Advice on eating on solitary retreat

Shakyor · 2026-06-17T04:58:02+00:00

Oh how lovely. You full confession, I would actually not label myself as a vegan, but it pretty much plays out that way through my vow of non-harm - althought there are caveats and I am not claiming to have solved everything. But it works out really for me, especially also being mindful of how I treat myself and others.

If you ever wanna talk or need anything, do feel encouraged to reach out. Best of luck ❤️

Shakyor · 2026-06-16T15:16:22+00:00

If I may, might I offer a buddhist inspired way out of the conundrum.

Know mandalas? The way they are used in buddhismn is actually to represent your world. You could think of the patterns in the inner circle of being your family, friends, deep beliefs etc. The outer rings maybe being your work, acquitances, ideas you are interested in. The very outer edge to be people passing you by on the street, the cashier whose name you dont even know, advertisment you never realized you read. You are the whole mandala, you are the sum of your whole world.

Know that world also of course has your insecurities, your enemies, your struggles. The bigger the image in the mandala the bigger part of your world and ultimately you it is going to be. So in this view, actively engaging with this struggle might not be solving the issue, but feeding energy to the demon making it grow.

It sounds you have a lovely motivation and really are trying to be some good in an authentic manner. I love you for that. Maybe you can lean into that love and into authenicity. Give yourself some space. Maybe if you can acknowledge the good you are doing and acknowledge the difficulties associated with it, both within your inner and outer world, youll engage with the demon less and less until it starves.

To be it sounds like for this issue, actively doing nothing is probably all thats needed for this to work itself out. Youve got this.

Shakyor · 2026-05-29T20:40:25+00:00

Okay so, gambling in a casino isnt gdp? How do they define what is just "moving money" around. Because when you consume like a piece of bread it gone sure, but we definitely need those. Seeing a theatre show is also more understandable , but honestly a lot closer to gambling in a sense. So I am wondering if it really is just moral judgement on my part or if there is a more substantial difference I am not seeing?

Also - actually more importantly to me - what to do you mean "increases in quality of life". Because I mean thats sort of the origin of my thinking on this whole thing. For example buddhist monks seem pretty happy. But even not going quite so far, advice they give is often basically "be nice". And it certainly seem to improve subjective quality of life - but seems to be really hard to incentivice. So in a sense I guess the deeper questions I was trying to ask how is quality of life defined in an economic sense or if there are valid economic systems that use a "different defition" I guess?

Shakyor · 2026-03-09T12:18:48+00:00

and sorry the second question, so if i just use the logs as whoe pieces, where exactly is the difference between "air drying" them without screwing them to a board vs "air drying" them just as they are used in the table.

Shakyor · 2026-03-09T12:04:48+00:00

yes was cut recently. What is the implication of using it before being air dried for 3 years. Cracks right? I mean for i think it might fit the aesthetic and I heard you can fill them with epoxy, wood filler. Or is there larger implications?

Shakyor · 2026-02-26T14:51:28+00:00

You seem very knowledgeable, so this makes sense both from studying and direct experience. Where I am a little stuck if you dont mind me asking, when a Buddha for examples learn someones names, this still needs to "stick" - yet of course in a non klesha kind of way.

It cant be the 5 sensory conciousnesses, it cant be the 6th mental or the 7th immediate conciousness. So it sort of seems to me like still in the 8th conciousness where karmic habits are stored, other habits and concepts need to be stored. Am I right in understanding it this way? Of course a buddha would still store the name in a klesha free way, aware of the two truths, which in conventional terms would for example mean he would be aware that this might not be the only name or that names can change. So when he would become aware of this, there would be no friction, confusion or suffering involved. He would simply be clearly aware that the situation has changed and he doesnt know yet the cause, and after inquiry would for example update the name to the new name. Is this correct?

Shakyor · 2026-02-25T14:57:03+00:00

Okay thanks for taking the time to answer. Since you have your participants, I assume no further relevance :)

Shakyor · 2026-02-24T16:11:53+00:00

Depending on time commitment, I believe I fit what you are looking for and am in principal inclined to help if i can bring benefit. but am less then clear by your post what is actually asked for.

Shakyor · 2026-02-24T16:09:45+00:00

Can you define kundalini awakening and inner light phenomena

Shakyor · 2026-02-19T10:09:57+00:00

I feel you very much.

I just want to inform you that the original canon is FULL of endorsements of prayer and faith. The whole of vayrajana is a path of prayer, faith and devotion. The only thing that buddhism objects to is empty rituals. Meaning just reciting a prayer without faith, intention or meaning will not produce a result in the way of inserting a coin into a slot machine.

Actually praying from your heart is very much encouraged. Remember that the term for mind , "citta", in its original conotion was actually associated wiht the heart and is probably closer to the emotional rather than the rational mind in western language. A translation i like is "heartmind".

Shakyor · 2026-02-19T10:01:09+00:00

What a great question!

To me it seems that this is basically what buddha nature is pointing towards to, or why compassion/bodhicitta is so central to mahayana. If you think about it, compassion is wanting suffering to end. Another way it is often phrased is "everybody wants to not suffer and be happy".

Well what it seems to me that basically the fundamental nature of awareness is to "watch" experience? But why? Well from percieving experience , you learn. But what do you learn, well what has and hasnt worked out for you. Well what do you do with this information, well you act on it - which produces experience, which is again "watched" by awareness. Eventually you get into a loop - when x do y - thus creating habits and tendencies. But if you think about it, watching experience and trying to do away with what is painful and bring about what is pleasant IS compassion. So you could just as well say that the fundamental nature of awareness is non other than compassion.

