Aware Wolf

Maybe pivot isn't the word here. It just feels a bit like this video is applicable to more than just psychedelics use. I think it is. It's useful to anyone dealing with post-awakening or a spiritual experience. We need more people who are grounded, have a sense of humor, and teach common sense.

Who are these people? How do they know to go to the bathroom without thought? Does it just happen whenever like horses?

@Orb what's wrong with Insights? Okay then, what about your LACK of insights then! Christopher Titmuss said this to a meditator once and I thought it brilliant koan/point to ponder. You've seen no-self. Wonderful. But this experience comes and goes. You want it to stay. Selfing happens. You find it uncomfortable. This is the dukkha of unsatisfactoriness. The mind cognizes. Selfing happens. I don't know if it's even possible to be free of this, and even if you could, it's probably akin to spiritual bypassing. What is doable is to be mindful of thoughts, to be free of taking thoughts seriously, and to be kind to the self and selfing and to hold onto things lightly. Notice when there's a big self (jealousy or hatred) and small self (altruism and generosity). Be mindful and don't judge yourself. Or if you do ... -- notice the judging mind. Relax. You want 12 hours to pass by inexplicable. I don't know what to say here -- maybe go to sleep or take a nap? Drink some alcohol and get on your phone? I don't think you really want this, do you? You're unlikely to escape from thoughts. Even if you did -- such a zombie like state isn't to be envied. Thoughts are just thoughts. They come. They stay for a while. They go. Beneficial thoughts may be encouraged. Unbeneficial thoughts are just unbeneficial thoughts and need not be acted upon. Be mindful and decide for yourself a wise course of action. You want fullness -- reflect and decide what's most important to you. Follow your Path. Be kind to yourself and others. Have a sense of humor and wonder. Relax and allow things to be. Thoughts will come, and selfing happens. Notice that. Notice the self-judgement here. Be kind to yourself and notice the judging mind. It is not you. It's trying to do the best it can. We're human beings and we've not been given perfect tools here by evolution. I don't know if I understand everything going on here in these few short posts , but I'd say get comfortable in your own skin. Accept yourself as you are.

If you did entirely omit thoughts what might this look like? Deep sleep? Anasthesia? A drugged out zombie-like state? What's the insight to be gained in these states?

@Adeptus Psychonautica Well done m8. I'm a big fan. Is this video a pivot? If so, I like it. I think you've got a voice in the dharma community. I can understand you might be reluctant to set yourself up here as the newest Internet Buddha. Your introduction and criticism of Integration coaches reminds me of Sturgeons Law: 90% of everything is bullshit. I smiled when you warned about integrating a belief that one is has messianic powers and can cure all diseases of mankind and want to jump on social media and make this claim. Hmmm. This reminds me of someone. I think also that this Integration is not just for psychedelic experiences. It's also apropos for spiritual awakenings. I say often the same things you're saying. about an awakening. Christopher Titmuss says one should wait a year and a day before making any spiritual attainment claims. I like Shantideva who was a great Tibetan mystic but his fellow monks thought his great realizations were sleeping, eating, and shitting. Your warning to avoid extraordinary claims or attainments works for spiritual awakenings as much as psychedelic ones. Adyashanti says it takes 5-10 years after an awakening. to get a full handle it. He says that there's realization, stabilization, and integration. In other words, integration is a long play. There's more gates. The model isn't necessarily linear (after the first realization). Stabilize what you've got. Integrate. Stabilize some more. Do something different if you feel called to. If you’re a vipassana guy or gal, try a yoga retreat. Doing something physical is probably a great idea. Go for a hike. Don't ignore the Body. Have a sense of humor. Practice equanimity. Have a sense of wonder. Be kind. Journaling can be very useful here as you point out. I put a lot of emphasis on mindfulness as without mindfulness it's often hard to actualize anything in daily life. If you decide you'd like to be kinder -- wiithout mindfulness off the meditation mat -- you're unlikely to apply kindness when an opportunity arises spur of the moment. Although you could carry a reminder as a flash card or on your phone. When you see the reminder, apply kindfulness. Being less angry, is harder to do, as when anger arises, you've got to engage mindfulness to temper anger right then. Reflection you also touch upon. For your example, lose some weight -- a diet can be example of integration. All diets work. But often all diets don't work long-term. Reflection would allow investigation into nutrition expert advice. Although my God, there's a lot of chaff out there in the diet world (it's comparable to the spiritual world) and this would take a long time to sort out the good advice from bad. I like your talk of being a person on the Path. What we're seeking is not a month juice diet or even a six month diet program -- but a lifelong adjustment towards our relationship with food. Not an easy task at all. I know @Adeptus Psychonauticayou're rightfully wary of coaches or gurus, but still presenting I might consider a post-awakening report to a legit teacher with past history and what has happened, beliefs and thoughts on it, and my future plans: This is what I did. This is what happened. My thoughts on it are as follows... This is my plan going forward... Do you have any advice? What I might also do is crowd source it out. Ask different teachers and long time practitioners what they think. This could be interesting. You’re liable to get widely variable insight and advice. I like you present yourself as being available for this, and with no charge. Kudos here.

