Search found 16 matches

by norman
Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:35 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

If you're going to approach it that way, there's nothing stopping you or anyone from conducting a "trial" of not drinking alcohol and seeing what comes of it here and now. I would say 1 month of total abstinence at a minimum will probably reveal a few clearly visible things. :stirthepot: ...
by norman
Fri Apr 12, 2013 2:15 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

Thanks binocular. I am no expert on the suttas - just a lay person trying out what is suggested - and am quite happy to be corrected... Maybe I have mis-read this (MN10, Thera, I take covetousness = desire for, grief = dislike/aversion): "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives contemplating the body i...
by norman
Tue Apr 09, 2013 10:37 am
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

Just to be clear: I would define aversion as 'strong dislike' Living in society there are conventions that we (hopefully) are brought up with - for example a strong dislike of acts of cruelty. On a conventional level these are valuable as they act as an emotional check on behaviour which is destruct...
by norman
Thu Mar 28, 2013 8:01 am
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

We'll have to disagree on that one, ground. For example, doubt (though I think it applies to the others too): I would say doubt does not need to be labelled 'bad' or 'good' - it just exists. It should not be the subject of aversion which just adds another layer of problems. To need aversion to be th...
by norman
Wed Mar 27, 2013 9:03 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

Actually... that's a great idea! I like a challenge. Whereas the first four precepts are clearly pointing at avoiding gross wrong-doing, the 5th - though done to excess would lead to bad results - is a bit different: minor consumption is not harmful I think, but to follow the precept literally could...
by norman
Wed Mar 27, 2013 3:07 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

Fair point. I think these precepts are (should be) freely entered into, and I suppose individuals will differ as to how many or which they will (try to) adhere to. My sceptical approach is to try to follow the eightfold path in a straightforward way and try not to hold opinions on anything that I ca...
by norman
Wed Mar 27, 2013 9:42 am
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

More like four actually. I'm not really clear whether it's helpful to define yourself in any way though - except perhaps as a 'work in progress'. The problem with definition as I see it is that you end up trying to judge if you fit the 'rules' to be a member of the club - but working from written ru...
by norman
Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:09 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

Thanks Dmytro. Some serious error that is (that we need not repeat)! Yes - the Vipallasa Sutta again usefully points to clear 'sight'. For me this makes entire sense, and is more than compatible with living a full life. I keep coming back to Ajahn Sumedho: in his talk Opinions (1981) he tells how st...
by norman
Fri Mar 22, 2013 12:18 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

Thanks again tiltbillings. I have just listened to Ajahn Sumedho's talk The Eight Precepts (1982) from the podcast collection 108 Talks. He offers pointers in the most undogmatic way - and encourages an open attitude to letting things (thoughts, feelings) arise - not repressing them, just observing ...
by norman
Sat Mar 09, 2013 11:30 am
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

IanAnd thanks again. First, you gave me a great laugh (at my own expense) when I caught myself actually congratulating myself for my 'insight' as identified by you! That is so off track on so many grounds - the 'me/I' in there exists, but doesn't need to be made into more than it is - or less than i...
by norman
Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:55 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

For me right now ' to be ' means to be detected by my senses - here and now, and with some confidence that comes from the memory of repetition and 'triangulation' (more than one sense, corroboration by other people, part of a cause-and-effect sequence etc). In that sense this 'self' that is me is - ...
by norman
Tue Feb 19, 2013 11:40 am
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

Thanks for pointing me to this IanAnd. I had seen this before but not really absorbed it: it seems to first recommend getting a clear view of the body, feelings and consciousness - not to force change on them but 'to the extent necessary just for knowledge and remembrance'. With mental objects there...
by norman
Mon Feb 18, 2013 5:31 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

Thanks very much IanAnd - that is really helpful. I watch emotions rise and fall but see no source - and indeed sense them like a sort of 'atmosphere' whose root I do not see or whose nature is unclear, although they usually connect to something tangible like an unsettling thought, or perhaps the ta...
by norman
Mon Feb 18, 2013 2:59 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Re: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

Thanks - yes I can see that to get bogged down with words is to miss the point - and could even lead to a sort of dogmatic insistence just because it is 'in the book'. So to practice with openness to the rise and fall of 'things' - and let some sort of 'wisdom' emerge might be the way. Maybe to cons...
by norman
Mon Feb 18, 2013 1:23 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness
Replies: 41
Views: 12508

Suffering, revulsion, loathsomeness

I appreciate that there is difficulty in translating from Pali. However these words seem very loaded and for me imply an emotional engagement with things that seems just the opposite of dispassion, observation of the way things are without judgement, letting things that arise naturally pass away aga...