If you're talking about Sogyal...He has had some controversy around his personal life....but that's alright...I'm not looking for a savior...and what he says about meditation is valid If you're just talking about Hanh--he is lovely to read.
I've read a few of his books. Right now I'm reading through "The Book". Definitely a huge fan of his writing and beliefs. There's quite a bit in there that reminds me of Joseph Campbell, and I fucking love Joseph Campbell.
What is life and death? There was a once a monk studying under the Zen master Suibe. Suibe asked the monk (in the style of a Koan) "Convince me that your body does not exist." And the monk gave Suibe an elaborate answer describing the nature of maya and illusion in perfect parallelism with Eastern ontology. Suibe kicked the monk in the leg, and the monk screamed. "What hurts?" Suibe asked. I am not sure if the original asker of these questions has satori or not. If he doesn't, then the question is incomplete. I'll assume however that he does has satori, in which case, he is tricking us. Life and death are not illusions--look around you, feel. On the contrary, they are more real even than the ultimate reality itself. However, we can also see it that they are, indeed, illusions, in that our perception of them is mere electrical pattern and chemical transcription, and that there is no hard and fast distinctions between them. If I am alive, then the whole cosmos must be alive. If I am dead yet believe I am alive, then the cosmos must, also, be dead. Life and death are therefore extremes on a singular scale, which is chasing itself. Like how a dog chases it's tail. What is the purpose of them? Purpose must not be confused with meaning. Life and death have no inherent meaning other than themselves. The meaning of life is to be alive; the meaning of death is to be dead. It could also be said then that the meaning of life (objectively) is no-meaning. This, of course, makes little sense, especially to those who are not familiar with Zen, and it is also true that the sense--the logic--of reality, life and death, is meaninglessness--non-sense. If purposefulness is "role" however, rather than "essence". It could be said that the purpose of life and death is contrast. So. To answer the question in a more optimistic light. 1. What are life and death? Qualitatively, they are one, and their separateness is an illusion. Quantitatively, they are extremes, one low, one high. 2. What is their purpose? Perceptual contrast.
Hi. What do you think about this list. http://www.highexistence.com/topic/list-of-spiritual-teachers/ Which one would you recommend and which one to stay away from. Your own contributions are also highly apprichiated.
Lao-Tzu Jiddu Krishnamurti Alan Watts Mooji ..and I would like to add Adyashanti Papaji Ram Dass Rupert Spira Greg Goode Amoda Maa Jeevan But don't get lost in the seeking as most of us have done in our journey. The seeking is just another way for the brain to sidetrack you. Once you find yourself, stay with that and don't look back...just know. Do more self inquiry rather than externalizing yourself into a shape of what others are saying and trying to make it your own. Read a verse that resonates with you and peeks your interest, then go out in nature and ponder that understanding at your very core of your being! Bring your attention powerfully inward and let this attention resonate with you until you understand. We can know how to do algebra, however, when we actually see it in it's physical form as shapes rather than it's translation into numbers, THAT is when you really understand what it is your solving. This same logic applies for spiritual awakening. Learn and explore yourself. Know thyself, and all else will be revealed.
Can I bring this thread back to life please? Signed up after reading through. would love to see a response from melt to the latest answer to his original Two questions
The quote above from Alan Watts that you posted, is from the article: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/2009/05/al… In it he appears to be saying those people (from the theosophical society that you quoted) are not genuine gurus but in fact tricksters. And earlier I noted that you confused him with 'Alan Watt' but he is a completely different person with radically different views. Personally, I like what Alan Watts has to say, anybody unsure should check him out for themselves and decide their own opinion. I'm not sure why you refer to U.G. as a 'tosspot.' He was introduced to the theosophical society by his grandfather but in the end his opinion was inconsistent with theosophy. As a person, apparently he used to give away whatever he earned at the start of each new year after he took what he needed, he didn't (to my knowledge) exploit his followers for commercial gain, he maintained that he never had anything to teach, and he compared his words to the barking of a dog.
