Search found 96 matches

by OcTavO
Fri Aug 06, 2010 12:58 am
Forum: Lounge
Topic: Effect of brutal or sex videos
Replies: 34
Views: 8229

Re: Effect of brutal or sex videos

Hi Anna, I can't weigh in on the porn aspect but I can weigh in on the "brutal". I'm a horror writer and a practicing Buddhist. Most people think the two are mutually exclusive but I beg to differ. The genre of horror is a direct conduit to something I believe is hard-wired into every huma...
by OcTavO
Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:05 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Buddhist Futurism
Replies: 15
Views: 4678

Re: Buddhist Futurism

Viscid wrote:If any form of Buddhism is going to be widely adopted, it will be warped to be accessible and acceptable.
I suspect it already is. :thinking:
by OcTavO
Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:52 pm
Forum: Introductions
Topic: Hi to all.
Replies: 5
Views: 1637

Re: Hi to all.

Hello Sid :hello:
by OcTavO
Sat Jul 31, 2010 12:03 am
Forum: Theravāda for Beginners
Topic: Confused about Buddhism
Replies: 44
Views: 9116

Re: Confused about Buddhism

Kenshou wrote:But joy never stays and suffering always returns, too.
^^^^
:thumbsup:
by OcTavO
Thu Jul 29, 2010 3:09 am
Forum: Theravāda for Beginners
Topic: Confused about Buddhism
Replies: 44
Views: 9116

Re: Confused about Buddhism

Hi El Gallo, to the best of my knowledge, I'll answer as straightforwardly as I can: I believe that suffering comes from the fact that a person is resisting how things really are. This in line with Theravadin beliefs. Dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness, unease) has Upadana (clinging/fuel) and Tan...
by OcTavO
Thu Jul 29, 2010 2:45 am
Forum: Lounge
Topic: Inception
Replies: 17
Views: 4994

Re: Inception

I enjoyed it, although for me it suffered from the same problem that most of Nolan's other movies did - it was somehow clinical, cold, and lacking humanity. Still, it was a very intelligent and thought-provoking screenplay. I didn't really see anything in it pertinent to the Dhamma. It plays with la...
by OcTavO
Tue Jul 27, 2010 6:22 pm
Forum: Wellness, Diet & Fitness
Topic: Are you S.A.D.?
Replies: 54
Views: 10592

Re: Are you S.A.D.?

So are we saying that a stream winner would not have diabetes ? S.A.D. is no more a "mental "condition than diabetes is. Its metabolic. Its medical management is in managing the metabolic response...just as in diabetes. Show me someone who has been diagnosed as having type 1 diabetes but ...
by OcTavO
Mon Jul 26, 2010 9:10 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Buddhism and the Multiverse Theory
Replies: 7
Views: 5696

Re: Buddhism and the Multiverse Theory

I've read essays that tried to stretch the definition of what Brahmin's believed during the Buddha's era to fit the current M-theory and multiple universes interpretations of quantum physics, but I think that's a pretty gross misinterpretation. To the best of my knowledge the Buddha didn't bother mu...
by OcTavO
Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:27 pm
Forum: Sīla
Topic: I am determined to abstain from pornography
Replies: 73
Views: 19099

Re: I am determined to abstain from pornography

I fully salute the efforts and resolve of those wishing to abstain from porn, but I'll throw in the other side of the coin (this is not an argument against or devil's-advocate position by any stretch of the imagination... so please don't take it that way.) I'm a married, non-celibate lay practitione...
by OcTavO
Mon Jul 26, 2010 1:32 pm
Forum: Wellness, Diet & Fitness
Topic: Are you S.A.D.?
Replies: 54
Views: 10592

Re: Are you S.A.D.?

I was diagnosed with summer-onset seasonal affective disorder. Not many people know it exists. The common perception of S.A.D. is that it's all about lack of light. Summer onset S.A.D. is something of a mystery though... some studies seem to indicate it's related to brain temperature. Also I feel I ...
by OcTavO
Mon Jul 26, 2010 12:55 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Is this an ok definition of anatta?
Replies: 5
Views: 2120

Re: Is this an ok definition of anatta?

That's an interesting analogy to pointillism. I like it. :thumbsup:

You may find this link of interest also, in case you haven't already seen it before: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... self2.html
by OcTavO
Sun Jul 25, 2010 9:11 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Most important bit of dharma?
Replies: 23
Views: 5418

Re: Most important bit of dharma?

Hmm, what exactly do you mean by that? The dhamma doesn't work anymore and so we should just work on gaining merit? Or, people these days are nastier than they used to be, so we better put alotta extra effort into counteracting that? Or we're all more depressed so we should be kinder? For what reas...
by OcTavO
Sun Jul 25, 2010 8:59 pm
Forum: General Theravāda Meditation
Topic: How do I watch the breath (without controlling it)?
Replies: 18
Views: 10583

Re: How do I watch the breath?

My advice would be if you find yourself controlling it, just watch yourself controlling it. It's important to remember that it's not about the breath. The breath is just a convenient object of focus to gently come back to whenever you become aware of being caught up in one of the incessant storyline...
by OcTavO
Sun Jul 25, 2010 2:15 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Most important bit of dharma?
Replies: 23
Views: 5418

Re: Most important bit of dharma?

The Buddha seemed to hint that Paticca-samuppada what the single most important concept of understanding the Dhamma.

But with the state of the world at present, I'd have to say the most important thing the Dhamma has to offer right now is Compassion.
by OcTavO
Fri Jul 23, 2010 2:47 am
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Zen Vs Therevada
Replies: 59
Views: 13285

Re: Zen Vs Therevada

I've recently sat in various Zen centers around my local area and they are a world apart from the local Theravadin Wat. The first I attended was an affiliated school of Kwan Um (which is a bit of a mix of Rinzai and Pureland). They were a very pleasant school, but deeply focused in ritual and with a...