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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!

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  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    ..." I caught the sun setting".... How naughty of it. Was it doing it surreptitiously....? :p

    Besides, I think strictly speaking, you'll find it was actually the horizon, rising. But it does take the romanticism and poetry out of it....

    Bunks
  • ShimShim Veteran

    I used to be a TNH enthusiast. Not anymore. But just today I noticed that the library of my university has loads of his works as ebooks. I'm not entirely sure whether I should be happy or not that I didn't discover this a couple of years ago... (It is quite difficult to find Buddhist books in my country so this really is kind of weird.)

  • HozanHozan Veteran

    @Shim said:
    I used to be a TNH enthusiast. Not anymore. But just today I noticed that the library of my university has loads of his works as ebooks. I'm not entirely sure whether I should be happy or not that I didn't discover this a couple of years ago... (It is quite difficult to find Buddhist books in my country so this really is kind of weird.)

    Why not a TNH enthusiast anymore?

  • ShimShim Veteran

    @Hozan said:

    @Shim said:
    I used to be a TNH enthusiast. Not anymore. But just today I noticed that the library of my university has loads of his works as ebooks. I'm not entirely sure whether I should be happy or not that I didn't discover this a couple of years ago... (It is quite difficult to find Buddhist books in my country so this really is kind of weird.)

    Why not a TNH enthusiast anymore?

    Just didn't "click" with his style even though I tried for a couple of years. I have nothing against the guy himself and sometimes read a line or too from him but using his teachings as a main source didn't work for me.

    Hozan
  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    I adore Thich Nhat Hanh <3
    I feel that he and Pema Chödrön make Buddhism so simple and approachable to the layman.
    I have never approached a new book by them that I did not fall in love with.
    I feel an instant click of realization... ?

    HozanShoshin
  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    edited May 2017

    I lost my enthusiasm for TNH after going to one of his rallies and seeing the conditition of the monks he travelled with. Just so you know - very kind and force for good he no doubt is ... o:)

    He talks the talk immaculately, he walks the path to perfection, blindly. The sooner he wakes up the better for his many outstanding enterprises and kind hearted students.

    Leaving it late TNH ... ?

  • HozanHozan Veteran

    What do you mean by the condition of the monks he travelled with @lobster . I dont understand ??

  • lobsterlobster Veteran

    None of the monks or TNH were enlightened. That TNH is inspirational, that his books are excellent and his sentiments and force for social good are beyond reproach. A good man. A good examplar. An extrordinary force for good in the world.

    However that is not sufficient @Hozan. Buddhism is more than social reform.

    The blind leading the blind is only partial dharma.

    Shim
  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    We're all human, @lobster.
    Thay, the man, may not be to everyone's liking, but I find his teachings impeccable.
    Same with Chogyam Trungpa.
    Enlightenment sounds like a cinch when you read their books... ???

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    @DhammaDragon said:
    We're all human, @lobster.
    Thay, the man, may not be to everyone's liking, but I find his teachings impeccable.
    Same with Chogyam Trungpa.
    Enlightenment sounds like a cinch when you read their books... ???

    I think that's precisely what @Lobster means.... if he has so many close and devoted followers, treading in his very footsteps, hanging on his every word - how come none of those devoted disciples are enlightened...?

    lobster
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    I had just been in Auckland all day attending a workshop, when arriving back at Mataitai (the island's passenger ferry terminal) there were a couple of stingrays hunting around the pier, however I only saw the one ....A nice way to end a busy day :)

    You can just make out the dark shadow heading towards the white swan....

    lobsterBuddhadragonHozan
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Was it on the hunt...? The swan got out of the way pdq....

  • lobsterlobster Veteran

    @federica said:
    I think that's precisely what @Lobster means.... if he has so many close and devoted followers, treading in his very footsteps, hanging on his every word - how come none of those devoted disciples are enlightened...?

    Exactly so.
    I like Thay the man very much. I feel his good behavour is outstanding. People here have been inspired towards the path of awakening according to them by amongst other things:

    • LSD
    • Abusive cult leaders eg. Osho
    • Sexual predators eg. Trungpa or Sogyal Rinpoche

    Thay is much better as an examplar because he is transmitting ethical and virtuous behavour.

    I was inspired by a street light. However that does not mean street lights make good teachers. It means, when the student is ready, they can learn DESPITE not because of a trigger ... LSD and mind distorters are not teachers of dharma. Teachers responsible for deaths or students in therapy are not to be recommended, obviously.

    Thay is recommended as a good source of wisdom, preparation, grounding etc.

