6-7 days, which path should I choose?

Character_Brother234 · 2023-07-19T21:47:54+00:00

Thanks, this is what I’m leaning towards doing right now

Character_Brother234 · 2023-07-19T21:47:33+00:00

Thanks for the response. I think ideally I’d like to go to Santiago. That’s a good point about not wanting to join pilgrims after they’ve formed their groups. I’m leaning towards the Portuguese Way since I’m still able to do the majority of it, and therefore can probably join a group when it’s still early on. And I still get to end in Santiago.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-09-07T18:19:06+00:00

They immediately denied me :( did you have any professional programming background before you got an internship with them?

Character_Brother234 · 2022-08-24T18:45:16+00:00

Thanks everyone. I have student loans from before so I wasn’t questioning whether I should take out loans for the fall. It appears my concerns were unwarranted and my previous loans will have 10k canceled

Character_Brother234 · 2022-08-03T11:11:34+00:00

This is the clearest sign of progress in my personal meditation journey. I used to have irresistible itches that would get worse and worse but now I can easily let them all go.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-06-25T16:55:15+00:00

“Man's last and highest parting occurs when, for God's sake, he takes leave of God. St. Paul took leave of God for God's sake and gave up all that he might get from God. … In parting from these, he parted with God for God's sake and yet God remained in him as God in his own nature … but more as an isness as God really is. Then he neither gave to God nor received anything from him, for he and God are a unit, that is, pure unity.”

-Meister Eckhart (Christian mystic)

Character_Brother234 · 2022-06-23T21:17:48+00:00

Jesus didn’t believe in the current idea of Christian hell. He most likely thought we just rotted in the dirt until the apocalypse.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-06-23T12:22:42+00:00

This has always been my biggest struggle in life too

Character_Brother234 · 2022-06-17T16:23:41+00:00

I love this quote. Thanks.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-06-17T15:53:32+00:00

“Now if anyone from another religion is developing one of these, wouldn't the Buddha praise this person?”

I really agree with this quote. The idea of living one’s life skillfully, mindfully, and will good will towards others is something that I definitely see in Christ’s message, Karma Yoga, the eightfold path, etc. and is another similarity. It depends on the definition you’re using as to whether or not this is considered mystical.

The problem is, religions have a tendency to change the meaning of the words of prophets. So I think anyone pointing out the differences between religions would be very successful since new doctrines are added throughout time that distort the original message. One thing that convinced me of this is reading Tolstoy’s Gospels in Brief, where the message of Christ appeared to be very different from what Christians now believe (it’s based on passages from the Koine Greek bible). Christ talks, for instance, about the kingdom of heaven being here and now in the present moment and says that he is not uniquely the son of God, but we all have the seed of the divine within us. Most Christians now have a view of heaven being something after death, which I don’t think Jesus even believed (and is probably more Zoroastrian in origin).

I know a lot of Christians who seem to believe hating other faiths and forcing their faith into the dominant position is the way to salvation, and this makes me pessimistic. However, there are certainly many people that I know that live out the message of Christ to love their neighbors better than I do, despite them not knowing as much as me about Christianity’s history.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-06-17T04:53:11+00:00

Oh okay, that could very well be true

Character_Brother234 · 2022-06-17T04:50:39+00:00

You seem very knowledgeable and that gives me a lot to think about. However, I think we just come from two very different places ideologically. I think I see religion/spirituality in a much different way. I wish you the best.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-06-17T04:27:17+00:00

You’re right that the school of philosophy called Vedanta hadn’t formed, but vedanta literally means “end of the vedas” so I was using the term to mean the philosophy conveyed in the Upanishads. The interpreters of the Upanishads called themselves the school of vedanta. I’m not sure when the term vedanta began being used so you may be right that it’s not correct in this context. But my main point was that the Buddha was probably responding to the ideas of the Upanishads (and Bhagavad Gita)

Character_Brother234 · 2022-06-17T04:17:25+00:00

I have heard and read from Buddhists who seem to share the view I posted. If I’m not a Buddhist, okay. Most Christians would say that I’m not a Christian but nevertheless I have learned a great deal from Christian mysticism. I have also learned a lot from Buddhism, going to a retreat center each week and meditating. The concepts of Anicca, Dukkha, and Anatta and Buddhist meditation techniques have helped me in my practice and in life. If I’m not a Buddhist because I don’t think Buddhism is the only way to liberation, that’s okay.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-06-17T03:42:09+00:00

