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Re: Choosing a Monastery

Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 8:26 am
by convivium
purify the mind means different things to different people.
that's interesting. for example a conversation with me and a friend who is into tantrism:
Everywhere you look is darkness so look within until you find light and ask it.. Any other way leads to much frustration..
If you are going to dedicate your life to something you had better be very sure that you won't get tired of it in 10 - 20 years give up and become a fornicating householder.. Do it and get good results or look for cognizant knowledge within.....
You see if someone become a sex slave, it is because they are following someone else.. We MUST follow our innermost.. If really listen to our innermost and let him truly guides us, we will have no regrets..

Some people ask How do you know if it is your innermost or your ego.. This is why they give themselves to a guru because they do not know..
The Guru is Inside and we must awaken enough to follow him.. We do need teachers and guides along t he way of course that we are lead to but we should always talk with our innermost..

What we need to strive for is our own Samadhi and our own conscious awakening in the astral planes..

It isn't easy or everyone would be enlightened but it is relatively simple if you compare it to the alternative routes..
4 hours ago

conscious awakening in the astral planes?
4 hours ago ·

do we really need it or is that often just a product of enlightenment that some arahats have, and others don't? why is it necessary?
4 hours ago ·

I am no expert but yeah...

Awaken in the internal worlds.. When you are dreaming pull your finger or do a little hop.. If your finger stretches or you float you are dreaming.. Then stay awake in your dream and do some investigating..
Call for a master or an angel to guide you.. Go to a buddhist temple.. Ask to see one of your egos.. Etc..
...
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4 hours ago

what's the difference between dreaming and the astral plane?
3 hours ago ·

It is better to call it astral experiences so that we do not think of it as a dream because it isn't.. It is the internal worlds and it is just as real as this 'dream' ..
This helps us in some ways..
3 hours ago

what are the vital and astral planes?
3 hours ago ·

The Vital Body
"It is written that the vital body or the foundation of organic life within each one of us has four ethers. The chemical ether and the ether of life are related with chemical processes and sexual reproduction. The chemical ether is a specific foundation for the organic chemical phenomena. The ether of life is the foundation of the ...
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2 hours ago

dreams can be helpful to reveal anatta. the mind is drawn into the same delusions within circumstances in waking life, as in the phenomena of dreaming (getting carried away by dreams or hallucinations). discernment of dreams with the foundation of sensation, to know what is nama and what is rupa, what is real sensation and what is influenced by mental aggregates, is a skillful discernment, and with continued discernment can result in a stage of insight or something like that. http://www.vipassanadhura.com/sixteen.html#onea" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
in relation to dreams: seeing that there is no difference between waking life and dreams as in kagyu. vs our therevada methods of discernment. and then going on to all the other yogas...

so while i'm interested in these practices and perspectives, i can't say much more than that at this point.
there was a post that was deleted when i talked about the buddha ascending into the heavens with his council of monks for some reason or another and battling nagas. i wonder if this happens today with therevada monks, and if that's similar to tibetan monks. kundalini or tummo and jhana are different sorts of samadhis and have different aims and capacities, while i don't have the proficiency to claim that from experience. so choosing a monasteryl probably therevada. the buddha practiced all these sorts of things, before discovering the middle path, and we don't really know what he taught historically. so just trusting our own guidance and internal teachers like the buddha did, sometimes becomes most relevant. keeping a wide perspective is important.

Re: Choosing a Monastery

Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 5:57 am
by convivium
can anyone recommend any monasteries for aspiring anagarikas outside of abhayagiri and wat metta? thank you.