This thread gave me the confidence to really relax, and I seem to have turned my "stone head syndrome" into something much more subtle and relaxing that fills the entire body (not just my head). I will continue relaxing and looking for subtle disturbances so that I may continue to progress...

Here are a handful from Einstein: "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." "Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind." "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." "Common sense is the collecti...

Buddha didn't speak directly about the absense of self due to the reason that many would not understand that properly. So he spoke about it absense indirectely . When one looks at something and says "this is me, this is mine", one must recognize that as a fabrication. If the fabrication i...

Temporary ordination is more productive than going to college to join a fraternity.

No-self or Not-self? by Thanissaro Bhikkhu Thanissaro Bhikkhu is the one who made that distinction clear to me, even though now I go back and see a lot of things I read before were making that distinction and I just missed it. What worked for me was to take the metaphysical soul out of the picture ...

Buddha says in that the results of kamma are imponderable. To see if I am understanding.... there is past karma influencing the events of life, there is also the present moment choice of how we perceive and react to those karmic fruits. The present moment is the opportunity to bend the curve toward...

Love it. Good thread. I think of every moment as an opportunity to meditate. I recently read a meditation guide that said, "You can even be mindful in a fit of rage". This may possibly be hyperbole, but each moment we definitely have the opportunity to choose between a) mindfully seeking s...

Meditation is difficult. In the morning I'm too tired to focus on anything. During the day I have a hard time calming down. At night I tend to space out on a blissful non-jhana (more like that late night high that makes dumb jokes seem funny). What I have found that works for all three is to put a l...

We detach from greed, hatred and delusion not from generosity, loving kindness and wisdom. :goodpost: What a wonderful response. I can't top that, but just to add another approach: My understanding is that it should be detachment from results. Even the most detached person should get off the cushio...

I would laugh, but I'm too busy practicing equanimity

If you are looking for a metaphor, i like the "stone dropped into a still pool" better. It at least allows for more complex relationships. Despite what newton, the materialists, and b.f. skinnner say, we dont live in a universe simple enough to allow for simplistic one to one causal relat...

Hello, Kavi. I am also in NorCal. I'm also new to this forum and learning a lot from the experience. I look forward to seeing your posts.

as far as Buddhist law goes what ever ceases first, arises last what ever ceases last, arises first thus the cycle continues. it is not the same as Newton's law. metta. Please cite a reference. This sounds kind of cryptic without the context. I know I've heard something similar before, but it needs...

I like the analogy. I know some people don't like the math/science analogies to the Dhamma, but I like them, if they help. Thanks, David. You're the first response that seems to understand that I am not trying to make a direct parallel, but a loose analogy that we can toy with to develop a new pers...

Hello!! Hope you have good experience.