tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485583244199236996.post3343604131196869880..comments2024-03-27T14:35:59.406-07:00Comments on The Outsider: Striving for PerfectionPaññobhāsahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14148206217028034038noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485583244199236996.post-50022239022965346122022-06-25T16:54:38.818-07:002022-06-25T16:54:38.818-07:00The thing is that you have to purify your mind to ...The thing is that you have to purify your mind to see that the shit is, after all, perfect. So the practice ironically can remain the same.Paññobhāsahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14148206217028034038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485583244199236996.post-48083451544984896482022-06-25T11:18:41.057-07:002022-06-25T11:18:41.057-07:00Well, if they are happy with their suposedly perfe...Well, if they are happy with their suposedly perfect shit, good for them. As for me, such coprophiliac ontology does not really tickle my fancy.<br /><br />On a more serious note, I think that admitting to shit being perfect is almost always the first step on the road to the left-hand path, real kapalas, ritual fucking etc. Not really my cup of tea.I Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09994360334426283228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485583244199236996.post-88202158398207749802022-06-23T11:06:04.538-07:002022-06-23T11:06:04.538-07:00I ha ve long struggled with this 'long and ard...I ha ve long struggled with this 'long and arduous path of perfection' vs. 'we are already perfect' conundrum and could not figure out which ideal is correct.<br /><br />Then I read this book about Ajahn Chah, Venerable Father, by Paul Breiter, former ven. Varapañño. Later in his life Breiter veered off towards Zen, so when Ajahn Chah came with a visit to the US, he was very happy to talk about his new Mahayana ideas with his former teacher.<br /><br />And Ajahn Chah's reaction to the Tathagatagarbha doctrine really settle the matter for me:<br /><br />'I told him that one of the ideas that some teachers gave students was that since everything is empty, there weren’t really such things as attachment and suffering. You can’t do it that way, Luang Por said, you have to use the conventions. I said that many people contend that since the mind is inherently pure, since we all have Buddha nature, it’s not necessary to practice. His answer was, “You have something clean, like this tray. I come and drop some shit on it. Will you say 'This tray is originally clean, so I don’t have to do anything to clean it now’?” '<br /><br />The Thai firest tradition also says our minds are 'naturally pure and perfect' but what they mean with that is that our mind is a shining tray with loads of shit on it. So yeah, it is not really enough to realize we are perfect already. You have to really get rid of all the shit to being the mind back to its 'original state'.I Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09994360334426283228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485583244199236996.post-75203411674666282192022-06-19T04:50:57.437-07:002022-06-19T04:50:57.437-07:00Looks like a try to answer an issue perfect, or? A...Looks like a try to answer an issue perfect, or? And? Perfection lies beyond formations and called Nibbana.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485583244199236996.post-24027411772779573162022-06-12T22:15:28.000-07:002022-06-12T22:15:28.000-07:00I’m reminded of Zen’s Buddhanature – everybody is ...I’m reminded of Zen’s Buddhanature – everybody is already enlightened they just don’t realize it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485583244199236996.post-84271644964654816642022-06-12T21:15:48.566-07:002022-06-12T21:15:48.566-07:00You mention Ram Dass. I was in Amsterdam around 1...You mention Ram Dass. I was in Amsterdam around 1973 and planned to return home via Colchester, on the north of the Thames Estuary. I saw a sailing yacht in the harbour, with a Colchester origin, and wondered if I could get a ride. I learned that the group on the boat were known as “The guys who are going to sail to Africa.” Well, it soon became clear to me that they were never going to sail anywhere; they were going to stay in Amsterdam and be known as “The guys …” When I went on the boat, I found three copies of Ram Dass’s book “Be Here Now” lying around. But for three months, the guys had been arguing about when they neared Gibraltar, should they sail through into the Mediterranean or down the West coast of Africa. Obviously, they should have just set sail, IMHO the decision would have emerged en route. Their motto should have been “Being in Amsterdam for a long time and having people think we are going to do something out of the ordinary.” I realised not long before I met Goenkaji that one could go only so far with the rational mind, there must be something more. The Amsterdam guys hadn’t made any progress with Ram Dass, nor as sailors.Michael Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14933921928383382118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485583244199236996.post-89598695684406704742022-06-12T13:19:47.978-07:002022-06-12T13:19:47.978-07:00A lot of perfection wrapped up in this simple litt...A lot of perfection wrapped up in this simple little essay as well. Well done.DMRnoreply@blogger.com