This would be a good journal entry. What does the future journal entry look like I wonder....?

There's a lot here. I'm not sure what to say. I think we live in a toxic culture. But this isn't new. People have thought times were bad always. The Buddha left his wife and newborn son because of suffering. Without suffering, there's less of an importance for the spiritual side. What you're feeling is dukkha. Dissatisfaction. What will you do here? How will you respond? I recommend a walk or reflection to look at this. You might find stoicism useful here. I like the Stockdale paradox. I notice fortunately that there wasn't personal tragedy or sickness in your life. You're not facing sickness, death, bankruptcy, etc. This gives you hopefully space to look at this suffering without it being overwhelming. There are no easy answers.

I have a Guide to Dharma Books and Practice here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hlk6x2XJy8ZQfdYYTibCx2ADRtZDLPqJifQrggic47k/edit?usp=sharing It includes resources and links. if you get a kindle like @Adeptus Psychonautica recommends, you'll be set.

This is an interesting question. On the one hand, I believe all languages and dialects are equally valid. There's no superior language and this includes Sanskrit, Pali, or Latin. There used to be old school teachers who thought learning and using Latin made one a clearer thinker. I think that this view has fallen out of favor. So I'm not sure if speaking one language over another either benefits one or limits one as far as enabling the speaker to relate and understand things better. In Chinese theres not a direct word for "No" -- but that doesn't mean that Chinese don't have the concept. There's a linguist Whorf who thought language determined beliefs and again, this view has fallen out of favor. What are some criticisms of the Sapir -Whorf hypothesis? While linguists generally agree that the weaker Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, also known as linguistic relativism, can be shown to be true to some extent, there are criticisms of the stronger form of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, also known as linguistic determinism. Among the criticisms of the strong form of the Hypothesis are: One of Whorf's central arguments in his paper on language determining thought was that the Hopi terminology for time gave the Hopi a different and unique understanding of how time worked, distinct from the typical Western conception of time. Pinker (1994) argues that Whorf had never actually met anyone from the Hopi tribe and that a later anthropologist discovered, in fact, the Hopi conception of time was not so different from the traditional Western understanding of it. The problem of translatability: if each language had a completely distinct reality encoded within it, how could a work be translated from one language to another? Yet, literary works, instruction manuals and so forth are regularly translated and communication in this regard is not only possible, but happens every day. On the other hand, words do matter. How a word is translated is important. I've seen this in how Buddhism is translated from Pali. For example, samadhi, is often translated as "concentration" but Bhikkhu Kumara does a good job in saying this is a mistake. Instead, samadhi is better translated as "stability of mind". Does this matter? Well, it changed the emphasis on my practice.

