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Posted by gar on 4/2/2009, 8:25 am, in reply to "Re: Enlightened Unity."
70.100.196.x
Thanks for your words Butcho,
It seems sharing one's perspective enables us to realize empathy.
in peace,
gar
: gar and assinity,
:
: The ego is the conditioned mind. The
: identity that we have been taught to believe
: in. A rather narrow sense of self that all
: too easily cuts one off from the rest of
: existence. The ego is fundamentally
: solipsistic. Self-centered. Out of balance
: with the whole.
:
: If we are to be true to whatever arises as
: being natural then I suppose that would
: include the unnatural when it arises...
: Seems to me that we have a mind for a
: purpose. To discriminate. To distinguish
: between what is good and what is bad.
: Hemlock bad. Hemp good. That sort of thing.
:
: Fire good. Put finger in fire bad.
:
: The problem with the rational mind is when
: we use it for making existential
: distinctions without the use of our other
: faculties of being. The rational processes
: are not in themselves necessarily bad. The
: problem comes in when they become our
: exclusive means of relating to existence. I
: say this is a problem because it is an
: inherent aspect of our rational processes to
: divide what is by nature whole. Thus the
: conundrum of cultivating what is by nature
: whole that takes up so much of our time
: here.
:
: We think too much about some things, and yet
: not enough about others. Often thinking when
: we should feel and feeling when we should
: think. We are, at least I know I am, more
: confused than I like to admit.
:
: So I cultivate not to extinguish my mind,
: but to help bring it into accord with the
: rest of my being. There is a time and a
: season for every aspect of being. Each of
: our parts has its natural use(s).
: Cultivation, for me, is about integration,
: not elimination. I still have a sense of
: self, but I like to think that it is a more
: wholistic self than my once extremely
: piecemeal one. I could be kidding myself,
: but I don't think so. In my bones I know I
: have changed. Even if my words do not always
: reflect that change.
:
: Steve argues, or at least it seems to me
: that he argues, that it does no good to
: point at the moon. That pointing at the moon
: is a complete waste of time. Or at the least
: unnecessary. That eveything is perfect just
: the way it is and there is no need to
: cultivate. For Steve, there is nothing to do
: for everything is already perfect just as it
: is. He must be a great sage.
:
: I am not. I have a problem with Drive-By
: shootings. I have a problem with those that
: make money off of other people's
: vulnerability or social position. With AIG
: executives getting paid bonuses with
: taxpayer money. I see a fundamental
: distinction between the Democratic and the
: Republican Parties. Republicans think people
: are no damned good. Democrats keep hoping
: otherwise. When they give up hope they
: become Republicans.
:
: Most of us are so very small in our
: thinking... I am clinging onto my Democratic
: Party status. Yes, I know the sage does not
: cling to anything. Like I said, I am not a
: sage. A coriander perhaps, but not a sage. I
: choose to make distinctions. It is just that
: I like to think I am not so quick as I once
: was to make distinctions where right and
: wrong are concerned. I like to think I am
: more thoughtful. I may be kidding myself,
: but I don't think so.
:
: For me Enlightenment unfolds in stages.
: Perhaps I am more simple-minded than Steve
: and some others here. But I too have to be
: true to myself. The ego is a hard nut to
: crack. Kind of like the Terminator made of
: liquid metal in Terminator 2 it has a way of
: putting itself back together even after
: being shattered. The ego is a resilient
: thing. And so I cultivate for that day when
: I no longer have any need to cultivate other
: than to be an example to others. The first
: step of the Journey to the Interior is best
: taken while in a seated position. Relaxed,
: not stiff. Breathing easily, not straining.
:
: Butcho
:
293
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"The Tao is basically utterly open. Utter openeness has no substance. It ends in endlessness, begins in beginninglessnes".
-Li Daoqun
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