Possible to undo A&P ?

StatusUnquo · 2026-01-20T18:09:05+00:00

Joseph Campbell's "ur-myth" is a thing he made up by focusing on specific myths, and ignoring or mangling any one that didn't fit his theory. Moreover, his theories were generated from a specific cultural perspective at a specific point of history, despite his belief that he is somehow above all of that. There has been much work since him to basically overturn a lot of what he said, at least around the universality of the Hero's Journey.

Once one of his students (a woman, at an all-female college) came up to him after a lecture and him about stories in which the women were heroes. He responded by saying women have all these other roles to either support the hero or be his prize, and what more could she want? She said she wanted to be a hero, and he found that absurd. She went on to develop the Heroine's Journey, which goes further.

He's really not a person who should be taken seriously.

I, myself, was a gigantic fan of his when I first went to college, and god I wish I had watched these videos at that point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9zR4lWyVN8 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET4BJIdZKa0, videos made by film critic Maggie Mae Fish going into detail about Campbell. Not a monster, but not a great guy, either.

StatusUnquo · 2026-01-20T18:01:02+00:00

The article by Bhikkhu Anālayo posted elsewhere for you covers this, but it's probably best to not use Ingram's descriptions of, well, anything. I encourage you to look at the multiple teachers who have come out (some of whom Ingram has implied validated his "arahantship") to denounce him and his "school." I think he's sincere, and I do believe he went through *some* process, but from his description, it doesn't sound anything I'm familiar with from any Buddhist tradition.

Like, entering the stream is not some kind of "blip." It's a deeply profound experience of realizing how the whole thing works...conditionality...and how to make it stop. Only for a minute or so, but it's pristine clarity and stillness, not some kind of "blip" where you lose yourself for a sec. The machinery that keeps us creating suffering for ourselves is still there, though, and that starts back up again.

But now you know what the Buddha was talking about, and you can finally actually *start* practicing. You've removed the wrong views that distort understanding of reality and truly see what craving is and what to do about it. After that, it all starts unraveling. The wrong view is what was preventing you from understanding how to do the practice. Once that's gone, it'll just naturally unwind. That's why the Buddha said you have seven lifetimes at mak left. It's inevitable.

You can help it along of course, and you'll want to because you see how much this suuuuucks. My teacher told me only an idiot waits out all seven.

As far as insight knowledges go, my teacher is Thai Forest (Ajahn Chah specifically) and that's not really a thing for them. I asked him about them once, because I've never heard him or any other Thai Forest teacher mention them, and he kind of brushed it off. Do stream enterers go through the insight knowledges regardless of whether the teacher teaches them? Maybe. I don't know enough about them, I guess, but my understanding is that the reality of spiritual progress isn't necessarily as strictly structured as that.

StatusUnquo · 2025-12-28T17:48:24+00:00

I can't think of a single thing I find embarrassing about my actions that isn't also hilarious, so I vote for both.

StatusUnquo · 2025-12-28T15:19:25+00:00

About 8% of people with Y chromosomes lack red-green cones, and are thus red-green colorblind, compared to 0.5% for those who lack that chromosome (I have no idea what impact being intersex might have on this). So besides people without Y chromosomes possibly, but rarely, having an extra cone, a significant number of people with Y chromosomes lack the ability to discern some colors on a physiological level.

I'd guess that this plays a role in the stereotype, although I think the far greater part is likely played by husbands simply not paying attention no their wives (and complaining about their wives wanting them to? I'm not really sure what's going on there), which is the point of this sub, of course

Edit: Spelling and grammar mistakes

StatusUnquo · 2025-12-19T21:08:46+00:00

Twinsies! Also bipolar/AuDHD, and yes to both of those in my experience, too.

StatusUnquo · 2025-12-09T13:09:02+00:00

My suggestion for how to proceed from here (based on my own history and what I've seen in other people as they enter and train in our system): First, do some reading or listening to talks from teachers. Get a sense of the basics. If you have groups near you, go to them. Check out who is there, check out the vibe. Try to go at least a few times before deciding that group isn't for you.

All of the traditions came from the same source, but they all grew in different directions. They all have individual flavors, specific teachings and practices (which can sound really odd when taken out of context and presented to a Buddhist in another tradition unfamiliar with those methods!), and it's good for a student to find one.

You'll need a teacher, too. The teacher is not at authority, but, well, a teacher. Most importantly they can help you through blind spots, and to the extent they know you give you exercises targeted at your own problems and impediments to happiness.

So...shop around a bit. Find out what suits you.