    Hope that is clearer. :)

    BuddhadragonHozan
  • HozanHozan Veteran

    @lobster said:
    None of the monks or TNH were enlightened. That TNH is inspirational, that his books are excellent and his sentiments and force for social good are beyond reproach. A good man. A good examplar. An extrordinary force for good in the world.

    However that is not sufficient @Hozan. Buddhism is more than social reform.

    The blind leading the blind is only partial dharma.

    Just curious how you could tell neither TNH or his monks were not enlightened. Not doubting you at all @lobster just curious as to how you knew

    Buddhadragon
  • silversilver In the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded. USA, Left coast. Veteran

    @Hozan said:

    @lobster said:
    None of the monks or TNH were enlightened. That TNH is inspirational, that his books are excellent and his sentiments and force for social good are beyond reproach. A good man. A good examplar. An extrordinary force for good in the world.

    However that is not sufficient @Hozan. Buddhism is more than social reform.

    The blind leading the blind is only partial dharma.

    Just curious how you could tell neither TNH or his monks were not enlightened. Not doubting you at all @lobster just curious as to how you knew

    I wondered the same - From where I'm standing, it looks like some 'know' by just looking at them...no explanation as to how they know. Just curious. (Even if it takes a while to explain, we've got the time.)
    :chuffed:

    Buddhadragon
  • HozanHozan Veteran

    How could you tell by just looking? Not sure I buy that. Anybody enlightened isnt going to be advertising it or singing it from the treetops

  • silversilver In the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded. USA, Left coast. Veteran

    Some of the non-duality boards I visit even argue if enlightenment even exists - or is important. I think enlightenment could be measured, but how does one gauge it?

    Buddhadragon
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    On here, that's my job. And no, I'm not going to tell you how I do it.... :p

    HozanBunkssilver
  • HozanHozan Veteran
    edited May 2017

    I think if we are saying that somebody isnt enlightened we should back up your opinion with your reasoning. @lobster you may be perfectly correct but let us in on your reasoning if you will good sir

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    "To be Enlightened or not to be Enlightened (Who decides ???)"
    Um sounds like a good thread starter :)

    BuddhadragonHozanlobstersilver
  • HozanHozan Veteran

    @lobster have you gone into hiding good sir? :awesome:

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    good sir has. And good sir might be a good lady, for all anyone knows....

    Hozan
  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    If enlightened followers are the litmus test for a teacher's value, then they all fail, and we'd better not read any books anymore...

    Hozansilver
  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    edited May 2017

    @silver said:
    I wondered the same - From where I'm standing, it looks like some 'know' by just looking at them...no explanation as to how they know. Just curious. (Even if it takes a while to explain, we've got the time.)

    Glad you have the time ... and patience ... B) So in time, when the time is right we can return to an explanation of 'just knowing' and its dependence on our inner clarity ...
    http://www.alanpeto.com/buddhism/understanding-enlightenment/

    ... and now back to the random and useless ...

    Hozan
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    Being able to tell whether someone is enlightened is just a question of insight into presence, it's an intuitive thing, like smelling a perfume but then in the mind, a kind of clarity that occurs in their presence. Or at least, that's what it was like with Osho. (And btw, I don't label him as abusive, though I've read the criticism of some of his actions.)

    There are a lot of people who exhibit the signs of enlightenment who show some character flaws, like Eckhart Tolle's practice of charging an arm and a leg for his online talks. But in my experience you just can't tell for sure unless you see them in the flesh, and even then you have to connect with them, letting them into your space.

    Christopher Hitchens once came to see Osho in India. Apparently he felt nothing, made up his mind in seconds, and spent the majority of his time there in his hotel room drinking whiskey. He was closed to the phenomenon going on around him.

  • HozanHozan Veteran
    edited May 2017

    @lobster said:

    @silver said:
    I wondered the same - From where I'm standing, it looks like some 'know' by just looking at them...no explanation as to how they know. Just curious. (Even if it takes a while to explain, we've got the time.)

    Glad you have the time ... and patience ... B) So in time, when the time is right we can return to an explanation of 'just knowing' and its dependence on our inner clarity ...
    http://www.alanpeto.com/buddhism/understanding-enlightenment/

    ... and now back to the random and useless ...

    So in time when the time is right.....hmmmmm
    No time like the present!

  • HozanHozan Veteran
    edited May 2017

    https://www.budakoda.ee/en/a-selection-of-articles-by-vaddhaka/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-enlightened/

    According to this an unenlightened person cannot tell if another is enlightened or not..

  • HozanHozan Veteran

    One of my favourite Twin Peaks moments

  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    Whatever: I have come across many a wonderful teacher in my life, even if they could not be said to be enlightened.

