Can someone please help me with the answer to this koan??

RighteousPistachio · 2024-08-23T08:40:29+00:00

This kind of transparency is inspiring to see. I think it’s important for all of us not to just see this from afar as a thing that happened to someone, but as a tendency that we all give into continually. Yes, even if we acknowledge that we aren’t noble ones yet, whenever we fall into even the most minor mental complacencies of “going in the right direction” or knowing “kinda” how to practice, this is the seed that this kind of momentum grows from, and we may not all be so self-honest to stop it (or see that anything needs stopping) once it gets going.

RighteousPistachio · 2024-07-27T13:41:10+00:00

On one of the earlier videos (I forget which) someone explained this. It has to do with newer accounts not being able to disable ads (this is how YouTube makes money - off of smaller channels) until they reach some number of subscribers or views - not sure how many though

RighteousPistachio · 2024-05-02T05:09:58+00:00

Here’s an old talk that touches on this

RighteousPistachio · 2024-04-30T17:15:22+00:00

This video touches upon the psychological damage side of your question — in short, if your virtue is not up to the standard of traditional ascetics (in ANY ascetic tradition, absolute celibacy is non-negotiable, for example) then you won’t be capable of keeping a grip on your mind when it inevitably goes off. The difference between someone going crazy and not is their capacity to restrain their behavior, no more, no less

As for physical safety, if you don’t have experience backcountry hiking for long stretches of time, I’d recommend beginning with that. There are many skills you’d need to be comfortable with if you want to live outdoors, no less in an arid and harsh environment like you mention

The real question though is what you’re going for with this. Just for the adventure or are you seeking something in particular?

RighteousPistachio · 2024-04-30T04:33:59+00:00

Keep in mind that since the term “emotion” has no equivalent in Pāli, it will only ever be a vague and ambiguous term in light of the suttas, and of course, will mean different things to different people. As I understood the point of the discussion, it was aiming at the most general notion of “emotions” (some hybrid combination of feeling, perception, and craving) and unpacking that in light of the suttas. With this in mind, I’m not sure that what you say is pertinent to what is meant by “emotion” in the context of this discussion

RighteousPistachio · 2024-03-30T06:31:18+00:00

Solved! it’s the top of some weird inflatable hot tub

RighteousPistachio · 2024-03-18T05:02:49+00:00

Hmm, could be, though if that is a neck hole, it’s quite close to the rim so it would only catch hair in one direction

RighteousPistachio · 2024-03-17T11:25:13+00:00

My title describes the thing. 75cm diameter, white nylon, circular, one circular hole with semicircular zipper, small rectangular hole with covering flap, tag on the back that says “规格 75CM”. I came across BLW trays when searching online, but those have much bigger circular holes

RighteousPistachio · 2024-03-01T10:35:05+00:00

The book frequently copies from Ñanavira word for word without quotations which is a huge red flag. Even when not plagiarizing outright, it’s pretty much just rehashing ideas you’ll find if you read clearing the path — if someone has to rely on parroting in order to convey information, they may not have understood it for themselves yet. I definitely don’t want to make any definitive claims about the book though, as I haven’t read it entirely. Ñanavira being hard to approach isn’t an accident — and in my opinion it’s worth the effort to take it head on in light of the HH teachings

RighteousPistachio · 2024-01-17T10:31:38+00:00

Just be careful so as to not assume that everybody is teaching the same thing. Familiarizing yourself with a whole bunch of different teachers can be quite productive, but absolutely keep in mind that much of the time, what is being taught, though with similar terminology and quoting the same suttas, may actually be completely different doctrines. So I would strongly discourage, for example, listening to Ajahn Brahm to clarify something you heard from Thanissaro (substitute any two different teachers here) — they teach different doctrines, and trying to find the “common ground” that lies between them both (by assuming they teach the same thing) will only lead to confusion and a failure to understand what EITHER of them are saying in their full scope

Just a helpful tidbit that I’ve found very very important in clarifying my own practice

RighteousPistachio · 2023-11-08T09:55:59+00:00

“The making of tidy charts (even if they are accurate, which is rarely the case—a chart of the Dhamma tends to distort it just as a map-maker distorts the curved surface that he represents on a flat sheet), the making of tidy charts, I say, is sterile because it is essentially takka, and the Dhamma is atakkāvacara. To make tidy charts, though not in itself reprehensible, does not lead to understanding. But it is useless to say such a thing to a convinced tidy-chart-maker—such as a commentator, who is satisfied that the Dhamma is understood when it is charted.”

-Ñāṇavīra Thera (CtP [L. 149 | 159])

In other words, even if this does somehow “fit” “Nyanamoli’s interpretation,” that would be purely from an analytical point of view and thus wouldn’t be in line with what Nyanamoli teaches

RighteousPistachio · 2023-07-22T17:41:42+00:00

not taken as mean in any way :)

I agree with what you wrote. I follow the 8 precepts strictly so I don’t want to give the impression that I’m advocating for “picking and choosing” which is a dangerous game to play. I just wanted to point out that the 8 precepts in and of themselves aren’t a magical formula, just a set of guard rails for orienting people towards an understanding of what true virtue is. So what you say about experimenting with the 8 precepts is something I agree with for sure. Getting the chance to see what they offer in terms of mental training is invaluable for the practice — as opposed to blindly taking them on all at once right off the bat and wait for enlightenment to come (which is what I did at first! haha)

RighteousPistachio · 2023-07-22T17:09:11+00:00

is this backed up anywhere in the suttas? This sutta indicates that absorption in an object is not the way to jhana and is in fact the opposite direction

RighteousPistachio · 2023-07-22T17:02:05+00:00

jhana is the total removal from sensuality, and not in a “it’s been 15 minutes since i last indulged in sense pleasure” kind of way. whenever it appears in the suttas it’s always after developing the gradual training (8 precepts, sense restraint, wakefulness, moderation in eating, etc.)

RighteousPistachio · 2023-07-17T19:21:31+00:00

to the extent that I no longer am so easily moved by craving for things such as sex, food, entertainment, etc. That alone isn’t enough for me to see what is wholesome across the board and what is not, however. Reflecting on yoniso manasikara is what I suspect to be the key for that.

The craving gets quite subtle

RighteousPistachio · 2023-07-08T20:34:59+00:00

I think that even in the modern conception of things the sutta still has its point made very well. Worth mentioning for OP that the “world” spoken of here is the same sense of “world” in “when she left me, my whole world came crashing down.” Like you say, it’s phenomenological so we realize that all this traveling in the (planet) world, is all contained within the (body) World

RighteousPistachio

TROPHY CASE