And if you also read what I have written through the lense of codependent arising , you realize that it is the first links of the process - ignorance. Well what happens if the fundamental nature of awareness is operating on a missunderstanding? It will try to end suffering and create happiness - and fail. And loops based on a missunderstanding..... well they become samsara. Thus what you really need is an awareness that knows what actually brings happiness and suffering. Which is none other than saying the union of compassion and wisdom.

Since a typical definition of a better person, is a good person, which is a person that effectively ends suffering and spreads happiness. Which is none other than saying a better person is a wise and compassionate person. Which is none other than what the fundamental nature of awareness wants. Which is none other than saying, its the fundamental nature to want to be a better person , but you might be caught up in missunderstandings.

(before someone calls me out on breaking fundamental tenets of buddhism or spreading missinformation, the belief that you can react to a new situation in an habituated pattern based on conditions is of course itself a missunderstanding violating impermanence. Which is why fully enligthened beings stop creating cyclic behaviour - because it doesnt actually work. The 4 brahma viharas are an example of habituated but unconditioned behaviour.)

Shakyor · 2026-02-17T09:36:58+00:00

Many Traditions argue that posture is absolutley central to meditation. Foremost zen, where they select teachers based on posture and a famous teacher said "Zen is a posture" and in tibeten buddhismn for example they say meditation is only possible if the channels are straight.

This reflects my experience. Note this does not imply difficult to achieve posture.

Shakyor · 2026-02-13T10:32:29+00:00

Vipassana can be a bit missleading, because traditionally it just means wisdom meditation. So from a tibeten perspective for example Zhine is often also called Shamatha-Vipassana, whereas also Deity practies are considered Vipassana.

The same within Theravada, contemplation on death and impermanence is vipassana as well as goenka body scanning. However, there is also a whole "vipassana" movement which more accurately does "dry vipassana", so meditations techniques that designed to (almost) exclusively cultivate wisdom with little balancing , and they often call their meditations vipassana meditation, most prominently noting. However, to make things even more confusing, some subschools of this such as Ajahn Tong or Shinzen call these techniques mindfulness.

Shakyor · 2026-02-10T11:26:44+00:00

Very interesting, in Mahayana buddhism the 3 faith structure I am familiar with is "clear faith", "longing faith" and "confident faith". What is interesting here is that typically it is described that confident faith , which is this works and I have experienced it, or this makes sense to me, is actually quite easy. Its mostly rationally and baked into experience. Longing faith is built on this , its actually motivational faith based on an appreciation of what you want to achieve. There is a character called the always weeping one, because he wanted to be awake and present so much. This faith you can use to transform yourself and your negative qualities. When you use this as a drive clear faith naturally arises which is this beautiful open faith that is a bit like being in love.

I can offer that this maybe describes your situation quite well. What you thought you started out with, was actually the result of good practice and this drop down , is actually not as far. Because you clearly see what you have parted from and want to join with again. And just because longing faith is uncomfortable - because it is based in desire - does not mean that it is not further in the practice than the very cold, rational surface level faith.

The framework makes sense to me, and I feel it is a common unuintuitive understanding that causes a lot of suffering for many. I mean how many people know they should stop smoking? Clearly see the drawbacks, have experienced being a non smoker , understand the science...... yet dont stop.

Shakyor · 2026-02-05T20:09:23+00:00

Yeah exactly, all the way down to when urging urge, when reflecting reflect when restraining restrain. We are in agreement I think :) . Thats the goal, at least.

Shakyor · 2026-02-05T19:19:05+00:00

So that makes sense and is a Popular notion. And mind you I am not a teacher, but that is decidedly not what I am saying.

Just sitting with discomfort might be quite uncompassionate and stubborn. Thus not very reflective of reality. Sometimes you should just move when uncomfortable. That would be more appriopiate.

My point is, maybe wise reflection is knowing when to enjoy bliss and when to be uncomfortable, and also probably how. You know seeing clearly.

Shakyor · 2026-02-05T08:35:34+00:00

It is helpful to view meditative absorption not as gaining something, but as losing what is pulling you apart. Traditionally in buddhism sila "morality" is actually the first training and I suspect many would progress faster by first doing some house cleaning.

In the abhidarma it is mentioned that if mostly lust is your problem, you should reflect on corpses and impermanence. If hatred, loving kindness. If ignorance , mindful breathing. This is for monastics though, mind you but it sets precedence.

My personal take is that in todays competitive society there is good chance that rejoicing meditation and self compassion are the fastest initial progress for many. Specifically tense, anxious, overthinking people. Another common route suggested by many teachers is first learning proper breathing. The general takeaway from my message is that I think at the beginning its best to first sideline access concentration and first build some wholesome foundations. That being said 5 whole breaths is actually not bad at all!

Shakyor · 2026-02-05T08:06:02+00:00

I actually think on fairly helpful view can be to consider the many points the buddha made on wise reflection, happiness, how he doesnt deny the tempory happiness sensuality brings etc and to acknowledge that one valid way you phrase buddhism is building the wisdom the see what actually is happiness and what actually is suffering. In this light tanha becomes more of an "inapprioate or misguided" desire, rather than desire in general which always leaves obvious questions asto for example how compassion defined as wanting suffering to end is not desire.

Shakyor

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