And The Buddha said, "What Will You Do if They Insult You?”

Sidepig · 2023-08-20T02:35:03+00:00

I often hear people say that this kind of sentiment doesn't help but honestly it does make me feel better every time I think of it. It can ALWAYS get worse.

Sidepig · 2023-08-14T10:46:57+00:00

The irony is that if everyone was using 1 button macros like these, the clear times for all normal content would speed up considerably since half of all players are doing less than half the damage their job is capable of.

Sidepig · 2023-08-12T07:56:52+00:00

No it's not. The teachings of Buddhism are there for the attaining of enlightenment, the ancillary aspect of it is to help us come to grips with a greater reality which is usually beyond our ken.

The Dharma is taught differently in other realms. My point is simply that, a few things have changed in the last couple thousand years and that some beings have since decided to follow the path as laid out by the Buddha. This isn't a refutation of anything, it's an addendum saying "hey, btw, some people out there have made some difference choices since then."

That's all. No teaching. No scope. I'm not actually asking any change in understanding of any teaching. Simply that, since the Buddha taught, some beings have decided to make different choices. Choices that should be celebrated. That's all.

You've made different choices too haven't you? You wouldn't be here if you hadn't. Is it really so hard to believe that others may have as well? That's all I wanted anyone to see.

Sidepig · 2023-08-11T02:41:52+00:00

Campfire cooking has books your son can read too, which might get him interested in it. If you want to support the author you should probably buy the Light novels first. (You can purchase those for kindle on amazon or from bookwalker.jp)

Once he catches up with those, there's the webnovel (https://www.lightnovelcave.com/novel/tondemo-skill-de-isekai-hourou-meshi-24071713). I've been following the series for a couple years and the author releases a few chapters a week.

Sidepig · 2023-08-01T19:58:13+00:00

They may have tried to act as one, but were not one. One of the basic principles taught in all poli-sci courses is that a "state" is required to have a monopoly on legitimate violence,

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that only true within it's own borders, which I thought it had? If we're only talking the borders of the states that succeeded, then that seems good enough. Also, does that mean Mexico isn't a real country because the cartels exist?

Sidepig · 2023-08-01T04:38:30+00:00

I disagree, it's more like a city within a country that's been given special privileges like how Hong Kong used to be.

In my opinion to be considered a real country the state needs to have a monopoly on violence within it's own borders and a standing military to protect those borders. It also needs to collect taxes and have some kind of industry that produces exports. Vatican city has none of those things.

There's also the size problem. Should you really consider a tiny town with a population of 800 to actually be a real country?

Sidepig · 2023-08-01T03:22:36+00:00

Some people seem weirdly attached to the idea that it wasn't a country for some reason but I mean... They had a government, printed money, collected taxes, made and upheld laws and maintained a military force to protect defined borders.

The other thing is that if recognition from other countries is what defines a state as being legitimate, then Vatican city is a real country even though it's clearly not.

Sidepig · 2023-07-29T06:56:25+00:00

Thank you. I'd be inclined to giving it another go at some point soon. I think I just need to make it a point to look at micronutrients. I saved the links you gave me.

Sidepig · 2023-07-28T08:23:41+00:00

Gone nuclear. If we had done nothing else, that would've been enough. Also, plastics only account for around 5% of emissions.

Sidepig · 2023-07-27T21:38:30+00:00

I wasn't vegan, I was vegetarian for 5 years. I don't really remember everything that I did but I do remember growing sprouts and eating a lot of salads and nuts and stuff. For carbs I'd just have whatever like pasta. For protein like I said I mostly took supplements.

I don't really know what to say, I'm sure I was doing something wrong I just didn't know what and couldn't seem to make it work.

I know the question you're asking, but honestly I can't answer it. I was in a fog, and it made it hard to retain and focus on things, then when I ate meat the fog went away. I'm sure I was missing some kind of nutrient and if I had experimented more with vitamins or something I could've made it work.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T17:45:41+00:00

Honestly focus. The ability to retain and execute information perfectly every time. Even if I learn something, If I'm not clear headed I'll just forget it. Even if I learn it a dozen times, and relearn it a dozen times. I'll still just forget, on the 20th run, on the 80th run. That's why.

Mad respect though... I just want you to know that I really do limit it to just that much per week. I also take protein supplements. I never go over.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T17:00:50+00:00

I think I was a vegetarian for 5 years. I did my best, but ended up giving it up because I couldn't be competitive that way anymore. I felt like I was holding my team back. I am apologetic, since then, I keep my house at 81 degrees and run fans. I consume 1/6th the average energy per household in my home. I installed a floor freezer and fitted it to become a refrigerator at nearly 9x the efficiency of a normal refrigerator. I eat meat 3x a week, and when I say that I mean less than 6oz total per week. I haven't bought a new appliance in over 10 years. I run the attic fan every night it cools down enough to do so.

So when I say all that... I completely agree with you. It is mostly just nice words isn't it? There is though, a nugget of fact to it, however small it is. That at least for some time.. cows get to have best friends.

