Best Of
Re: Meditation and mental health
Do you have access to mental health care/help? I would strongly suggest that….i say that bec depression and anxiety usually can’t be addressed with just spirituality alone.
Vastmind
Re: Top 5
@marcitko said:
Top 5 comfort/junk foods
Top 5 foods:
- Rolled oats (and fruit)
- Rice (and curry)
- Soup
- Pudding
- Health Cake (well it makes me feel well!)
Incidentally accidentally had eggs, bacon, beans and fried bread for breakfast (Mara made or possibly Pishacha me do it!)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pishacha
lobster
Re: Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
Yesterday morning I was on my way to meet up with my Dharma friend and her dog for a walk along the beach, when I spotted some dolphins and orcas in the bay. They were a fair way out so I had to use the zoom. My friend got to see them when they were closer to shore. The orcas may have been after the manta rays which frequent the bay.
Today ( not a dolphin or orca in sight) I decided to do some earthing on my way to and from work...I feel the earth move under my feet ....As you can tell, it was quite windy today.
Well it's mid November and I still have not had a skinny dip yet ...Mental note to self, make sure to go for a dip next week ...
Shoshin1
Re: Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
It’s interesting, in the US some voices are starting to be raised about pro-Israeli control of the media…
Jeroen
Re: What movies are you watching?
Well worth the watch.
A list of where to watch by country: https://missionjoy.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MissionJOY_Availability_240709.pdf
marcitko
From Seeker to Scholar, and Back Again?
I was reading Stephen Batchelors website when I came across his biography (here) and on reading it I found it interesting that he had started out with the classic seekers questions, such as “what is the meaning of life?” Upon journeying to India and ending up in Dharmsala he found the Tibetans he encountered there to have much knowledge and an integrated spiritual practice. He became a monk and stayed with them for a number of years.
If you look at the kind of things Stephen did during that time (translations for example) you’d say he was no longer a seeker but had turned into a scholar instead. His latest book, Buddha, Socrates and Us (2025), makes a comparison between Buddhist thinking and Ancient Greek thinking, and again seems to be more a scholarly work than an example of being.
Nor is Stephen Batchelor the only one to walk this path, the Danish monk Samhita Thera also did something similar (here). It seems that enveloping the mind in knowledge is a favoured journey for someone to set out to become a monk. You are kind of expected to learn the Dhamma, but it is a seduction into knowledge which leads away from the questions which started it all.
Now it seems to me that the meaning of life has more to do with experiencing than learning from books. There is a famous quote by Alan Watts, “life is not a problem to be solved, but an experience to be lived.” Not just in the sense that one should go out and see the world, but that experiences — like sickness, success at a job and being fired from a job, the death of ones parents, an accident — bring a certain ripeness and appreciation of the meaning of living.
What do you think? Does wisdom and an understanding of meaning come automatically? Does book learning help?
Jeroen
Re: Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
ANNOUNCEMENT
For the past 15 years, I have tried this pain and suffering thing. I hereby declare the results of my experiment: It DOES NOT work!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS IMPORTANT MATTER!!
MRCTKO
marcitko
Re: What do you think of modern movies?
No, that’s true, and there is value in a good story that describes any hero type. But what Hollywood seems to be intent on doing is forcing the girl boss archetype into many stories, and it is proving unpopular with a lot of audiences.
If you look at for example Spirited Away, that has a girl as protagonist, but no battles, yet tells an awesome story involving getting lost in the spirit world and finding a place in a bathhouse of the spirits. Throughout she is shown as a real person in extraordinary circumstances, and overcomes many challenges in a feminine way, no girl boss traits required.
That is also a way of telling a story, without using a toxic and unrealistic archetype.
Jeroen
Re: Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
Just now, a small sparrow visited my air-conditioning external unit. James, to give him a nice and honourable name, lit up my heart with his generous visitation. The moment I took out my phone to take a picture of him for you guys, James flew away. I think I shall put out a bird-house for James and his family and keep some food there in the winter.
marcitko