Ah. Good point. The practice of looking at Mu in this koan means looking at Emptiness or Buddha Nature. It's clear from sutras that all sentient beings have Buddha Nature. So why did Joshu reply "Mu"? Was it just to shock the monk asking? Is this a game? Why would a monk ask such an obvious question anyway? Why ask about a dog's Buddha nature? Is this koan about a dog? Perhaps the monk was asking about finding his own Buddha nature. How to realize it? That's a question a monk might ask. If this is the case, "Mu" -- is a great pointer. Or it could be if the monk is open to it. There's another koan, another time, where Joshu is asked again if a dog has Buddha Nature and Joshu says yes. There's a book, The Book of Mu, with chapters on this koan. Sometimes No, sometimes Yes -- what's going on here? If you're looking for firm ground you won't find it in Mu. There is no have or have not. A dog is Buddha Nature.

I like listening to many nondual teachers on YouTube. Samaneri Jayssara has a good Youtube audio on the Zen oxherding pictures. I like it quite a bit. They talk about Kensho (awakening), and Kensho can evidently happen pretty early according to Zen. The third picture, finding your ox. In Mumon Yamada's commentary, later pictures, he talks about giving up Kensho. Kensho is nothing special, he says. Although like a lot of things zen masters say -- it paradoxically is pretty special. A lot of Japanese zen people throw a party when they solve the Mu Koan. But Kensho does have to be given up. I had a good experience working with the Mu koan with a zen master. After doing it, I told the master, I regretted in a way solving Mu as it was fun to look at Mu. He told me that it didn't prevent me from sitting with Mu in the future and doing Mu practice. I think the Mu Koan or Joshu's Dog is applicable towards what you're talking about. I think it's a good description of doing inquiry (although there's an emphasis on force and I'm not sure that's required). I mentioned looking at Source with a light touch and with kindness. Maybe that's an option too? Joshu's Dog A monk asked Joshu, a Chinese Zen master: `Has a dog Buddha-nature or not?' Joshu answered: `Mu.' [Mu is the negative symbol in Chinese, meaning `No-thing' or `Nay'.] Mumon's comment:s To realize Zen one has to pass through the barrier of the patriachs. Enlightenment always comes after the road of thinking is blocked. If you do not pass the barrier of the patriachs or if your thinking road is not blocked, whatever you think, whatever you do, is like a tangling ghost. You may ask: What is a barrier of a patriach? This one word, Mu, is it. This is the barrier of Zen. If you pass through it you will see Joshu face to face. Then you can work hand in hand with the whole line of patriachs. Is this not a pleasant thing to do? If you want to pass this barrier, you must work through every bone in your body, through ever pore in your skin, filled with this question: What is Mu? and carry it day and night. Do not believe it is the common negative symbol meaning nothing. It is not nothingness, the opposite of existence. If you really want to pass this barrier, you should feel like drinking a hot iron ball that you can neither swallor nor spit out. Then your previous lesser knowledge disappears. As a fruit ripening in season, your subjectivity and objectivity naturally become one. It is like a dumb man who has had a dream. He knows about it but cannot tell it. When he enters this condition his ego-shell is crushed and he can shake the heaven and move the earth. He is like a great warrior with a sharp sword. If a Buddha stands in his way, he will cut him down; if a patriach offers him any obstacle, he will kill him; and he will be free in this way of birth and death. He can enter any world as if it were his own playground. I will tell you how to do this with this koan: Just concentrate your whole energy into this Mu, and do not allow any discontinuation. When you enter this Mu and there is no discontinuation, your attainment will be as a candle burning and illuminating the whole universe. Has a dog Buddha-nature? This is the most serious question of all. If you say yes or no, You lose your own Buddha-nature.