    When we live with a student attitude, everything in life teaches us something??❤️ 

    JeroenHozanShoshinlobster
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    This morning just as I was about to begin meditation (and welcoming the dawn) two satellites moved across the dark and starry sky...

    At first i thought shooting stars, but they were travelling slow and not leaving any trails ....

    Or perhaps they were ETs in their flying saucers, mapping out the earth for their planned invasion .... :winky:

    BunksWalkerHozanlobster
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Hey you people in the Northern hemisphere (Well some of you anyway) ... are you looking at the same sun as I am right NOW ? ( a building is actually blocking my view but it's up there :) )

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited June 2017

    @Shoshin said:
    This morning just as I was about to begin meditation (and welcoming the dawn) two satellites moved across the dark and starry sky...

    At first i thought shooting stars, but they were travelling slow and not leaving any trails ....

    Or perhaps they were ETs in their flying saucers, mapping out the earth for their planned invasion .... :winky:

    I have a theory.
    I have a Sat-Nav, the voice of which is that of a well-spoken, clearly-enunciating female.

    Now, Sat-Nav is short for 'Satellite Navigation (system)'.

    I have a vision of a middle-aged to elderly spinster, dressed in tweeds, support hose, and comfortable slippers, sitting in an armchair, in this satellite orbiting the planet at some stratospheric height; she is also equipped with a massively-strong pair of binoculars and the A-Z map of the British Isles, watching my progress from a great height, and reading me the directions from the road map book on her lap, while dunking her Milk Chocolate digestives in her cup of tea, her cat on her lap. (Well, it gets lonely up there; it's for companionship.)
    Her name is Doris. She's awfully nice.

    I daresay she was waving at you, @Shoshin , but unless your sat-nav was switched on , you probably wouldn't have heard her greeting.....

    ZenshinBunks
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran

    @Shoshin said:
    This morning just as I was about to begin meditation (and welcoming the dawn) two satellites moved across the dark and starry sky...

    At first i thought shooting stars, but they were travelling slow and not leaving any trails ....

    Or perhaps they were ETs in their flying saucers, mapping out the earth for their planned invasion .... :winky:

    There is all kinds of stuff up there, lots of satellites, International Space Station, etc. I have seen some weird things but haven't been abducted recently. :p

    Shoshin
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Well the power went off this morning around 9am and came back on at 5pm... Linesmen were putting up half a dozen new pylons along the street...

    It was one of my days off today...well apart from an hour or so where I had to go with one of my clients to a local government department...

    However, I was fortunate enough to have had my shower, before the power went off...
    It can be quite awkward with conditioner or shampoo in ones hair or body all soaped up ready to rise when the power goes off, and the electric water pump stops :) I've been caught out on more that one occasion....

    How's that for a useless announcement :winky:

    BuddhadragonBunkslobster
  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    @Shoshin said:
    However, I was fortunate enough to have had my shower, before the power went off...
    It can be quite awkward with conditioner or shampoo in ones hair or body all soaped up ready to rise when the power goes off, and the electric water pump stops :) I've been caught out on more that one occasion....

    This is probably one of us women's worst nightmares...
    O.o

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    @DhammaDragon said:

    This is probably one of us women's worst nightmares...
    O.o

    True :) If there's still some warm water in the jug then it's a quick mandi (In Malaysia we used to have a mandi... it's where you pours water over yourself, then soap up and then pour over more water to rise, using a bucket and a large scoop )

  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    I have this gorgeous pitcher from my great-grandmother, @Shoshin.
    But I can't imagine replacing this with our good old shower any time...

    HozanBunksShoshin
  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    Margaret Blatch, was a writer who back in 1917 published a book that served as inspiration for famous British vegetarian cook Rose Elliot.
    I used it a lot in my vegetarian days, though the imperial measures drove me nuts...

    HozanShoshinlobsterBunks
  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    Today I visited the doctor for a check-up of sorts, since my heart has had an odd arrythmia the past two weeks.

    The verdict is what I feared: that despite my mostly healthy lifestyle, my genetic heritage has set the dice against me and I will have to get treated for hypertension with medication for life.

    Though all my life my tension was alarmingly low, both my parents suffer from hypertension.
    So, given my family history, I had always been warned that my tension would climb with the pass of time.

    It happened.
    The monster is here.
    And my yoga postures will be limited, I will have to check my salt intake, take pills for the rest of my life...
    Some dukkha to grapple with...

  • HozanHozan Veteran
    edited June 2017

    @DhammaDragon said:
    Today I visited the doctor for a check-up of sorts, since my heart has had an odd arrythmia the past two weeks.

