Posts by Introspection

151

Intro's quote-o-rama

by Introspection in

i guess i've been inspired by stephen's quote threads, so i'm going to start one myself.. not one particular author here, just whatever i can find:.

q: why do you think that people are so protective of their egos?

why is it so hard to let go of one's ego?.

Introspection

Back to Trungpa's book:

The action of the bodhisattva is like the moon shining on one hundred bowls of water, so that there are one hundred moons, one in each bowl. This is not the moon's design nor was it designed by anyone else. But for some strange reason there happen to be one hundred moons reflected in one hundred bowls of water. Openness means this kind of absolute trust and self-confidence. The open situation of compassion works this way rather than by deliberately attempting to create one hundred moons, one in each bowl.

This is the open way, the Bodhisattva Path. A bodhisattva would not care, even if he received a medal from all the Buddhas proclaiming him the bravest bodhisattva in the entire universe; he would not care at all. You never read stories of the bodhisattvas receiving medals in the sacred writings. And quite rightly so, because there is no need for them to prove anything. The bodhisattva's action is spontaneous, it is the open life, open communication which does not involve struggle or speed at all.

"When people do not ignore what they should ignore, but ignore what they should not ignore, this is known as true ignorance." -The Book of Chuang Tzu

151

Intro's quote-o-rama

by Introspection in

i guess i've been inspired by stephen's quote threads, so i'm going to start one myself.. not one particular author here, just whatever i can find:.

q: why do you think that people are so protective of their egos?

why is it so hard to let go of one's ego?.

Intro's quote-o-rama

by Introspection in

i guess i've been inspired by stephen's quote threads, so i'm going to start one myself.. not one particular author here, just whatever i can find:.

q: why do you think that people are so protective of their egos?

why is it so hard to let go of one's ego?.

Introspection

I've been thinking about the subject of renunciation, and then I came across the following words from the epic work Dare to be Stupid:

It's time to make a mountain out of a molehill.
So can I have a volunteer?
There's no more time for crying over spilled milk.
Now it's time for crying in your beer.
Settle down and raise a family, join the P.T.A.
Buy some sensible shoes and a Chevrolet.
Then party till you're broke, and they drag you away.
It's okay.
You can dare to be stupid.

Now as we know, in many of the great spiritual traditions they talk about leaving the family, either physically or otherwise for spiritual development, even Jesus himself made some comments to that effect. So is it possible, considering what he mentions in the verses above that yogi Yankovic realized this too as well? Seriously, what do you think about this subject? Of course this thread is supposed to be for quotes so I don't want to go off topic too much, so maybe we can make a game of it and reply with quotes..

"When people do not ignore what they should ignore, but ignore what they should not ignore, this is known as true ignorance." -The Book of Chuang Tzu

151

Intro's quote-o-rama

by Introspection in

i guess i've been inspired by stephen's quote threads, so i'm going to start one myself.. not one particular author here, just whatever i can find:.

q: why do you think that people are so protective of their egos?

why is it so hard to let go of one's ego?.

Introspection

I was driving on the freeway in the fast lane
With a rabid wolverine in my underwear
When suddenly a guy behind me in the back seat
Popped right up and cupped his hands across my eyes
I guessed, "Is it Uncle Frank or Cousin Louie?
Is it Bob or Joe or Walter?
Could it be Bill or Jim or Ed or Bernie or Steve?"
I probably would have kept on guessing
But about that time we crashed into the truck
And as I'm laying bleeding there on the asphalt
Finally I recognize the face of my hibachi dealer
Who takes off his prosthetic lips and tells me
Everything you know is wrong
Black is white, up is down and short is long
And everything you thought was just so important doesn't matter
Everything you know is wrong
Just forget the words and sing along
All you need to understand is
Everything you know is wrong

-Weird Al Yankovic

What?

"When people do not ignore what they should ignore, but ignore what they should not ignore, this is known as true ignorance." -The Book of Chuang Tzu

43

Goodbye, and Thanks For All the Fish......

by Prisca in

jw
friends

dear all,.

it is with much regret that i have decided to leave jw.com.

it is not a decision i have made lightly, in fact i had been thinking about it for many weeks now.. i am leaving because i cannot be a part of a forum that condones abuse and deliberate offensiveness towards other posters.

Introspection

Abuse? Well now that you mention it I guess I have seen some thread titles to that effect, I just don't read them. Sorry to hear that Prisca, I had no idea. I suppose I will continue in my ignorance until it's all abusive. I certainly don't think me hanging out here in my own corner implies my approval of any of it though. I just have no clue what's going on!

119

CM Message of the Day

by stephenw20 in

'it doesn't matter what you choose, what matters is the energy with which you choose it.'.

4/19/2001

Introspection

Not taking things personally doesn't mean not participating or not taking responsibility or owning your stuff, it's a matter of looking at things without being preoccupied with self esteem or self concept. It's like when someone says something about people who, oh say spends time talking online. They can say this is all a waste of time, but it isn't personal in the sense of them talking about you as an individual. Even when people direct things at you, often I find it is not worth taking seriously. Frankly, they don't necessarily know who they're talking to. Just as there is no basis for judging online discussions without consideration of the actual content, if someone who doesn't know you make some comment about you they are only speaking out of ignorance.

Life is also not about what other people think of you, or what you think of yourself for that matter. I really don't know when it would be better to take things personally. If I'm enjoying myself, chances are I am immersed in an activity rather than being self conscious. If I am working on something, taking it personally will only lead to frustration or a sense of satisfaction separate from the work, whereas keeping your mind on the actual work is likely to produce better results. It seems to me being preoccupied with your self concept and such is more of a spectator sport, you're creating duality by having this idea of "me" being separate from the one having the idea of me, who am I and how do I feel about this, whereas in just minding what you're doing there is no duality.