It can feel that way. I might put it all in a different light going forward: Is it impossible to get to Source? What happens if you sit with Source? What happens if you lightly and kindly investigate Source? There's checking questions zen masters ask students who solve these koans. Questions might be: "What color is Source?"; "What happens to Source when you die?" What's interesting to me is that people who have solved What is This? or the Mu koan (and didn't just look up the answer on the internet) -- usually react similarly. They giggle. It's a funny question. They are able to give a good answer. I like this quote from Tenzin Palmo. Once you have realized the nature of mind, you're ready to start-- to START -- to meditate. I'm surprised by all the myriad Youtube nondualists who continually spout off "There is no Self". It's not wrong. But with neti-neti -- one may realize that indeed there is no CEO self. But there is something there. There's personality, memory, binding, and continuity. There may be no self (as we thought there was), but if an AI was programmed with yours or mine personalities (or a new one) -- it would be the most amazing discovery ever. That's hardly nothing, is it? With quiet reflective sitting we can look at this amazball. And not just sitting -- look at your mind while eating a pizza -- look at all the synapses going off. The consciousnesses of sight, smell, taste, cognitions. People brag about high mystical Jhana states, but eating a slice of pizza is just as much a mystical experience. As a zen master told me, Emptiness is a Mystery and that mystery is graciousness.

"Ultimately, we're left with a void, an emptiness, where everything that we were aware of has been seen through. " Is it though? Self-inquiry is a classic. There's also koans where the student holds a koan, like "What is THIS?" in their mind, possibly for a lifetime. A lifetime koan. Here's Mooji's take on it: People investigate THIS. And depending on their concepts, interpret it different ways. Some see total emptiness and even the emptiness is empty. Arianna Reflects says there is nothing -- not even illusion (though in later talks she talks of illusion so i dunno). Others see Brahman, God, or Buddha Nature. I don't like the term "Emptiness" or "Void" as people can get stuck and become nihilistic. In Zen, emptiness is also called called Fullness or Suchness. Words. How can the Absolute be put into words? The third turning of Buddha's dharma wheel were the yogacara teachings pointing to a truth beyond words. I like Mingyur's Rinpoche's quote, "Emptiness is not nothing. Instead it is this fantastic void sea of infinite possibilities." So in short, there's different perspectives and words here. "Has anyone had the experience of just hitting that brick wall or blank void? How to investigate the void? Where to go next?" Where you go depends where you are now. My .02 is don't panic, don't be afraid, and don't be nihilistic and be wary of putting too much into your own concepts and framework (although what I'm saying is also a framework and concept). But in practice, it's not beneficial to think one is a God-Man, fully enlightened, or make any special claims. It's up to you what you do and where you go, but there's also deepening your realization, stabilization, and integration. Adyashanti says it takes 5-10 years to do this. My tip for people who've had an eye-opening, profound awakening here, is to relax and try something different -- usually something to do with the body is often good: hiking, gardening, yoga. Be kind to yourself. There's two good books here, Adyashanti's End of Your World, and Kornfield's After the Ecstacy, the Laundry.

You're right I did make an interpetation of the Four Noble Truths, based on the sutta, my .02. I would like to now edit that. The Four Noble Truths is about Four great truths: devotion to God, the joy of coffee, Sexual Freedom, and pets (dogs & cats). This is great! Thank you guys for putting up with me.

Maybe I missed it, but I don't see anyone posting anything, bad translation or not, pali or sanskrit, about the Four Noble Truths. I don't see many posts that seem to give any evidence people have read the source material and know anything, at all, about it. If you want to discard an "3000 year old text" -- why is there even a thread about it then? You're also wrong in that my case is based that the Four Noble Truths is what was said 3000 years ago. I'm not saying it is exactly what the Buddha said. That's almost irrelevant. Did Christ really say every word on Sermon on the Mount? If he didn't -- why should we put any emphasis that it might be worth reading in a thread ON SERMON ON THE MOUNT ?? What I'm doing is calling people out that you're putting your own interpretation and doctrine and spin on the Four Noble Truths and it really doesn't apply to what is in the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths is literally words. It's a sutta. You can read it if you want. What's the message of Jesus's Sermon the Mount? If someone answered: " No Self" -- I'd think the same thing, They're putting their own spin. Ya, the Bible is old. Ya, the Bible has been translated into different languages. I don't think that's sufficient defense for such an answer. It's a surprise how proud people are of not having read the source material. If it was a sermon on the mount thread, if I hadn't read the sermon on the mount, i might, possibly keep my mouth shut. We're in a post-truth world. It really doesn't matter what was actually taught in the suttas or in the sermon. if you want the Four Noble Truths to be about nonduality, infinityness -- it is. If you want the Sermon on the Mount to be about Bears -- it now is. I stand corrected. You guys win.

