Best Of
Re: What happens to the world when everybody attains Buddhahood?
@SattvaPaul said:
We are sentient beings in samsara, but that is an illusion. In fact, nobody attains buddhahood as it has already been attained. Great. Except that we're still here.
The Buddha became enlightened and he was still there after his awakening. There’s no reason to assume anything would be different after everybody achieved enlightenment…
Jeroen
Re: https://awakentheworld.com/
@FleaMarket said:
I'm sure it's not uncommon but sometimes I spend hours on my responses just to realize you've already pointed out something I already know intuitively but just forgot until you said something. Then I delete everything I wrote. I just wanted to know what you did!
That’s got to be worth a chuckle @FleaMarket
I find if I intentionally try and write wise things, i get caught revising again and again. It’s difficult to be wise, especially when surrounded by witty characters such as @lobster and deep characters such as @how
Which is why these days I just try to shoot for expressing my truth. It’s a lot more natural than trying to arrive at a summary of all these wisdoms which I have attempted to absorb, but haven’t wholly made my own.
Jeroen
Re: Bored?
Get off social media (as opposed to just the internet or mobile phones) and ignore those who speak from that space.
Here's another good one from Daryl Davis (the person who has caused over 200 KKK members to leave the organization)
person
Re: Gurdjieff’s stop exercise
A while back I was listening to a podcast. In it one of the people talked about being overwhelmed with frustration in her life and that a helpful strategy to deal with the mental suffering of it was to do something productive with her body. I think she talked about gardening, but it could be something like cleaning house or building a bookshelf. Something that tells the body's nervous system that accomplishing things is possible.
I guess basically the sorts of actions you take with your body influences your mental outlook.
person
Re: https://awakentheworld.com/
We are in a sense never quite sure what we are asking. Just as an answer may seem tangental. Dharma is a template or alignment that covers or rather uncovers what we need to understand.
… so for instance an answer on developing patience may be delayed, the longer the better.
related specifically to insight and equanimity is a whole range of potential helpful endeavours:
- Listening for qualities
- Feeling for intangible subtleties
- Regarding others as sources of insight and calm
lobster
Re: https://awakentheworld.com/
This topic brings up questions and concerns for me which have been building for some time but I struggle to form into coherent questions. I feel compelled to get it out so I will try to voice my opinion carefully. Maybe some here have witnessed similar or can help me see more clearly?
What happens when a culture develops Samatha without Vipassana? What happens when individuals discovering present moment awareness and concentration do not understand deeply what it is they experience and fail to turn that awareness on their human condition, et al? I see individuals becoming frightened something is wrong with them as a result of discovering Samatha without understanding. I think sometimes the budding Samatha-mind may be referred to as Bipolar and pharma-teachers may prescribe drugs at this stage.
I see individuals lacking the "why" behind the tools which leaves room for any charming external element to walk in and provide a why. Nihilism comes to mind as a missing or unbalanced "why" when present moment awareness/concentration out-weighs or is not balanced with understanding and insight.
Digital and A.I. is likely to continue to grow exponentially. More optimized/faster/accurate ways of embodying information will reveal to the public over time. We may see more Drive-Thru Samatha clinics.
I see a popular game like Elden Ring teaching Samatha. There is no way to beat that game without full investment of energy into present-minded calm concentrated awareness. I see a culture of young people learning this skill but with narrow-scope Vipassana. Focused on the "why" behind beating Elden Ring vs the "why" behind the human condition.
So many people are asking "why" right now. I am in the USA so my work experience may be different but when I was in retail, the boss always complained about "Millennials always needing a reason...always needing a why. "Back in my day, we just worked hard and made a living. We didn't ask why!" What if I let my business or boss determine my why? More a rhetorical question. Business is already working on sculpting work culture so they can claim to be your "why". An altruistic attempt if it wasn't so money and power based.
A teacher may struggle to pass on a message even beyond current difficulties if they do not adapt to the climate. Maybe they already have? Someone has. Maybe the company that made Elden Ring. I hope it isn't my boss. That guy just wants more power over me.
Re: https://awakentheworld.com/
@ShanJieshi2 said:
The person who has not, will fall hopelessly into the seduction of the images and the music and the text will be for him a mental jumble.
So you would say the text and the spoken words are not helpful for beginners? I would hope that beginners would get quite a lot from the movie, because it is a vaguely hypnotic set of high-impact teachings and pop-culture references.
Jeroen
Re: Wim Hof - Feel the Cold and do it Anyway
I've kept the cold showers and I like what you said Fede: merciless, ruthless... but not in a Harold Hadrada style, but more like a clear view, clearing a hoarse throat, or emptying a clogged nose. The "buzz" or "day-dreaming" / "worries" are done once the cold water hit the middle of your upper back. Phew!
Kotishka
Re: Buddhist quotes
Everybody is looking for something that isn’t available.
It’s worse than looking for a needle in a haystack;
At least the needle is there, even though it’s hard to find.
But satisfaction and self are both delusions, so how can they ever be found?
Ayya Khema
Bunks
Re: Imagination Redux
Let me tell you what is going on in another conversation I’m having on the internet.
This is in a place for Osho sannyasins. It seems Osho had given certain indications that his sannyasins could reach him after death, and some of them had taken this seriously. Someone suggested that I try to imagine for 24 hours that Osho’s presence was with me. I told them I wasn’t interested in experiments with imagination and projection, and that being receptive was of a totally different order. Further, working with the imagination in this way can lead to a lot of maya, illusion in the thinking, and could be very unbeneficial for certain kinds of people.
It seems the theme of imagination is following me at the moment.
Jeroen