buddhism
Passion and spaciousness together imply that you care deeply about the world, that you urgently want to fix problems, that you always do your best—and you are unruffled when you fail.
Having this realistic attitude produces a kind of fearlessness —a key attribute for tantrikas. It is not the idiot fearlessness—produced by spirituality—of being sure ... See more
Having this realistic attitude produces a kind of fearlessness —a key attribute for tantrikas. It is not the idiot fearlessness—produced by spirituality—of being sure ... See more
There are no spiritual problems | Vividness
Once we have completely calmed the mind—stopped thinking and reacting—then we can step over the threshold into our inner being, where everybody really belongs. What we experience at that moment of entry is utter delight. That is an indication that we are in the first jhana. Immediately after feeling this utter delight, the first reaction of the min... See more
Wes Nisker • Biting Into The Mango: Doing Jhana Practice With Ayya Khema - Inquiring Mind
Fear of the emptiness of not-knowing gives rise to cynicism and blind faith. Although these seem like opposites, they are really the same thing. They are personal rigidity, as a defense against uncertainty. Both are dysfunctional. They cut us off from ambiguous situations.
Opinions and curiosity | Vividness
After we have experienced the first jhana, we have to do three things before we open our eyes. First is to recapitulate how we got there, because people have individual ways of doing it. Some get there through lovingkindness meditation, some through watching the breath, some through “sweeping,” or other methods. The second thing we have to do befor... See more
Wes Nisker • Biting Into The Mango: Doing Jhana Practice With Ayya Khema - Inquiring Mind
What an insight to have!
Stephen Zerfas, cofounder of Jhourney, a company that aims to help more people experience jhanas, describes them as “the opposite of a panic attack.” Instead of an escalating anxiety loop, jhanas are an escalating pleasure loop, the intensity of which is comparable — depending on whom you ask — to an orgasm, an MDMA-induced cuddle puddle, or the th... See more
Manufacturing Bliss
Curious how eG thinks about jhanas, since they seem to involve focus-based methods.
Dzogchen trains us to see the world as it is, without reference points. In Dzogchen trek-chod, we experience the brilliant energy of emotions without their conceptual content. Those unnecessary emotional judgements are the basis for dividing the world into pure and impure, sacred and profane.
No holiness—vastness! | Vividness
I see the point of practice now, at least one point. It’s to remove conceptual barriers to experience in order to experience experience more fully, without judgement. Judgement itself is an experience, one that doesn’t have to have inherent meaning.
Buddhism is unique, as far as I know, in insisting that the kind of answers we want cannot be had, anywhere. Emptiness—inherent uncertainty—is at the heart of Buddhism. For this reason, Buddhism is sometimes described as “The Way of Disappointment.” If we follow it sincerely, Buddhism repeatedly crushes our hope that somehow it will satisfy our lon... See more
The futile quest for certainty | Vividness
Vajrayana (Buddhist Tantra) began in India, and most of its main developments happened there. There is no historical doubt about this; see for instance The Origins of Yoga and Tantra .
Vajrayana is not Tibetan Buddhism (and vice versa) | Vividness
It is true that you need to get along reasonably well with your sangha (Buddhist community). However, for Buddhism to be effective, it needs to undercut your basic assumptions about life—your “reference points.” An excessively comfortable group, which constantly validates your reference points, is an obstacle.