Alec_S

Alec_S

32p

11 comments posted · 0 followers · following 0

13 years ago @ Buddhist Geeks : Disco... - I Suffer and You Shall... · 1 reply · +1 points

Is this the Dylan who I heard about from Sravasti Abbey? If so, hey dude! I will read your article when I'm not supposed to be working :P

Hope you're well!

13 years ago @ Buddhist Geeks : Disco... - BG 175: The Buddhist A... · 0 replies · +1 points

Yeah, I'd add that it would be great if we could all just control our exasperation...then the thread could stay open!

It would be nice to see if this otherwise amazing online community could somehow short-circuit Godwin's Law. Hehe...

But maybe we're not ready for that yet. :P

13 years ago @ Buddhist Geeks : Disco... - BG 175: The Buddhist A... · 0 replies · +6 points

Great interview. Thanks for hooking this up Vince!

14 years ago @ Buddhist Geeks : Disco... - Considering Buddhism a... · 0 replies · +2 points

Really interesting post.

I have a friend who calls herself "Buddeo-Christian" (pretty funny, eh?). This article made me think of her, and how regardless of how she is encouraged by her Christian or Buddhist communities, she made that choice for herself. In fact, both communities don't like how she identifies herself.

The Christians say that she is following a "false prophet", and the Buddhists say she is following "wrong-views".

She shrugs it off, saying, "Well, ultimately my spiritual life is my responsibility, right?"

I agree totally. The zero-sum game of religious identity is silly. There are more fundamental aspects of being human that suggest pluralism is the best explanation. And those happen to be the true ground of spiritual practice.

14 years ago @ Buddhist Geeks : Disco... - Considering Buddhism a... · 1 reply · +1 points

Greg,

Can you expand on how you think it's a serious disservice? Are you for or against Asian Buddhist teachers leaving out unpalatable teachings when instructing their Western students? Bait and switch: Do you mean that they say Buddhism isn't a religion, but then after a year or so they hit us with all the "religious" bits and say, yeah this is important now?

Thanks!

-Alec

14 years ago @ Buddhist Geeks : Disco... - Belonging, Blooming, a... · 1 reply · +1 points

Daron,

Great article!

I am a big Shinzen fan, but I'm not certain about how to get in contact with him and study with him. Would you mind giving me an email so I can ask you some questions?

I think you can email me from my Intense Debate account.

Thanks,
Alec

14 years ago @ Shambhala SunSpace - Video: Sitting down to... · 0 replies · +1 points

I think the only ones with authority regarding whether it was an act of vanity or not are the people who did it.

I'm saying, "Don't knock it till' you try it", and also that it's unrealistically cynical to assume their shitty motivation as if you were there and know why each of them did it.

I mean, I get that one of the guys might be there to impress a girl he likes. But how is that different from anything else, ever?

And you know, it is a powerful sight. Whatever you think about it, you are thinking about it, which means that as a piece of awareness-raising art/activism it was effective.

Probably more people will think it was lame at first. But I'd bet that in 2 or 3 weeks from now they'll still remember it and it might be the seed they needed to start their own practice.

14 years ago @ Buddhist Geeks : Disco... - BG 163: Can Dharma Hel... · 0 replies · +2 points

Hokai and Terry bring the pain!!!

"Oh, yeah, I must put more effort.” Well, what if it’s not about effort? You know, you’re not stupid, you’re not lazy. Something really real could be going on here."

I'd be willing to bet there are a lot of people struggling with exactly this.

Great discussion. There is some really good material here, definitely worth contemplating!

14 years ago @ Buddhist Geeks : Disco... - Authority, Trust, Devo... · 0 replies · +1 points

Hokai,

I appreciate the thoughtful response. It is very helpful!

The last bit, where you said "...others won't settle for anything less than you reinventing your own path in the process" was particularly powerful, and it's now a quote on my tumblr :D

I look forward to hearing more from you in the future!

14 years ago @ Buddhist Geeks : Disco... - Authority, Trust, Devo... · 1 reply · +3 points

Hokai,

Great answer! For me personally, it brings up an interesting and challenging question. I understand that conceptually the outer, inner and secret levels are integrated, but for me, experientially they just don't fit together! I've always felt weird about outer-level guru yoga and I've always been torn between whether I'm bad at it or it's just "who I am". I can't do it like it says in the books because I can't think of my teachers as anything other than just really wise people. (Buddhas? Deities?)

And then when I hear "inner" explanations like yours I feel so much more comfortable in that territory. But the quandary arrives when I hear teachers say "don't invent your own path" because I feel like, day to day, I rely almost exclusively on the sorts of things you wrote about, and not the things associated with traditional, outer guru yoga (like asking your teacher for advice on everything!).

I have two teachers who I have great relationships with, and I've learned a lot from them. I know deep down that the way these relationships turned out is right for me, but it doesn't stop my mind from playing tricks like, "You have abandoned them because you don't meditate on them as being the Buddha EVERY day" and all the practices about Guru Yoga in the Tibetan tradition that I studied.

What do you think about it? I know it's kind of a tangent, as you mentioned this is about application in meditation practice, but maybe it's interesting anyways? Is there some other factor that might help me understand this situation? Because it's been an ongoing question for me and your article made me think about it again,