@Mandy Nonduality is a doctrine. Infinityness is a doctrine. Just not in the Four Noble Truths. Bears are a thing. One should be wary of bears. But bears are not a thing in Sermon in the Mount. If in your Harvard Divinity class, you're asked a test question about the Sermon the Mount, and you go to bear thing because that's why you believe -- you'll fail. You might not like the original Sermon on the Mount. Maybe you believe in something different. Fine, cool. But I don't believe you're free to change around the teaching. I think there's value to be gained in looking at what the Buddha taught here. I'd prefer people to be aware of this, and then ya, feel free to expand upon it. There's other perspectives on the Four Noble Truths. There's a mahayana Buddhist perspective. There's one own take on it, how does one apply it in daily life. But when the thread is Four Noble Truths -- and one goes off their merry way and posts one own philosophical doctrine that has nothing to do with the Four Noble Truths at all, I wonder if we've lost something here.

@Mandy You're free to sign up for whatever you want. I'm a big fan of Mandyism. However, this thread is about Buddhism's Four Noble Truths. And y'all are making up your own sh*t. If there was a thread on Judaism's core beliefs, I wouldn't post Wolfisms. If it was a thread : "Why do people suffer?"; "Why is there suffering?" ; "Is there a way to end suffering?"; and "what is the path to end suffering?" -- then ya, on a forum, it's anything goes. There's Mandyism and Wolfism. s Maybe I'm wrong that I expect if the question is Buddhisms Four Noble Truths, posts should be aware of the base doctrine. Maybe it's anything goes. If someone posts, what is the meaning of Christ's death and resurrection -- I can post "There is no meaning. There is no self, no Christ. There is no birth, no death." -- it just seems a bit weird doing dat. If it's a post on Sermon on the Mount -- and the person hasn't read the sermon, doesn't allude to any of it, and instead goes off into a New Age warning about be careful about bears in the mountains, because they see everything through a Bear filter -- I don't know what to say. The Four Noble Truths is a thing. You can read it. Filtering it through a Louise Hay, Eckhart Tolle, Nondual, Infinity-ness -- says more about you than it does about the Four Noble Truths. The four noble truths has nothing at all to do with nonduality and infinityness. The Sermon on the Mount has nothing to do with bears.

Is the answer to all of life's challenges, silence? Alignment? What is an enlightened application to the political, corporate, religious, cultural formations and information technology? Does silence suffice for all of this? Rapacious capitalism? Facebook and social media usage? Internet porn addiction? Wars? The Buddha never faced the challenge of social media. However wars were a thing back then and there's suttas where the Buddha responded to wars. He did not respond with just silence, he spoke out against war. Being somehow aligned with war -- "It's what the Universe wants, bro!" -- well the Buddha would never say anything like this. There's a Thich Nhat Hanh youtube video on war and whether it is ever justified, and surprisingly, Thich (who was a great peace activist) does not rule out war but says it should be the last, last resort. The truth of Suffering must be realized. The causes of suffering must be understood. The path to cessation of suffering must be practiced. This is in the sutta. Though it does seem the Buddha suffered, although we're getting into controversy here. The Buddha definitely had pain. There's suttas where it seems to me that the Buddha is suffering -- but I don't know his mind but from the writing, the Buddha is complaining, or venting a bit -- it seems like it's a possibility. The Buddha had back pain. The Buddha died after having dhysentary, internal bleeding, and feeling great pain. He didn't exactly just easily mentally disconnect from the pain and suffering. For his back, he took rest and layed down. Medicines are allowed even in early Buddhism. It's interesting that lepers injuries are said not to be so much due to the disease itself -- but because leprosy damages the nerves -- the leper doesn't feel pain. Pain here is a messenger. Without pain, limbs can be injured and the leper doesn't know it. There's people, Leo Gura is one, who says, if your dog dies, you're totally okay with that. I disagree. This is spiritual bypassing. Liberation is the freedom to have a range of human emotions. Liberation is not a zombified internal state. If someone believes it is, there's drugs available that can produce this. No one believes that this person is to be envied or is more awakened because they're a zombie now. I put the Dalai Lama as someone who might well be awakened. He meets with Tibetan refugees. He often tears up from their travails and misfortunes and harsh treatment. The Dalai Lama has said he believes anyone who claims to never be angry isn't quite right in the head. LOL. So I don't know how the end of suffering looks like, especially practically, as long as we're in a human body we're going to have pain. Who has achieved this liberation from all suffering? Would we even want it if we could? If so, why not go have a couple of beers and a valium right now then? It's also to be noted, there's a wonderful and powerful practice Tong Len -- giving and receiving where the practitioner asks to take on the additional suffering of others.