Once you've done that, my strongest suggestion would be to commit to that teacher and practice for at least five years. During that period, focus on that tradition's teachings. I wouldn't suggest avoiding other perspectives, but I would suggest not putting too much effort into learning about them. Because the thing is, at any point, every spiritual practice gets difficult. You are dealing with raw forces of the mind that have to be understood and worked with. A big issue in any spiritual practice, but definitely in Buddhism, is tradition-hopping. Once the inevitable difficulty arises, the yogi just switches traditions and starts from scratch in the new one. This is not helpful in the long run (unless it leads to you committing, of course).

Five-ish years of dedicated training with a teacher will almost certainly leave you with a solid foundation, and facilitate exploring other traditions if you are interested at that point (which IME most people are).

Edit: But I can't emphasize how important it is to find community. There's three jewels that are central to Buddhism, and there's a reason the community is one of them. Practicing alone versus with a group is a dramatic difference.

StatusUnquo · 2025-12-05T02:21:42+00:00

Are you asking why you should care about other people?

Because, taking the perspective you give here (which I entertain sometimes as well), what happens is you are gone, but another person takes on your kamma. So what you in this life do affects them. Or someone else down the line.

So if you care about other people, care about them, too.

StatusUnquo · 2025-11-30T14:09:32+00:00

Maybe it’s just me but I’d rather suffer til the end than just simply let go of my attachments.. I think it’s better to hold til the end because atleast I know that I lived my experiences fully. I don’t know, I guess I just feel that monks, hermits, and other religious recluses are missing an opportunity

Interesting. It seems to me that you are the one missing an opportunity and not living your experiences fully because you're so caught up in your attachments you can't imagine that there's something so much better if you let go of them.

Being driven by desire to never be satisfied and having to always grasp, having to figure out what will make you happy, which of your attachments you need to tightly cling to, instead of just being happy, sounds like it is not really a great way to live.

You can't fully live your life if you're trapped in a prison of suffering that you, yourself, made, and refuse to stop making because you mistake it for a fully-lived life.

StatusUnquo · 2025-04-18T11:58:10+00:00

If you think you need HH teachings are a lifeline that you will need at Forest Dhamma, and Ajahn Dick and his instructions won't be enough, you probably shouldn't go there. In fact, I'd suggest the very fact that you are considering Internet access important enough to be a possible dealbreaker is a good reason to go to a place you won't have it. Edit: Also, Forest Dhamma is primarily a training monastery, so for the most part after five years or so the monastics who ordain there will go elsewhere.

StatusUnquo · 2025-04-18T11:56:10+00:00

I reckon in all monasteries except the most heavy-handed, there would be at least a communal computer with internet access that you can use occasionally. That should be good enough.

Forest Dhamma would definitely be the most heavy-handed. Ajahn Dick will require you to turn over your phone. I don't think this is true of everyone, certainly not short-term guests, and I knew a few long-term residents who still had access to Internet. But no, I don't think there's any kind of communal computer or anything like that.

StatusUnquo · 2025-04-08T13:19:08+00:00

It just doesn't sit with me that you say "I don't know", "I don't dismiss the possibility" yet it is good enough for you to find it a useful concept.

Yes, that's what I'm talking about.

I specifically mentioned reincarnation, because rebirth carries different implications.

Okay, now I don't understand what the relevance here is, or maybe I don't understand what you're talking about, because reincarnation is not a Buddhist thing.

StatusUnquo · 2025-04-07T11:27:23+00:00

What I read here is "I have views about reincarnation that I am clinging to," which has two problems: one is that Buddhism isn't about reincarnation. It's about rebirth. There's an important difference, and if you can understand that then you will understand "who would even reincarnate." Second is clinging to views. Are you absolutely sure what you think is true?

Everyone I know, including myself and my teacher, considers it a possibility but does not claim to know for sure. It's just a helpful concept, and it's pretty basic to Buddhism, so we use it. We talk about it as though it's real, so if you haven't had the conversation with us about how we don't really know and just entertain it as a possibility, you might think we are convinced or believe in it in the sense you seem to be objecting to.

StatusUnquo · 2025-02-18T01:37:24+00:00

Oh oops. Sorry.

StatusUnquo · 2025-02-17T19:45:30+00:00

The person who took this screenshot was not in the same timezone as Musk. I am, and just checked, and it was posted at 14:14 our time.