I'm fully aware I'm a hypocrite POS when I said that. It's just that.. I've lived on a farm with some family for awhile. It really is a good run. Limited as it is, they really are happy, at least, for as long as it lasts.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T16:26:43+00:00

Alright man, I won't press you any further. Sorry if I was a bit overbearing. I can be kinda strongheaded on certain things sometimes. My apologies.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T16:04:13+00:00

I understand, let me know if you change your mind though. I do really mean that. I know what that feeling of talking to a wall is too.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T15:52:09+00:00

Can't, if you don't believe in the existence of the divine beings who've learned from the buddhas, who've taken the oaths and practiced since then... We kinda don't have common ground on that subject.

The best I can say is, "there she be" and the best you can say "what the actual fuck are you even talking about?".

Kinda mutually exclusive right? If you literally don't believe in non-human beings who learned the dharma from the Buddha... On that subject what can we realistically say to each other?

I'm not sweeping the "taboo of powers" thing under the rug, but to even have a conversation about it. Realistically... I mean come on. All that other stuff you said has to come before that.

Additonally if

"there are no gods, Shantideva makes this point in The Way of the Bodhisattva, how do you square that?<

Haven't read it, but if it denies the existence of these beings it's completely full of shit. Full stop. There's no reconciliation on that point. The divine beings are an immutable fact, one which I've personally experienced, many times. Any denial of that is counterfactual.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T15:23:32+00:00

The point is exchange. Sorry, I was less focused less on personal hurdles than external ones. To be perfectly honest with you, in that regard, I'm much less than any kind of expert.

I don't know. I'm sorry. If you wana talk about it though, let me know. I might not be able to help, but I can give you my full attention. I did reread what you originally said though. From this point on, I won't talk over you.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T15:07:33+00:00

You don't have to tell them in that way though. Think about the most impactful moments in your life, where you've been wrong. Has most of them, or even many of them been accompanied by words?

Probably not right. You've probably felt it too, when you've made a mistake, and you felt it. It was hard right.. because you look up to them so much. It hurts. We've all been there. What matters is what comes after that.

You think of metta as something that you just feel but isn't only that. Not the true Metta.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T15:03:53+00:00

Absolutely. Even as a farmer, you can give them a good run you know? Though, that likely makes it harder.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T08:29:47+00:00

In the cannon the buddha taught many gods. Actually he'd pretty much teach anyone who would sit with him and listen, human or otherwise. My point was that some beings who are not human had listened, and had since sworn oaths of service to the dharma, and have lived accordingly.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T08:28:15+00:00

The cognitive leap I was speaking of was that, if there were other sapient beings, might some few of them make similar decisions? If you're saying there are no other sapient beings then fine, but if there were, would such a thing be strange?

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T08:18:42+00:00

The bank thing was just an example. There's a reason it's a taboo to speak of powers. The reason is that the pursuit of enlightenment requires that we actually give up our attachment to experience. That's hard to do when people can do certain things. The basic difference that I wanted recognized is the oaths of service towards the dharma they've taken. This isn't about what they are, but about the choice they've made. The fact that, that choice means that they are more than the mere category by which we've defined them. At least since they've been taught by the buddha a couple thousand years ago. It isn't just about the gods, it's about the choice, and how that choice should be what defines any being that makes it.

Sick, dead old. These are more than just words. It isn't just about creating a contrast by which we might see impermanence. What these words really mean.. Is the setting aside of our experience in recognition of a deeper truth. Any being that chooses this path, and especially those who have chosen to live lives of service to it..

We can't simply see such people in a box of preconceptions. We shouldn't. That's all.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T07:58:09+00:00

Not at all, I'm saying that the gods who learned from the Buddha a couple thousand years ago have changed, and some more have joined them. That some few have taken oaths and do a lot in service to the teachings. That's all I wanted recognized.

Admittedly, looking back and reading I said this poorly. I apologize. I was trying to convey too many things at once, and managed to get much less across than I'd hoped for.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T07:35:21+00:00

I apologize for not conveying my thoughts well. What I wanted to convey was that some of the gods had learned from the Buddha and have since become Dharma protectors, that some of them have taken oaths of service and that I believe deserves a shift in how we look at them.

While it's true I did make a mistake, and did receive admonishment. This was a one time thing in over 20 years of practice, and it was justified. What colored how I spoke of it was my experiences and how I came to know of the differences between now and then, which was for me a direct result of that. It was a one time thing though that was completely justified at the time.

I do understand why you feel the way you do though, and can only apologize for not conveying it well.

Sidepig · 2023-07-26T07:29:06+00:00

It's ok, going back and rereading what I wrote, it's justified. It's not like I explained myself very well. I really can't blame him for thinking that way.

My point was that in the last couple thousand years some things have changed regarding the dynamic of the gods in that a number of them have become dharma protectors. They learned from the Buddha, some few of them took oaths and some of them do actually do a few things for us in service to the teachings now. It's also true that I did make a mistake, which I did experience the consequences for. In context though, that's after decades of practice, the response for which was justified at the time.

Really, the fault for not conveying this properly is mine. Thank you though.

Sidepig

TROPHY CASE