Bridging Science and Spirituality (Dr. Pert)

Amber Larson, CC Liu, Xochitl, Wisdom Quarterly; Candace Pert (candacepert.com)

Dr. Pert passed away on Sept. 12, 2013 and memorial services will be held on Oct. 27, 2013 at 10:00 am at the Historic Jewish Synagogue, Sixth & I, Washington, D.C.

 

Psychosomatic Wellness (soundstrue.com)

Dr. Candace Pert, who discovered the opiate receptor and starred in "What the Bleep Do We Know?" brilliantly shared her scientific research in a form that made readily understandable and engaging for non-scientists.

She communicated her wisdom via lectures worldwide, documentaries, films, CDs, and in her books, Molecules of Emotion: The Scientific Basis Behind Mind-Body Medicine and her Hay House publication, Everything You Need to Feel Go(o)d.

Curing cancer spontaneously with inner work and natural remedies? Doctors cannot see/admit the possibility even with verifiable proof. There is a lot of money to be made from cancer by "blind" treatment specialists using radiation, chemotherapy poisons, and costly invasive surgeries. Viva el capitalismo! (See Part II)

 

Energetic meditation for health

She taught how the BodyMind functions as a single psychosomatic network of informational molecules which deeply influence our health and happiness. Moreover, in a way that includes yet transcends left-brained scientific inquiry, she guided us on how to utilize this knowledge to enhance our lives by embarking on spiritual and emotional paths to healing.

She welcomed all spiritual practice into her life, and she loved all people. Dr. Pert dedicated herself to creating new drugs for serious illnesses. She was, after all, first trained as a pharmacologist. More than 25 years ago, she had an inspiration, a "vision" as it is described in her first book, about how to make a drug for HIV/AIDS. At that time this scourge was not controlled; it was destroying the lives of many. She spent the last 28 years of her life pursuing research to create a non-toxic treatment and a vaccine for HIV/AIDS. More She went from neuropeptides to chakras.

 

Meditation: from neuropeptides to chakras

“Healing the Hurting, Shining the Light” was produced by Dr. Pert with her son, Brandon Pert, a musician, audio production expert, and sound mixer, exclusively for distribution from her website.

 

The download is a 30-minute meditation that uniquely combines induction into a relaxed state via breathing directions, lecture material, and chakra (subtle-energy wheel) affirmations. The music is composed according to a scientifically designed key on a scale whose frequencies are in harmony with the light spectrum.

 

An appreciation of the ancient wisdom of the Vedic chakra system, which corresponds to modern scientific discoveries about the location of neuropeptide-enriched nodal points along our bodies’ longitudinal axis, can help us enter a relaxed state of mind where natural recuperation and recovery can occur.

 

Learning new positive thought patterns is also facilitated so that auditors can permit conscious calm access to our “bodyminds” below the neck. So often today we are unnecessarily stressed out instead of blissed out, spending time and energy subconsciously focusing on irrelevant frantic survival patterns which no longer serve us.

 

This meditation is taken from the original CD “Healing the Hurting, Shining the Light” available with three extra tracks exclusively on her site. More

Mindfulness, Suffering, Engaged Buddhism

Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Thay (Plum Village), Krista Tippett, OnBeing.org, NPR

Mindfulness, Suffering, and Engaged Buddhism

Host Krista Tippett (onbeing.org/CCP)

Vietnamese Zen master, peace activist, and poet Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay, "teacher") was forcibly exiled from his native country more than 40 years ago. On Being (NPR's discussion of faith and existence) visits the Buddhist monk at a Christian conference center in a lakeside setting in rural Wisconsin.

