Hi! Any rational people out there?

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alan
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Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by alan »

Recently found your forum. I'm hoping to discuss Dhamma with intelligent, sane people. All too often I run up against mushy-minded new-agey crystals and pyramid types--or worse!
I'm a photographer, currently working in New England (USA), heading off to Asia in November. Second time through Handful of leaves, it has been a revelation. I've found accesstoinsight to be an incredible resource. I'd like to talk to others on the path. The non-crazy ones, I mean.
Last edited by alan on Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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retrofuturist
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Alan,

Welcome to Dhamma Wheel.

No crystals here :tongue:

P.S. You might want to have a look at the different sub-forums here, get a feel of what they're each about (and any forum-specific guidelines they may possess) and use this categorisation to customise your experience here by steering clear of that which won't be of interest to you.

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Cittasanto
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by Cittasanto »

NO sorry if you find anyone who is sane and rational slap them with a kipper 60 times while singing the birdy song off key in e minor, then youll see just how sane and rational they really are!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhJQp-q1Y1s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last edited by Cittasanto on Thu Oct 01, 2009 9:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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tiltbillings
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by tiltbillings »

Manapa wrote:NO sorry if you find anyone who is sane and rational slap them with a kipper 60 times while singing the birdy song off key in e minor, then youll see just how sane and rational they really are!
A kipper? I would go for a flounder. Somehow more poetic.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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Cittasanto
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by Cittasanto »

tiltbillings wrote:
Manapa wrote:NO sorry if you find anyone who is sane and rational slap them with a kipper 60 times while singing the birdy song off key in e minor, then youll see just how sane and rational they really are!
A kipper? I would go for a flounder. Somehow more poetic.
Not the same smell! :tongue:
Edit
Leave something to keep the memory ticking over
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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pink_trike
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by pink_trike »

Greetings! In my experience, people interested in the Dharma fall on a spectrum ranging from rational to irrational and every point in between, by Dharma subject. The Dharma gently nudges everyone toward the middle ground.
Vision is Mind
Mind is Empty
Emptiness is Clear Light
Clear Light is Union
Union is Great Bliss

- Dawa Gyaltsen

---

Disclaimer: I'm a non-religious practitioner of Theravada, Mahayana/Vajrayana, and Tibetan Bon Dzogchen mind-training.
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Jechbi
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by Jechbi »

Welcome. It's an interesting mix.
Rain soddens what is kept wrapped up,
But never soddens what is open;
Uncover, then, what is concealed,
Lest it be soddened by the rain.
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BlackBird
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by BlackBird »

Hi there Alan, keep in mind that no matter where we go, we're going to find things that are disagreeable to us. You could look at it this way: It's a good chance to practice those Paramis.

:smile:
"Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are stressful; association with what is not loved is stressful, separation from what is loved is stressful, not getting what is wanted is stressful. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.

"And what is the cause by which stress comes into play? Craving is the cause by which stress comes into play.

"And what is the diversity in stress? There is major stress & minor, slowly fading & quickly fading. This is called the diversity in stress.
- AN 6.63 - Nibbedhika Sutta: Penetrative
pink_trike wrote:The Dharma gently nudges everyone toward the middle ground.
Well, you can lead a horse to water...

Metta
Jack
Last edited by BlackBird on Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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'The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple. He is the one who knows, not I." - MN. 70 Kitagiri Sutta

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tiltbillings
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by tiltbillings »

alan wrote:Recently found your forum. I'm hoping to discuss Dhamma with intelligent, sane people.
All the joking aside, there are a fair number of knowledgable, serious practitioners here, and you will find good discussions.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
alan
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by alan »

So it seems. But what better way to welcome a new friend than with some absurdist humor?
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by DNS »

:hello:

Welcome to Dhamma Wheel!
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zavk
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by zavk »

Welcome.
With metta,
zavk
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tiltbillings
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by tiltbillings »

alan wrote:So it seems. But what better way to welcome a new friend than with some absurdist humor?
Too much Monty Python in my formative years.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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Ben
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by Ben »

Hi Alan
Welcome to Dhamma Wheel!
Hope to see some of your contributions soon!
cheers

Ben
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in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
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Sanghamitta
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Re: Hi! Any rational people out there?

Post by Sanghamitta »

alan wrote:Recently found your forum. I'm hoping to discuss Dhamma with intelligent, sane people. All too often I run up against mushy-minded new-agey crystals and pyramid types--or worse!
I'm a photographer, currently working in New England (USA), heading off to Asia in November. Second time through Handful of leaves, it has been a revelation. I've found accesstoinsight to be an incredible resource. I'd like to talk to others on the path. The non-crazy ones, I mean.
Personally I am working hard to stop my habitual aversion to any manifestation of New Age " philosophy ".
Not because I am tempted by any of its manifestations, but because I am trying to see the person behind the views.
Its not always easy..... :thinking:
:smile:
:anjali:
The going for refuge is the door of entrance to the teachings of the Buddha.

Bhikku Bodhi.
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