    The verdict is what I feared: that despite my mostly healthy lifestyle, my genetic heritage has set the dice against me and I will have to get treated for hypertension with medication for life.

    Though all my life my tension was alarmingly low, both my parents suffer from hypertension.
    So, given my family history, I had always been warned that my tension would climb with the pass of time.

    It happened.
    The monster is here.
    And my yoga postures will be limited, I will have to check my salt intake, take pills for the rest of my life...
    Some dukkha to grapple with...

    Much metta to you @DhammaDragon .
    I am not happy to hear of your situation but I am happy to hear it has been diagnosed. I am glad you had symptoms which led to this check up. Undiagnosed hypertension can have several major risks over time but once diagnosed can be very effectively treated nullifying those risks. I know this means making changes to your lifestyle that you weren't expecting and mightnt be welcome but I am so glad it was found so that the hypertension can be treated and the associated risks eliminated.
    Have you asked your gp to do a full 24 hour blood pressure test ?. I did this before. Over 24 hours things like "white coat syndrome" or temporary fluctuations can be ruled out.

    Much Metta
    Hozan ??❤❤

    Buddhadragon
  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    edited June 2017

    Sorry to hear that @DhammaDragon
    I get tension just from life, it might be to do with the nature of existence ?

    Will you being going full-dude?
    http://dudeism.com/whatisdudeism/

    BuddhadragonHozan
  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran
    edited June 2017

    Thank you, @lobster.
    I am mostly a Buddhist Taoist spawn, with some je-m'en-fous and me-ne-frego added to it, but I guess I could go by the dude label too.
    Unless dudes are too nice, since nice I am not.

    Well, @Hozan, I have a test scheduled which consists in carrying a blood measurement gadget for 24 hours to see if my blood pressure is consistently high.
    I guess that is what you mean.
    Only then will the doctor decide if I have to be treated with medication.
    Except that given today's measurements, the doctor is positive that this will be the way to go.
    And honestly, the fact that I will be doing the test in three weeks, makes me feel like ticking bomb.

    Hozan
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran
    edited June 2017

    @DhammaDragon

    Judging by your posts, you seem to be a person who lives the Dharma, a diligent practitioner, so I'm sure this new behaviour pattern to your life style will soon be adopted, ( we are creatures of habit ) after which you will carry on as 'normal'... (Normality, like all things, is subject to change...One could say normality itself is change )

    The initial shock will pass and fade into the past....

    In other words, keep this in mind ...

    "This too shall pass"

    Stay well and ....May you have a speedy realisation.....

    Metta <3

    BuddhadragonVastmind
  • HozanHozan Veteran

    @DhammaDragon that 24 hour test is the one I was referring to and its pretty definitive.

    Much Metta to you
    ❤❤❤❤❤

  • lobsterlobster Veteran

    Yesterday unusually, I went for a walk before meditating. It was 4 AM so planned catching a bus but the stops were already being populated and the buses infrequent. Found a more deserted route ... Strangely some trees had dropped branches on paths. Some were moveable, allowing morning cyclists access when they pedalled by ...

    A day like no other...Nothing special :)

    ShoshinHozan
  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    ^^^Thank you, @Shoshin <3

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited June 2017

    Study the Low-Carb, High Fat thread, @DhammaDragon.
    You will find that for the most part, current advice to patients regarding blood pressure and salt/fat intake is seriously, disastrously flawed.
    Before you start taking pills (which will drag you down the route of unwanted side effects, gradually increased doses and medical complications requiring OTHER pills) please, please PLEASE - See the thread, watch the videos, read the articles and educate yourself, in order to ward off unnecessary Suffering.

    And I mean that in every sense imaginable.

    My H and I are set on eating in a way neither he nor I imagined we ever would be.
    He has lost three stone, and is no longer diabetic.
    I have lost two, and all by going totally against current dietary and medical suggestions...

    And we eat a lot of salt.
    And I too, through my father, have family history of HBP and coronary problems.

    His problems began when he was 57.

    I'm 60, and apparently the fittest I have ever been.

    Some things in life we have to accept and deal with.

    Some, we can take control of, hold and change for our well-being.
    This is one time you really need to take control.

    BuddhadragonHozan
  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    Thank you, Fede.
    I need time to read it in depth.
    What I have been doing the past six months is incorporate the 5:2 intermittent fasting to my life.
    I already eat little carbs, and when I do, mostly wholegrain.
    Just a slice of protein bread with breakfast and a vegan cashew spread.
    And I eat like spoonfuls of coconut oil with everything, even to lace my coffee.
    Plus my usual litrefuls of green tea?

    HozanShoshinBunks
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