There's books on this and Wikipedia has an entry on this. I like Rahula Walpola's book What the Buddha Taught. Y'all are just making up your own sh*t. That's fine. But it's not Buddhism's Four Noble Truths. It's your own interpretation of the Four Noble Truths. If you presented your own nondual, New Age view of the Four Noble Truths to a Buddhist monk or teacher -- they'd laugh and say, well not quite. If someone wants to know what Catholicism theorizes about the Trinity -- am I free to put down my view that everything is solipsistic, "Only my mind is known to exist, everything that exists first is manifested in my mind." ? I suppose -- but what I'd worry about is that it is a view from ignorance that isn't aware of what Catholicm believes about the Trinity. It can be like the blind leading the blind. This reads harsh, but did anyone actually read the original sutta in which Gautama expounded on the Four Noble Truths? If someone wants to bring up Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, and I've never read it, is this a problem? Can I say the real message of Sermon on the Mount is to beware of bears? Because bears are in mount(ains)? For example, it's known that the path leading to the cessation of suffering is the 8 fold Noble Path. This is in fact what the Buddha taught. I think good pedagogy can be looking at different perspectives. Is the Buddha's perspective here worthwhile? Why didn't anyone post it then? FFS The responses above are more New Age interpretation of the Four Noble Truths that bears little resemblance to what the Buddha taught. If you even care, which you probably don't. In which case, just carry on. I'll take this as a post calling for discussion. This is my 02 The truth of suffering. Suffering, dukkha, is also translated as dissatisfaction or stress. Dukkha exists. We are subject to birth, sickness, old age, and death. Despite vision boards promoting health, sickness and death comes. Despite giving alms, crystals, essential oils, and rituals to promote good health and karma -- sickness and death comes. The truth of the cause of suffering. The Dharma is dependent origination. This means that what happens is due to causes and conditions and our suffering happens because of causes and conditions, of which a large part may be our desire, or craving. This stands up to science. It does not mean that a 5 year old getting cancer is due to karma somehow attracting the sickness. It's not a rape victim's karma they got raped. It's not she manifested the rape by their clothes or playing the victim. This is obnoxious and New Age claptrap. The truth of the end of suffering. There is a way out of this suffering. It is nibbana or the cessation of craving. The four noble truths follows a medical diagnosis. It is no coincidence the Buddha was called the great physician. Here, the problem is defined (suffering). The cause is listed (causes and conditions). The diagnosis is that there is a way out (if there were no solution, there's no point in seeking a remedy). The truth of the path that frees us from suffering. The remedy is the 8-fold noble path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right stability of mind. This is a comprehensive path to upend one's life and change it to be a more whole human being. It includes wisdom, stability of mind, and ethics.: Please remember that contemporary Western spiritual enlightenment mostly focuses on being in the now, a non-judging mindfulness, an end to the seeker, and a sense of oneness. You might think such teachings were deep and profound. Far, far from it. This is beginner’s stuff. Shortly before his death, the Buddha expressed concern about the ‘closed fist’ of the teacher such as a teacher who holds to and promotes a single insight or two at the exclusion of a rich and diverse exploration. In an enlightened way of life, no stone is left unturned. There is a bringing to light to bear equally on the inner and outer life, as mentioned in the Buddha’s discourse on mindfulness. It is the enquiry into ethics, desires, depths of meditation, money, action, livelihood, love, compassion, empathy, identity, conflict, emptiness, self and non-self, truth, reality and awakening. What is an enlightened application to the personal and public life, for the individual and the institution, the worldly and the spiritual? What is an enlightened application to the political, corporate, religious, cultural formations and information technology? The Now? Being? A Oneness Experience? We only get silence from much of the current wave of spiritual, mindfulness, non-dual and yoga teachers. What much of the West offers in the way of enlightenment belongs to the kindergarten of spirituality. -- Christopher Titmuss