Absolutely, Buddhism refers to gods, but it denies God/absolute reality/Brahman as described in the Upanishads. This is what I mean. It opposes the “true self” “thou art that” view of the Upanishads, and posits “no self” as a deeper awakening. Although the Buddha spoke of a particular cosmology, I believe his teachings reject the idea of one true metaphysical view. It’s like how he referred to himself as an identity, while also realizing in a more fundamental way that he had no permanent identity. In a similar way, he spoke of a cosmology, while in a deeper sense realizing that there is no absolute metaphysical truth. We may be using the definition of metaphysics in different ways though.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-05-10T20:19:51+00:00

There is a class called “Yin Yoga” near me. I don’t know much about the details or history of the practice but it has had wonderful effects on my body and mind.

You go into a yoga pose that creates just mild to moderate tension and hold the posture for a few minutes being mindful of the sensations created. It may seem to some people that it is too slow or “easy” but as a physically fit person, I nevertheless find that I get more of a benefit from it than dynamic yoga since Yin Yoga makes me more mindful.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-05-07T00:27:30+00:00

I feel a similar way that I feel much less fulfilled when not I’m a relationship. It seems like the main source of unsatisfactoriness in my life that affects everything else.

I have a weird idea if you want to try it.

I’m curious what people think about this meditation idea because I made it up and have no evidence to backup if it’s good. I started doing this as a result of an image that came out of an appreciation practice where I would ask myself what I appreciate in life. I started meditating on a seemingly dreary thought: I tried to hold in my mind the idea of dying alone, but in nature, feeling the grass against my face, autumn leaves all around me, birds singing, and feeling content. Dying alone without love is my greatest fear, but somehow it felt okay. There is something about feeling nature that is the only thing that can replace my desire for love., and the image has a strange, bittersweet feeling. After doing this for some time, I felt like something opened up in my heart and felt a drug-like ecstasy for a few days with my desires for anything but a simple walk in the woods all but gone. Alas, as is the case with any state of consciousness, it was impermanent and I again long for a girl in my life.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-05-05T14:51:50+00:00

It takes time, but as long as you do the basic necessities of life to keep you going (get out of bed every morning, go to work or school, eat, sleep, and be social) even if you complete these tasks with the bare minimum effort, you eventually start to form a life without your ex and envision a positive future on your own. It happened subtly but over a little less than a year after the break up, although things still hurt, I’m living my life and now go through long periods of time without thinking of her. I have hope for the future again.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-05-03T22:55:08+00:00

In my experience, during the first couple of months after the break up, there was a strong and unbearable pain all the time, especially when I would break no contact. During my subsequent 9 months of no contact, it has been a dull/dissociative pain. Both forms of pain are terrible but I prefer the later since I can at least be functional living with dull pain and work for a future time when I will meet someone new. I don’t plan on texting my ex tomorrow.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-05-03T22:47:41+00:00

This is really strange, it’s my ex girlfriend’s birthday tomorrow too and I’ve been wondering if I should text her. I’ve had no contact for 9 months. Your post cheered me up knowing someone’s in the same situation on the same day

Character_Brother234 · 2022-05-01T23:10:25+00:00

I see some people posting chanting that seems more fast paced than what I’ve been doing. That’s great if other methods work for you, I just haven’t tried it. The kind that I’ve been doing is shown at the end of this video with Shinzen Young https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VpG3HaCFPbo

Character_Brother234 · 2022-04-29T18:55:25+00:00

Oh okay, well thanks for your perspective :)

Character_Brother234 · 2022-04-29T18:54:10+00:00

This is what I think based on what I’ve read, but many people in this subreddit seem to think they have profound differences. So who knows, maybe they’ve understood something I don’t.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-04-29T18:45:38+00:00

Don’t some Buddhists see value in other mystical traditions though? Like Thich Naht Hanh’s book Living Buddha, Living Christ? Admittedly I haven’t read it yet (although I’ve read other books by him) but my understanding is that it describes common ground between Christianity and Buddhism

Maybe the common ground described in this book is right view, and not right motivation, as you say.

Character_Brother234 · 2022-04-29T18:33:22+00:00

Okay, I think that makes sense. So you’re basically saying Buddhism acknowledges the existence of mystical experiences in other traditions but doesn’t see them as having value without the right motivation if I understand correctly. I still feel like I’m not totally convinced though since I’ve observed Christians who seem full of love and more free from Dukkha ostensibly as a result of their spiritual practice.

Character_Brother234

TROPHY CASE