ajasatya

http://nondual.net/ i'm finding it amazing

@Nexeternity buddha's teachings are public search for the noble eightfold path the the five precepts. cheers.

yes. the zen retirements are called sesshin. the practitioner is subject to spend consecutive days living a hardcore monastic life (not a regular monastic life), meditating 10 hours a day. it can vary from 3 to 10 days in most cases. i'm not talking about vipassana. sesshins are tougher than vipassana. during a sesshin it's not allowed to speak use cellphone use computer check the hours masturbate read books listen to music sesshins are tougher than vipassana because of the extremely strict schedule but the overall rules are the same.

@hedge eventually it will come down to this question: how hard are you willing to undergo a real ego breakdown? beware of the fact that a real ego breakdown involves frustration, disorientation, discomfort and fear. these are the ingredients for any method that makes the practitioner get in touch with true humility. otherwise the search for enlightenment will be reduced to more intellectual gibberish and arrogance. the zen training process, for instance, is based on creating artificial emotional crisis within a context in which NOTHING is about you and there's no room for ego driven distractions.

@quantum for me it's about compassion, forgiving, listening, helping, giving and loving.

@jse mastering the art of teaching and mastering the art of learning are two sides of the same coin, which is mastering the art of living. and it takes a life time. if you feel uncomfortable with those "you guys" phrases, it may be a sign of some inner conflict which needs to be worked on, and this is good. i'd invite you to feel spirited instead.

@sgn what are you scared of when talking to people? are you scared of their expectations? have you given any time to yourself to go deep into this issue?

certainly good for beginners, even though we should aim for no attachment to objects in any part of the consciousness spectrum: visual auditive tactual olfactory gustatory mindful and ultimately, respiratory

@Debbie B your question is one of the biggies. the zen master dogen spent a lot of time trying to clarify it himself, so i'm going to attach a great book with the core of his teachings. the very first chapter should help you to answer your own question. it's not about understanding things conceptually, intellectually. it's not about accepting nor attaining. it's about embodying Truth and staking your life upon it. every thought, word and gesture. it's about becoming a true master. a true master of yourself. Shobogenzo.pdf edit: also, @Leo Gura, i think you may enjoy this book on this new phase of yours.

no. they're not enlightened at all. they've just found excuses for their ego's comfort, laziness and arrogance.

@Tancrede Pouyat have you tried opening your heart and telling them that they hurt you when they act like that? this is an attempt to practice the jesus' teaching about showing the other side of the face.

@Costa7 start really slow. meditate once in a week. when i started, i only practiced on mondays exactly at 20pm. my mondays started to be all about my meditation practice. mondays became the best day of the week after a while.

@stevegan928 not everyone. it's possible to heal this addiction. progress is not bad but you can't put your happiness on it. a day in which "nothing" was accomplished? that's still a day. the only way to have REAL progress is when you know what you want and how to get it. if you don't know it yet, use this opportunity to free yourself from self harassment. this opportunity is quite rare to be honest.

@stevegan928 hello! you're still looking for progress on these spiritual practices. one of the purposes of meditation is to kill your addiction for progress. so just sit with no goal. it feels terrifying, i know. it means you're doing it properly. keep going.

@Shin nice. more important than knowing Truth is living it. the secret lies on being sincerely curious and paying attention. be completely present. while listening to someone, that's your satsang.

@John, true meditation is sitting for no reason. just sit and do nothing. let everything be the way it is. just sit.

good point. this kind of topic is not important right now. i see myself on the place you are because once i actually was. i was sexually ill, with a sick penis, for 26 years. sex was horrifying and i had to go through a dangerous surgery, with the risk of losing genital sensibility. fight for your healing because it's possible. you need professional help. all i said on the other comment was that suicide is NOT going to help at all.

@Deepak sadhwani the mind is the best book. practice meditation daily. if you want something to read throughout your practice, i'd recommend the power of now.

my ex-girlfriend was having a bipolar freak out, taking off her clothes, breaking public things, hitting people and throwing stones. it was happening periodically, but that time i couldn't handle it. i started to cry the deepest crying ever. i felt the biggest pain of my life, even though my body went through a huge amount of surgeries and painful recoveries. at the moment i was crying, the voice appeared in my thought: "i give up completely. i give up on life. just take this all away". then a subtle lucidity ht me like a lightning. i started to feel detached from all that, from me and from reality. since then i've been feeling life in a completely different way.

this entire album

@renegade_bee your state of mind determines the kind of life that the consciousness you're experiencing right now will have. Reality works this way. the mind is the workspace for materialization. this is how faith works. there are some limitations, of course. if your mind is connected with suicidal thoughts, that's your pattern. this birth you had is a materialization of the last state of mind that you (as consciousness) once was experiencing before its mind/body death. break that cycle for once. get into the flow of the Dharma and be free from bad rebirths.

your sense of self is not the only one that's illusory. EVERYONE'S sense of self is illusory. so Reality is this Thing experiencing itself through illusory selves. Reality forgets its own origin so it can experience Being by duality. and here You are, reading Your Own messages, fundamentally. it's not necessary to fight your sense of self, though. you just have to align it to Truth. it's done through training, real practice. i can point the training to you if you want. waking up to our True Nature just takes us to the door. it's just the beginning. we can fool ourselves grinding out kenshos and samadhis but it's not necessary. all it actually takes is one glimpse. the training process is the same as the one that provides you the glimpse. right now, through "me" and "you", Reality is trying to wake itself up as this message is being read.

@Dodoster what is it that does karma yoga? or even, what is it that feels the fruits of karma yoga? if you truly understand this, then there'll be nothing to do but 24/7 practice of goodness without any attainment in mind.

that was honest, noble and straightforward. interesting.