Sounder » Thu Dec 12, 2013 7:47 am wrote:While I enjoy material such as the you-tube that Ben D posted and can identify quite well with Buddhism, I take a different tack with regard to such things as ‘transcendence’ of the limitations of our conceptual categories, the value of ‘Guru’s, and perhaps even the usefulness of enlightenment aspirations.
Even if one sees clearly the conditioned nature of most expressions of our being, still one must interact on the terms of conditioning elements of ones surroundings anyway. To me the issue is less to do with any ‘problem’ of conditioning, but rather a problem having to do with a dysfunctional kind of conditioning.
Guru’s fall down when or if they imply that the student needs them to access subtle realms. The student determines the nature and evolution of his/her connection to Source, not the teacher.
Look, we can determine with fair confidence, the missing element in our modern narrative by identifying the element that has been most consistently suppressed historically by normative thinking and established power structures. That element is what used to be called enthusiasm, really a direct unmediated connection to Source. In my estimation, this is the one thing that may threaten the grip that the PTMB seem to hold on this world.
We need a common realization that the source for useful creativity is the individuated self rather than the socially conditioned egoic representation of ones self.
Now if the guru’s wanted to be really useful they would do more to formulate their understanding into forms that serve the general population rather than (usually) elitist seekers.
More like Tesla maybe.
Also consciousness is a limiter in that it uses conceptual structures to interpret information content of our perceptions.
We need this limiter, -to many fuckin signals otherwise.
I spent much of last night, I kid you not, meditating on the concept of tacking with this thread in mind, trying to imagine just the right (left?) haiku, with tack as the ninth syllable to divide it in two. I will spare you and forego that conceit.
Truly, tacking is one of the finest, most beautiful inventions in all the history of mankind. Without it, that history would be much different than it is. We might all be speaking Chinese. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
It is also an excellent metaphor, in my opinion, for consciousness.
In a way, in a way, and not to quibble, it is not possible to 'take a different tack', inasmuch as it takes at least two changes in direction, each change determined by wind and sail, to reach any destination, and that, against the wind.
Pure poetry.
Say, is there any forum on the internet where an RIer might go to discuss topics like this one?