@Valley2Mountain Take a drug experience. Cocaine triggers the reward system in the brain and decreases the stress trigger. What is the direct experience? Snorting the coke. What does that feel like? Powdery? Dry? A bit arid? A metallic taste on the tongue? The brain changes are too subtle to be directly experienced. What we experience is the pleasure and absence of stress. Usually, although there's some who will interpret the brain changes unfavorable. There's people who when they first smoke pot, don't like the strange way it makes them feel. There's people who drink alcohol and don't like the feeling of losing control. There's college kids who take mushrooms and have a nice pleasurable trip, while a family who accidentally gathers some psychedlic mushrooms on a mushroom hunt, may go to the emergency room. What is the sensual experience of doing cocaine? It's much more than just the direct experience. It's the euphoric sensation involved with cocaine use. We eat chocolate. What is the direct experience? The taste, sweetness, texture, smell, etc. Then there's feeling, pleasurable, aversive or neutral. Then there's thoughts about it, "I love this imported German chocolate!" #1 We are being whipped by a birch stick. There's sensations here. Direct experience. We don't like it. We call it pain. We seek to flee the scene or strike the person back. #2 We are being whipped by a birch stick. There's sensations here. We paid for this therapy session featuring massage with birch sticks. There's sensations, pain, but we interpret it as a good kind of pain. We relax and enjoy it. We tip the masseuse at the end. I think it's kinda funny when a husband or a kid asks their wife/mom about some food, "Do I like this?" -- they're experiencing some sensations and aren't sure whether to label it favorable or not. There's a famous sutta, the Bahiya sutta, and I like this sutta, because it's bare bones Buddha instructions on how to become realized: Herein, Bahiya, you should train yourself thus: 'In the seen will be merely what is seen; in the heard will be merely what is heard; in the sensed will be merely what is sensed; in the cognized will be merely what is cognized.' In this way you should train yourself, Bahiya. Why is this at all important? It's important to know the reality of how things are and the framework and conceptual mapping that goes on. Practice: Ajahn Amaro's "Is that so?" Question your mapping and your judgements.

I would draw a line here between "direct experience" Direct experience or immediate experience generally denotes experience gained through immediate sense perception. Many philosophical systems hold that knowledge or skills gained through direct experience cannot be fully put into words. And Sensual experience: the condition of being pleasing or fulfilling to the senses. You hit a key point in Buddhism. To reject sensuality and hedonism, to view as a wrong path. Yes, sensual pleasures do provide pleasure, as the saying 'Sweet like honey on a razor.' And neither do austerity and purity practices provide salvation. Buddhism favors the Middle Way. This may involve, certainly, reflection on past or planning for the future. Those who fetishize present moment, "The Now", often miss this. Wisdom is a thing and we don't need to disconnect contemplation and reflection. The Buddha and other sages did not.