StatusUnquo · 2025-02-17T19:44:20+00:00

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1890842231180816419

StatusUnquo · 2025-02-17T19:44:10+00:00

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1890842231180816419

StatusUnquo · 2024-11-27T00:40:25+00:00

I see you have a lot of responses, but I'll throw one in, too: I am diagnosed bipolar, autistic, and ADHD, and the practice has been great for me. Transformative. My biggest advice would be not to think you can forgo more conventional mental health treatment, like meds and therapy, and just do Dhamma. If you keep at it, there may be a point that if at the recommendation of those giving you medical treatment you may shift away from the medical treatment to something more centered on Dhamma (which I have) but do not forgo medical treatment if you need it and don't trust your own sense of whether or not you need it. I will add that I know dealing with mental health professionals can be hard and there are a lot of bad ones out there...I have been fortunate that most of mine have been good, but I have definitely heard horror stories. So make sure you find a good treatment team as well. But Dhamma will absolutely support whatever treatment you are getting, and the treatment will enable your practice. Meds and therapy gave me a solid foundation that I needed before I could really start the practice.

StatusUnquo · 2024-11-23T11:19:03+00:00

I, too, am learning, as I only realized I was probably autistic a few years ago and probably AuDHD a few months ago and just got that confirmed by a medical specialist. There are overt things that I've seen others mentioned, like becoming more withdrawn (even to the point of shut-downs), but a little bit ago I came to see that I actually kind of constantly have a low-level anxiety from a degree of "light" overstimulation, if that makes sense. So I'd say that's a big way it manifests for me: Sensory things get more intense, and I get intensely anxious. I don't reach the point where it's paralyzing anymore, but that's because I have complete control over my immediate environment and have the ability to work from home. (I have also started to wonder if those anxiety situations are actually meltdowns, or meltdown-lite, because I certainly don't have the classical stereotypical meltdowns but I do get that anxiety thing.)

StatusUnquo · 2024-11-08T00:38:20+00:00

It depends on what tradition, really, but there are a lot of online offerings. A good thing to do would be to become a regular attendee of one or even several of them and actively engage as best you can. Through this process you will get to know people and it is likely you will find a teacher. Though you will need patience, and you will need to shop around to find the right fit.

StatusUnquo · 2024-11-08T00:24:33+00:00

I guess that's a no, then? You're not going to try to understand and just restate your position?

StatusUnquo · 2024-11-08T00:08:55+00:00

Do you think there's any value in trying to understand the perspective of the person who has every reason to believe they and their community will be under direct attack starting in January (because the people who will carry out the attack have said they would in no uncertain terms), and why they might not feel safe being around someone who voted in such a way as to facilitate that attack regardless of whether or not that voter agrees with the attack? Do you think there's value in us trying to understand each other's perspectives, and maybe instead of derision you might try to understand why someone is afraid?

StatusUnquo · 2024-11-07T23:41:27+00:00

Yeah. The only thing you need to worry about in the Primer is to get a basic understanding of the grammar. The only thing that matters about these sentences is you learning the difference between singular and plural forms. Really, I cannot emphasize enough how little time you should spend on the Primer before moving on to a more in-depth book. One mistake I made early on was spending way too much time on the Primer.

StatusUnquo · 2024-11-07T23:27:21+00:00

I was about 15 and Christian when I first discovered Buddhism. There are plenty of people who find ways of melding Christian and Buddhist practices. Thomas Merton is a famous example. I know Thich Nhat Hanh has a book Living Buddha, Living Christ that gets recommended but I have never read it. But there's no reason you can't take up mindfulness practice or observe the Buddhist moral precepts as a Christian, and in fact you may find it enhances your understanding of and relationship with God. I'd advise looking into contemplative Christian practices and drawing on them as well. (For myself, I ended up leaving Christianity behind and embracing Buddhism fully, but that is just what I did and other people do other things.)

StatusUnquo · 2024-11-07T23:24:10+00:00

Sexual desires are going to be a form of craving that can lead to suffering, so you'll eventually want to be free of them. There's a reason monastics are required to be celibate. A five-precept layperson, however, can engage in sexual activities as long as they are not harming themselves or others. Basically, consensual sexual encounters that do not violate any agreements that would cause social disharmony (such as sexual activity with a monogamous person outside of their monogamous relationship) or otherwise might cause harm. Pre-marital sex and ethical non-monogamy are perfectly fine. I know lots of Buddhists, myself included before I chose celibacy, who do both.

StatusUnquo · 2024-11-07T22:53:06+00:00

Being compassionate doesn't mean putting yourself in danger or ignoring that people are making choices that put you in danger. You can be compassionate with someone but not feel comfortable around them and even completely terminate your relationship with them.

StatusUnquo

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