Pierre

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Everything posted by Pierre

  1. God is a fancy word that doesn't mean shit.
  2. @egoless Tai Chi is great as a dynamic meditation, but the martial aspect of more external ways like kung-fu or karate allows you to work on your fears and to confront your limitations. But they should be practiced in a traditional spirit, that is, with strong ethics, a constant concern for the mental/spiritual aspect, and of course, for a very long period, a life-time if possible.
  3. @Leo Gura I like the idea of intelligence lying right in the heart of reality, being reality itself so to speak...quit taoist. I guess that's what you're hinting at. What I reject is a kind of cosmic intelligence ruling things with a very human-like purposefulness. The God of Intelligent Design. I appreciate science for its honesty, but I'm well aware of its limitations. I just don't like people rejecting it because it hurts their nice woo-woo beliefs. I know you're not one of them.
  4. @Leo Gura Who said it was random or unintelligent? That's what creationists who don't understand natural selection believe about science.
  5. Sure, science is founded on the metaphysical assumptions that lie at the core of western culture. But its basic attitude is nevertheless one of humility, openness and rigor. And these are the same qualities we need on our journey to self-discovery.
  6. @molosku I totally agree with you. The term "Self-inquiry" gives the impression of a very active mental activity. It's an excellent exemple of how a crappy translation can badly mislead people. A more accurate translation of Atma-Vicara would be "Self-resting" or "Self-Abiding", a relaxed way of just being this spacious awareness.
  7. @Leo Gura As far as I'm concerned, you are the newbie. One of the reasons I like Maharaj so much is that he didn't fit at all the cliché of the indian Sage. He was more like a badass Zen teacher. Regarding "going to the gym", I guess everything we do, healthy or not, while still identified with the body, is done through fear of death.
  8. We tend to have preconceived ideas about how a master should behave...Chögyam Trungpa banged his students, Watts boozed himself to death, J. Krishnamurti liked to be driven around in Mercedes, Zen masters shout at people, Osho owned 94 Rolls-Royces, etc, etc, etc...
  9. Socrates and Plato are the fathers of western rationality. Doesn't really fit with enlightenment... As for Diogenes, I see him as one of the first rascal gurus. His radical questioning of all social conventions was certainly showing the right direction.
  10. @eputkonen Your trajectory seems a most uncommon one. I wonder what you think of Leo and his 250 books!
  11. Being mindful while playing is quite difficult, but I'm sure it's an excellent exercise. Same with porn!
  12. Well, one needs some sort of theoretical background...isn't it what you provide on your blog?
  13. We should be careful, who are we talking about? Are Rupert, Adyashanti, Tolle, Bernie, Mooji, Neo? They are very nuanced, and speak a lot about embodiment of realization. Guys like Paul Smit and Tony Parsons certainly are Neo. Anyway here is an excellent article distinguishing Traditional, Modern, and Neo-Advaïta: http://liveanddare.com/neo-advaita/
  14. I found a good translation of what Leo is trying to say, with an added maturity and nuance that make it much more acceptable: "It is indeed the basic intuition of Zen that there is an ultimate standpoint from which "anything goes". But this standpoint does not exclude and is not hostile towards the distinction between right and wrong at other levels and in more limited frames of references. The world is seen to be beyond right and wrong when it is not framed: that is to say, when we are not looking at a particular situation by itself - out of relation to the rest of the universe. Within this room there is a clear difference between up and down; out in interstellar space there is not. Within the conventional limits of a human community there are clear distinctions between good and evil. But these disappear when human affairs are seen as part and parcel of the whole realm of nature. Every framework sets up a restricted field of relationships, and restriction is law or rule. (...) The realization of the unswerving "rightness" of whatever happens is no more manifested by utter lawlessness in social conduct than by sheer caprice in art. As Zen has been used as a pretext for the latter in our times, its use as a pretext for the former is ancient history. Many a rogue has justified himself with the Buddhist formula, "Birth-and-death (samsara) is Nirvana; worldly passions are Enlightenment." This danger is implicit in Zen because it is implicit in freedom. Power and freedom can never be safe. They are dangerous in the same way that fire and electricity are dangerous. But it is quite pitiful to see Zen used as a pretext for license when the Zen in question is no more than an idea in the head, a simple rationalization." Alan Watts, Beat Zen, Square Zen, and Zen (1959).
  15. @Dodo Yeah, sure, what is is (Isis, ha ha!) Anyway, this idea that value doesn't exist is grotesque. The smallest of our decisions is based on value. Atoms get together to form molecules because it has more value. What Leo ate at breakfast is a value-choice. Of course I mean it in a much broader sense than traditional moral value. That is just one set of static social values. Value is what boosts evolution (towards God if you want), and the values that go down the ladder can legitimately be considered wrong.
  16. @unknownworld Man, I guess we still have a long way to go before we reach Leo's enchanted Realm, where children's rape is not a problem...
  17. Maybe a little Metaphysics of Quality will help clear up the mud here. Levels of evolution (inorganic/biological/social/intellectual/Dynamic) have different, and in general conflicting, patterns of value. What is good at a biological level is often evil at a social level, etc. What is immoral is when a lower level tries to dominate or suppress a higher level.
  18. Well said! You'll save much time and energy. Ascetic urges are a sign of eagerness but can be a huge trap.
  19. The Wisdom of Insecurity, by Alan Watts I Am, by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj On Having no Head, by Douglas Harding
  20. There's this old saying: the madman and the sage are in the same ocean, it's just that the sage has learned how to swim...
  21. There've been a few posts on this topic, but I think it's important to revive it regularly. Here are some of the great advantages of the Headless Way: - It's simple, straightforward and concrete. What Zen and Advaïta point to, here you literally see it. In fact it can be a difficulty, as many people will tend to underestimate the tremendous implications of the seeing. - It's inclusive. You don't have to get rid of the Ego, of thoughts, opinions, scientific objectivity, etc. They are simply placed in a wider context. - It reconciles direct and progressive approaches. The seeing is always right here and now, but the benefits at a relative level unfold as you go on seeing, day after day. - It is totally compatible with any other practice, meditation, mindfulness, yoga, psychotherapy, you name it. - It is highly contagious. You don't need to be an accomplished Master to share it with anyone interested. The ground book is On Having No Head, by Douglas Harding (1961). Here is the website: http://www.headless.org And the BatGaP interview of Richard Lang:
  22. @username The realization that our true nature is this open space here at the center can only take place here and now. But in order to stabilize this realization, and re-align the personality to this new understanding, you need to come back to this vision, again and again. It is what Francis Lucille calls "post-enlightenment sadhana". Once the thoughts, emotions, and sensations are seen on this background of stillness and contentment, they can only change for the better. It can take time, but it really doesn't matter anymore.