c4chaos

First of, IMHO, this debt ceiling discussion on the Daily Evolver should've been made publicly available for free outside of the Integral Life walled garden. This topic is too important to just limit the discussion with people who are already at the integral stage of development. But that's just me.

As for the debt ceiling pseudo-crisis manufactured by the evil Republicons, I don't know whether to cry, bang my head against the wall, or just pack up my bags and watch Jersey Shore after I watched Pres. Obama and Rep. John Boehner's speech last night. Where is the outrage Mr. President? And as usual, Boehner is a liar.

Whether we end up defaulting or not, this kind of thing will happen over and over until we break away from the dominant two-party system in the U.S. We need a Third Party of the Sane Majority to break the deadlock of these two competing ideology. We have to show these a**holes that enough is enough. They are making a mockery out this great country. It's high time that we kick their collective asses and leverage the voice of the sane and thinking majority. If you think this idea is far-fetched, think again. The majority of Americans are already on board with this idea. See:

"Thomas Friedman: Make Way for the Radical Center"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24friedman.html?_r=1

"Americans dislike two-party system"
http://www.presstv.com/detail/179510.html

"Americans Elect"
http://www.americanselect.org/

The debt ceiling cat is watching you Mr. President. When all is said and done, you just missed your place in history as a great leader. From what I've seen so far, you are not *leading*, you are *pleading.*

That is all. Thanks for your attention. This has been a good therapy session.

~C

I joined Tricycle’s 90-day meditation challenge called The Big Sit back in February. Although I’ve been already practicing formal meditation since January, I felt that it was a good idea to join a group of virtual meditation practitioners as part of my Open Practice to keep my momentum going. I’m glad I did.

Today is day 90 of the Big Sit. I’m happy to report that I’ve completed the challenge, and then some. Geeky as I am, I even kept a log of it in my (hyper)stream. (See my #bigsit Twitter stream on Friendfeed.) As you can see in the stream I have two practice sessions daily. I practice in the morning and in the evening, 1.25 hours each session, for a total of 2.5 hours a day. Each practice session is a mix of sitting and lying down meditation. I’ve described the details of my meditation practice in my previous post, see Algorithmic Approach to Meditation.

For experienced and expert meditators 90 days of dedicated sitting practice may seem to be a piece of cake, but I’m neither experienced nor an expert. CONTINUE READING >

I was sitting in meditation a couple of days ago and for some reason I kept seeing images of ants popping in and out with the Ten Ox Herding Pictures. The images dominated most part of my one-hour sitting so I took this as a sign that I needed to flush them out into the open.

Here’s the result. I can’t think of a good title. So I’ll just call it, “One Sweet Fable”.

CONTINUE READING >

I am sitting in front of my computer staring at a blank page. A faint recollection of a dream I had last night bubbles up in my awareness. I dreamt of a black expanse where everyday reality is projected. It was like watching a movie in a very dark theater where the only thing you can see is the movie screen. But the movie screen was not the typical rectangular wide screen. The screen filled my entire field of vision but I was somehow still aware of the background. I was disoriented. I was not in the movie but the movie is inside me, and I couldn’t even remember what was playing. Then I attempted to analyze—“is this the nondual?” There was no answer. My awareness dissolved in the abyss of slumber, and all that was left was the impression of the experience.

Just like web pages, our awareness comes and goes within the vast expanse of cyberspace.

I wrote the above account during my early days of blogging. It was from a lucid dream I had a few years back. It serves as a reminder why I continue to blog my heart out.

CONTINUE READING >

I just finished listening to Shinzen Young’s The Science of Enlightenment audio CDs. I ripped all 14 CDs into MP3s, synced them to my iPhone and  listened at home, on the road, at the gym, and even at work. I have high expectations, and I was not disappointed.

(Tip: If you don’t care about the CDs and nifty packaging, you can download the Science of Enlightenment on iTunes for less than half of its original price).

Aside from being a Buddhist monk, scholar, meditation teacher, mathematician, and science geek, Shinzen is also a linguist, so he’s very particular and precise with his use of words, pronunciation, and diction (especially with foreign languages). He likes to define and clarify any ambiguity in the terms he uses in his discourses. He doesn’t go into too much philosophical conjecture and speaks in a friendly matter-of-factness tone. The more I listen to him the more I become certain that Shinzen Young is my kind of kick ass dharma teacher.

The Science of Enlightenment was originally published in audio cassette tapes in 1998. Sounds True published the unabridged audio CDs in 2005. So keep in mind that the recorded talks are more than ten years old (that’s ancient time in cyberspace). However, that’s one of the reasons why I find this series so compelling to listen to. Even though Shinzen delivered the dharma in his own contemporary style and science-based lingo, with the advancement in science, his style of teaching apply more today than when he made the recordings ten years ago.

Here is my review and summary of the breadth and depth of The Science of Enlightenment.

CONTINUE READING >

I’ve recently took a deep interest in Shinzen Young after listening to his interview on Buddhist Geeks. I’ve heard of him a long time ago (more than ten years ago in a Thinking Allowed interview) but he didn’t register on my radar. I almost missed a once in a lifetime opportunity. Serendipitously, I had a second chance to get to know Shinzen at a much deeper level.

Why am I interested with Shinzen Young? Let me count the ways... CONTINUE READING >

I’m currently re-reading my paperback copy of Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel Ingram. The paperback had just been released in the U.S. but the e-book has been available for free on Ingram’s site as PDF download and in “blook” format.

I finished reading the “blook” version on my iPhone but I still purchased the paperback so I can read and re-read it offline. I think this book will be an instant cult classic, especially to those people who are into hardcore, no-nonsense dharma.

Here’s my rundown of the contents of the book.

First of, unlike other mainstream politically-correct spiritual authors, Ingram breaks away from political correctness and egalitarianism by claiming he had already achieved Arahatship, meaning, that he is already “enlightened.” Depending on your notion of “enlightenment” Ingram could either put you off and make you stop reading the book, or it could pique your curiosity and keep you reading. I read the book from cover to cover, and I’m glad I did.

Ingram makes it clear what his intentions are in the opening of the book. He even warned the readers about his social commentaries on Buddhism in particular and mystical traditions and spiritual teachers in general. Along the way he also makes his bias transparent to the readers. Ingram’s flavor of Buddhism is rooted in the Theravada tradition, particularly from Mahasi Sayadaw school of meditation.

I’m no scholar of Buddhist literature so I’m not sure whether Daniel Ingram is representing the dharma in its purest form. However, I understand enough about Buddhist teachings and concepts to recognize that Ingram is pointing to pragmatic truth on the Buddhist path by simplifying the language and removing the dogma, cultural baggage, narcissism, and metaphysical hubris surrounding both Eastern and Western flavors of Buddhism.

The core ideas in the book which I find very powerful are: The Three Trainings, The Three Characteristics, and Models of the Stages of Enlightenment.

CONTINUE READING >

My entry for The Case Foundation: Change Begins With Me campaign:

http://www.c4chaos.com/2009/01/change-begins-with-me-i-commit-to/

Happy New Year to all!

Peace, Love, Happiness, and Divine Discontent.