TheDhamma wrote:

pink_trike wrote: Would be very cool if Drolma, Ven. App, and myself could all meet up.

Make that 7 (total). My family and I spend a lot of time in Santa Monica.

That would be wonderful!

Hi Pink_Trike,

I think Ven. is coming later, but it would be awesome if we could all meet up anyhow. Your location and mine aren't that far away.
I sent Ven. a PM searching for details...

THREE DAYS! Woohoooooo!

Santeri wrote:

I love the multi-levels. It's awesome

Okay, I'm going to get the nerve up to post a pic
Coming soon...

Here is more of the quote which I posted in the OP. Perhaps it will get things back on track a bit? There is no mention of an atta in here. Now we come down to the real meaning, the whole point, of what I am saying here. It is that I am my own refuge, I am my own protector. Nobody can actually give ...

One thing you are missing, kannada, this is the "Discovering Theravada" section, which is pretty much self explanatory by its title - "Discovering Theravada". What has become plainly obvious is that idiosyncratic posts do not quite fit here, since what you are posting is not nec...

Hi Drolma, I appreciate you thinking about my 'education' but I've read Thanissaro Bhikkhu's Not self strategy years ago. I didn't agree with it then and I don't think a re-visitation would change my mind... Thanks anyway Hi Kannada, I've posted my inquiry in the beginner's section, hoping I can ge...

Hi Tilt,

Thanks for that clarification. It's very interesting and I like reading these suttas.

Another point that maybe kannada might find helpful? Anatta doesn't mean non-existence, it means that we don't exist in the way we usually think we exist or feel like we exist. We come to "be" via the process of dependent origination. If anatta is removed from dependent origination it can ...

There's a thread here in the "Discovering Theravada" section I started a while back called "The Not Self Strategy." In that thread we discussed the distinction between no self and not self. I linked to an article by a Bikkhu that was called "The Not Self Strategy." Mayb...

Refuge in Oneself Hi Drolma, Wouldn't this contradict the teaching of Anatta? Taking refuge in a 'self' that is nothing more than a utilisable misperception... Best wishes k Hi Kannada, If you don't mind, I'll let the folks more experienced in Theravada reply first. And if they don't, I'll give it ...

Hi Retro,

Yes, that's the topic! Thanks. Wonderful words from Ven K. Sri Dhammananda. It really places the responsibility squarely where it belongs, doesn't it?
Thanks for reposting it here

Best,
Drolma

Hi all, I'm returning to DW with my tail between my legs after having argued a bit with Tilt about the idea of taking refuge in oneself. :D I just read this from HH 17th Karmapa: How we come down to the real meaning, the whole point, of what I am saying here. It is that I am my own refuge, I am my o...

pink_trike wrote:Everyone's Dharma path is necessarily unique, but all Dharma leads to the same recognition. Doesn't matter how someone else got across the river, what matters is what they discovered along the way and on the other side.

Imo, replacing "doubt" with "uncertainty" may be helpful in understanding this phrase. The degree that we are aware of the inherent uncertain (impermanent, dynamic, insubstantial, conditioned) nature of the entire phenomenal world is the degree that we experience clarity (cleare...