To everyone who made it this far in this thread. I finally found the real deal. Check if it is true for you too: justonelook.org
Here are 40 Alan Watts Quotes to Quench Your Existential Thirst On Perception "This whole world is a phantasmagoria, an amazing illusion.†"We notice only what we think noteworthy, and therefore our visions highly selective.†"Memory creates the future as well as the past, you wouldn"t know that you were going to have anything happen tomorrow if you didn"t have something yesterday.†"The world is precisely the relationship between the world and its witnesses, and so if there are no eyes in this world, the sun doesn"t make any light, nor do the stars.†"If you don"t remember anything you don"t know you"re there.†"There is nothing except the eternal now.†"Things and events have only a verbal reality.†On Art and Creativity "An artist is a person who performs certain things skillfully, but doesn"t really know how he does it. You learn art by methods that you don"t know how you learnt, you can"t describe, because your brain is capable of absorbing all kinds of information that is much too subtle to be translated into words.†"Creative people can stimulate creativity in others, by osmosis.†On the Universe "You and I are as much continuous with the universe as a wave is continuous with the ocean.†"Everything in this universe depends on everything else.†"Everything that happens, everything that I have ever done, everything that anybody else have ever done is part of a harmonious design, that there is no error at all.†"Through our eyes, the universe perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.†On Life and Death "Dying should be one of the great events of life.†"The meaning of being alive is just being alive.†On Balance "Everybody has to be salted by a certain unrespectability.†"The positive cannot exist without the negative.†"To be implies not to be.†"All insides have outsides.†"You can only be on the in in relation to something that is out.†On Choice and Misguidedness "Choice is not a form of freedom in the sense of the word; choice is the act of hesitation that occurs before making a decision.†"We have been literally hypnotized by social convention into feeling and sensing that we exist only inside our skins.†"Every manifestation of life is impermanent. Our quest to make things permanent, to straighten everything out, to get it fixed is an impossible and insoluble problem.†On Emotions "There are no wrong feelings.†"This is one of the peculiar problems of our culture, that we are terrified of our feelings.†"Most problems that are solved in a rush are solved in the wrong way, especially emotional problems between people.†"We have frustration because we are fighting the changing of things.†On Love "The first thing to discover is what indeed you do love, and you will find there is something.†"Love is not something that is a sort of rare commodity, everybody has it.†"Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not ours to command.†On You "The ego is your symbol of yourself, just as the word ‘water" is a noise that symbolizes a certain liquid reality. So the idea of the ego, the role you play, who you are is not the same as your living organism. Your ego has absolutely nothing to do with the way you colour your eyes, shape your body, circulate your blood, thats the real you, but its certainly not your ego.†"You are the animate sensitive being on the inside of the skin.†"All people feel themselves in the middle, they feel central to their own experience.†"My image of me is not at all your image of me.†"[Our ego] is composed of our image of ourselves, as when we say to somebody, you must improve your image. Now, this image of ourselves is obviously not ourselves any more than the idea of a tree is a tree.†"A lot of the current quest for identity among younger people is a search for an acceptable image.†"Our image of ourselves is completely inaccurate and incomplete.†"That, you see is the most difficult thing to do, is to accept oneself completely.†"You have all eternity through which to live in various forms.†"The physical body is the body as examined by others; the subtle body is the way you feel yourself.†Terence Mckenna Also has Amazing Wisdom Quotes as well. Especially on Cannabis and other Psychedelics.
HONK HONK! (BUMPING THREAD) Yes, big on the net... surprised to find this under philosophy as he seemed more about spirituality with a philosophical twist... was even a priest at one time as i recall... anyway i like the eloquent way he enunciates and forms sentences (rare skills or traits these days to say the least)... Found this one today i like so sharing for anyone else who may want to give it a shot... (too bad those i have on the IGNORE LIST due to their believing in propaganda from the military-industrial state would never be inclined to listen to this type of intelligence/wisdom, but i digress)