM
Title: Re: Anti-vaxx sentiment in western sanghas
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Flu does not overwhelm hospitals.


Johnny Dangerous said:
It is you choosing to put them at greater risk of the virus, and greatly increasing the risk of them getting it, depending on behavior and circumstance. -You- are morally culpable for that, particularly if you are somewhere that people have to be - let's a say grocery store -, and you are walking around with no protection at all, yet insisting that you don't need to take any mitigation measures.

shoewy said:
Personally I am still undecided as to whether or not I am taking the vaccin or gene therapy depending on who you ask. I have a 'heart condition' and I simply find the evidence to be insufficient at this point regarding long term effects on the heart and overall impact. Of course the same could be said of Covid itself. To be honest I often find the confidence on both sides questionable. I have the good fortune to be able to do nearly everything I want to do from home so I am in a position to manage risk more than your average person.

However I would like to delve a little depper into your statement regarding being 'morally culpable'. Firstly would you equate morally culpable to generating bad karma in this example? In my country we don't have to wear masks anymore, even in grocery stores, and practically nobody does. Everybody here has the option to get vaccinated and therefore if they wanted to they are 'protected' from the virus. You could make the same argument here that when I go grocery shopping without being vaccinated and without wearing a mask that there is a risk of spreading the disease so would I be morally culpable in this case or generating bad karma?

Or would you view it differently in my case because of the social acceptance and consensus regarding mitigating measures and the fact that everybody has access to the vaccine? The latter seems to me to be of particular importance, also in relation to your remark regarding the subordination of their rights to your own.

I would also be interested to know where you draw the line if at all in comparison to the flu phenomenon. If you don't fair enough. If you do is it the nature of the virus itself whether it be mortality or morbidity or is it more concerning the second order effects? I am more so asking in relation to the current state of affairs and less so the period of the initial forced lockdowns due to icu's being overflooded and lack of understanding regarding the virus itself.

The herd immunity is a bit of a strange one for me. It's a virus with a very low mortality and the danger overwhelmingly pertains to specific vulnerable groups for which, at least in my country, there is now a vaccine available and basically everybody else who deems it necessary. You could argue that there remains a higher chance to contract the virus if one was to come in contact with someone that is unvaccinated and perhaps a very slight chance they would get subsequent complications from that but at that point we are dealing with percentages that are most likely equal if not less then a normal flu especially regarding mortality and morbidity so again where do you draw the line at that point?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 9th, 2021 at 7:17 AM
Title: Re: I'm back
Content:
DGA said:
Hi Everyone,

I was pretty active at DharmaWheel for a long time, and then I wasn't for a couple years. But I think I'm back again?  What am I doing?

I'm thankful DharmaWheel is here and I'm happy to be participating

Malcolm wrote:
That wears off…welcome back, I think?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, August 9th, 2021 at 3:39 AM
Title: Re: Taliban - Split from: Prayer for Afghanistan
Content:


Queequeg said:
Anti-Western is underselling it. These people want to convert the world by the sword. Anyone not with them is against them.

Malcolm wrote:
Nah, they just want to be left alone in their medieval world. They've been invaded again and again, and the same thing happens every time: empires die, and they continue.