You don't need to seek out a perfect meditation environment. If any indeed do exist. Most of my retreats at centers had noise issues. Chainsaws going? Yes. Wedding music so loud it shook the building's windows, check. U Tejaniya did short meditations, many times when he ran his family's shop in Rangoon in a busy marketplace. If there's other people around, or a swan, or a squirrel, notice that. Label that and any accompanying judgement. If there's other people around, you might meditate with your eyes open. Look at your mind "as-is" Slow walking meditation might be a good method here. Just walk slowly and mindfully.

Hold on there, Speed Racer! First you have to identify what sect or group you’d like to robe up in. Second, you should visit and get to know them and let them get to know you. This is a process that could take years. It probably should take years. I advocate the path of the Dharma Bum and it’s a great way to get your foundations in order and also visit different centers and monasteries. If you take a shining to a monastery and a teaching, the next step might be an extended retreat there, then volunteering. Often before becoming a monk there’s a trial period where you’re like a helper or junior monk. In Theravada they have what’s called a samanera. If you just show up at a monastery and center and want to become a monk, you risk being perceived as the caricature of a Western spiritual tourist with overly romantic ideas of what being a monk entails that will probably flame out when faced with the reality. They don’t know you and may think you’re going through a life crisis. Are you? However if you’ve done a retreat with them before, return, and are keen on being a volunteer – well, everyone loves volunteers! Do that – explore and volunteer. See Wat Pah Nanachat which is a Thai monastery setup expressly to help Westerners ordain into the Thai Forest Tradition. https://www.watpahnanachat.org/ If you’re interested in Tibetan Buddhism, I’d spend extended around Dharamsala area. The FPMT is an organization that is friendly towards Westerners with a number of Western monks and nuns. The thing about Tibetan Buddhism is often they really emphasize a guru so it might work better if you find a Tibetan teacher you’re really keen on. If you robed up under the FPMT and didn’t care for Lama Zopa, it would be peculiar.

My .02 is you're free to experiment. See your meditation cushion as a laboratory. Analayo's Satipatthana trilogy is Satipatthana. However you can easily find guided metta, equanimity, and mindfulness of breathing on Youtube. Analayo also has a book on Mindfulness of Breathing. If you're looking for an easier, more basic entry point, try Sam Harris's Waking Up app, it has a really top notch meditation program (including a section on Metta and a section on Satipatthana). I still use it. Metta, Equanimity, Satipatthana, and Mindfulness of Breathing are like Buddha's greatest hits. You could spend months or years on this program. I might rotate between Metta, Equanimity, Satipatthana, and Mindfulness of Breathing and do a different one each day depending on what I feel I need. Dharma seed has a Metta retreat by the excellent teacher Rob Burbea and it might be a good entry point too.

That's a POV. Maybe other people have a totally different path to me. Maybe there path is no path. I see a real rogue's gallery of bad gurus and teachers who've abused people. Is he? How do you know this? What lessons are we suggesting? Cut the delusion? Cut the bullshit? Cut the pseudo intellectualism? Cut the anti-women screeds? How has Leo integrated this? Oh, the LESSONS FROM KETAMINE. Lessons from Ketamine LOL. I'm 21 minutes in and I"m done. I hear Leo talking up his drug fueled insights. Comparing them to highest spiritual insights. Are Ketamine insights the same as high Buddhist and other insights and awakenings? Huh. I don't buy it. and I've just heard Leo expound a platitude that there's no unhappiness in the Now (on Ketamine). Wow. What happened to you Joseph? I seem to remember you being critical of Leo on this thread earlier. Now you're posting Leo videos and saying Leo is integrating all these insights and we need to be fair and compassionate to Leo. Yet earlier on this very same thread -- you yourself were critical of Leo. Huh. You remind me of an abused wifewho walks out on her arsehole husband, files charges -- but then goes back to him and says he's not all that bad, we should be fair to him, and she loves him. You're free to believe what you want. But It's a bizarre look really. Are you okay? Seriously, what's going on with you here?