18

Important Finding on Reversing Aging

by metatron in

jw
friends

read about dr. spindler's research at www.lef.org.. caloric restriction can markedly reverse aging changes in .

animals.

its effects are already proven in monkeys.

Introspection

Actually, there are already things which are available to consumers that can contribute to slowing the aging process. Eventually it may happen, but not everyone will catch on right away precisely because it is dismissed out of hand, so I think the population issue will not come about quite as quickly as it would otherwise. Of course, when you're talking about things like calorie restrictions, that calls for a bit of self discipline and lifestyle adjustments. I'm not sure about people in other parts of the world, but here in America bigger and more is generally considered better.

If calorie restriction works, then it's not about being able to buy anything. All you have to do is change your diet to include nutrient dense food rather than empty calories from simple carbs and such, so the proportion of nutrient to calories is changed. If we can't do this, we have no one to blame but ourselves, so it's not a matter of not having enough money and such. This kind of self discipline isn't something you can buy.

151

Intro's quote-o-rama

by Introspection in

i guess i've been inspired by stephen's quote threads, so i'm going to start one myself.. not one particular author here, just whatever i can find:.

q: why do you think that people are so protective of their egos?

why is it so hard to let go of one's ego?.

Introspection

Ah yes Stephen, the virtue of the Sanyassin..

Here's a couple more from the book of Chuang Tzu:

The Crooked Man with No Lips offered advice to Duke Ling of Wei, who greatly appreciated his words of advice, so much so that he thought ordinary people had backs too straight and lips too big. The Man with a Jug-sized Goitre offered advice to Duke Huan of Chi. Duke Huan appreciated his counsel, so much so that he thought ordinary people had necks which were too thin and short.If virtue is foremost, the physical body is ignored. When people do not ignore what they should ignore, but ignore what they should not ignore, this is known as true ignorance.

Hui Tzu asked Chuang Tzu, 'Is it possible for someone to be without emotion?
'Certainly,' said Chuang Tzu.
'A man without emotion--can you realyl call him a man?' asked Hui Tzu.
Chuang Tzu replied, 'The Way gives him a face and Heaven provides a shape, so how can it follow he is not called a man?'
'But if he is already called a man, how can it follow that he has no emotion?'
'That's not what I mean by emotions,' said Chuang Tzu. 'When I say a man has no emotions, what I mean by this is someone who does not allow either the good or the bad to have any effect upon him. He lets all things be and allows life to continue in its own way."
Hui Tzu said, 'If he doesn't interfere with life, then how does he take care of himself?'
'The Way gives him a face and Heaven provides a shape. He does not allow either the good or the bad to have any effect on him. But you now, you wear your soul on your sleeve, exhausting your energy, propping yourself up on a tree, mumbling, or bent over your desk, asleep. Heaven gives you a form and you wear it out by pointless argument!'

151

Intro's quote-o-rama

by Introspection in

i guess i've been inspired by stephen's quote threads, so i'm going to start one myself.. not one particular author here, just whatever i can find:.

q: why do you think that people are so protective of their egos?

why is it so hard to let go of one's ego?.

Introspection

Hui Tze spoke to Chuang Tzu, saying, 'I have a big tree, which people call useless. Its trunk is so knotted, no carpenter could work on it, while its branches are too twisted to use a square or compass upon. So, although it is close to the road, no carpenter would look at it. Now, Sir, your words are like this, too big and no use, therefore everyone ignores them.'
Chuang Tzu said, 'Sir, have you never seen a wild cat or weasel? It lies there, crouching and waiting; east and west it leaps out, not afraid of going high or low; until it is caught in a trap and dies in a net. Yet again, there is the yak, vast like a cloud in heaven. It is big, but cannot use this fact to catch rats. Now you, Sir, have a large tree, and you don't know how to use it, so why not plant it in the middle of nowhere, where you can go to wander or fall asleep under its shade? No axe under Heaven will attack it, nor shorten its days, for something which is useless will never be disturbed.'

-Wandering Where You Will, The Book of Chuang Tzu

What do you know, there's an advantage to being useless! When I grow up I want to be a knotted tree..

12

God no god? Scholarly pseudo schorlarly?

by D wiltshire in

jw
friends

first off i beleive in god's existance.. that being said, let me proceed.. there is much so-called scholarly debate on both sides, but lately on this forum it has been brought out what scholarly and pseudo-scholarly is.. scholarly: compiles facts then makes deduction based on all facts as best as unbiasedly possible.. pseudo-scholarly: makes deduction then compiles selected facts that support deduction, giving little validity to the contrary.. .

so my point is if these definitions are true then the only one that can provide scholarly work on the existance of god is an agnostic since those from the other 2 camps fall in the pseudo-scholarly collectors of facts.. i admit that my beleif is from selected facts and a discounting of others that i feel quite probably are wrong, but not from facts always but because i'm not a scientist and don't keep up with all the data availible, it would be so so tireing for me.

to me in my mind it works.. so then can either camp(the beleiver, or nonbeleiver) prove that they are unbiased and that they collect facts and look at them dispassionatly?.

Introspection

Both sounds like good points to me. Of course, it seems to me there is always a subjective aspect to the whole thing.. I don't know if there's too much point to it when your apply it to religion, actually. Lets suppose someone came up with a mathematical proof that God exists, does that make people love God or want to really be decent human beings, for it's own sake? Or would it be like "shit, there is a final judgement after all.."