• Listen to the On Being radio show PODCAST
• Learn more On Being (Speaking of Faith)
• Deer Park Monastery, California

ON TOUR NOW (tnhtour.org)

Thay offers stark, gentle wisdom for living in a world of anger and violence. He discusses the concepts of "engaged Buddhism," "being peace," and "mindfulness." This message gets through to violent, hyper-vigilant police officers eager to kill at a moment's notice. Thay agrees to lead them on a Buddhist mindfulness retreat that manages to change their lives and their capacity to carry guns as "warrior" or "fierce" bodhisattvas (beings bent on enlightenment, not as Tippett defines it already enlightened beings staying on Earth). A person may take vows to become a bodhisattva, which generally means refusing enlightenment and liberation for the presumed sake of helping others. It would make more sense to help oneself and others by striving for enlightenment. But such is Mahayana Buddhist logic that martyrdom has been mistaken for a nobler goal. This historical Buddha was a bodhisattva not forestalling his own enlightenment but for the sake of becoming a supremely enlightened teaching buddha. This meant foregoing attaining as a disciple or as a nonteaching (pacceka) buddha. But it never meant dissuading others from attaining or from striving to reach the goal as quickly as humanly possible, bringing the ten perfections to maturity. More

Thich Nhat Hanh comes to Pasadena, CA on Oct. 4, 2013

Marijuana versus Alcohol (radio)

Pat Macpherson, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; Sonali Kolhatkar, UprisingRadio.org

Alcoholic Homer Simpson tries a new "medicine." The moral of the story? Avoid booze, avoid pot, and learning to cope with stress is a beneficial habit to develop.

 
Which is worse, Weed or Alcohol?

Arrest photo: I'm not an alcoholic!

(Sept. 30, 2013) Uprising radio host Sonali Kolhatkar speaks to the lead author of a new book called Marijuana is Safer: So Why are We Driving People to Drink? If alcohol is worse, why are people pushed to resort to it and pressured to avoid a safer and more medicinal alternative? In the past year two states have legalized its recreational use. The financial infrastructure of legalization is in its infant stages with investors pouring in money and big banks agreeing to accept profits. Such steps were unthinkable a few years ago. Pot was thought far more dangerous as a vice than booze. The US is now closer than ever to legalizing cannabis. Even CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently changed his position on weed. Trying to overturn the legal ban on marijuana, activists and advocates have hit upon a winning formula: point out the fact that alcohol leads to far more public violence and that having the option to use marijuana instead could lead to a safer, less criminal society. Guest Steve Fox is Director of Government Relations at Marijuana Policy Project. AUDIO

Steve Fox, Paul Armentano, Mason Tvert

(AlterNet.org) A book explains how we are steering people away from cannabis and toward the use of a very harmful and deadly substance: alcohol. The following is an excerpt from the book: It’s Super Bowl Sunday and throughout the nation millions of Americans have stocked their shelves and refrigerators with alcohol for the big game. In living rooms across the country, guests will enjoy the libations and gawk at the humorous beer commercials sprinkled liberally throughout the telecast. Like the Fourth of July and fireworks, the Super Bowl and booze are an American tradition. There is no societal stigma associated with this excessive drinking. It is all part of the celebration. Like the old saying goes: “We don’t have a drinking problem. We drink. We get drunk. No problem.” More

DemocracyNow.org (Sept. 30, 2013)

 

Leading the legal fight against Government Surveillance

Sonali Kolhatkar

Cubicle criminality at the offices of the NSA

When I first met Reverend Rick Hoyt he said, “You don’t have to call me Reverend; just Rick is fine.” The First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles has taken a stand against the NSA surveillance program. The bespectacled and youthful pastor, sporting a salt-and-pepper beard, certainly didn’t look like a conventional “man-of-God.” In fact, the Unitarian Universalist church to which Rick belongs is known for defying Christian theological convention. Rick’s home at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles also has a history of defying political convention. The church, according to Hoyt, has been a “fierce advocate for personal liberties.” Even before Edward Snowden became a household name, the First Unitarian Church of LA became a plaintiff named in a major lawsuit against the National Security Agency (NSA) over privacy violations. Nineteen organizations have joined Hoyt’s church in an unusual coalition that includes the Marijuana legalization group, NORML, and gun rights groups like the California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees.

Fire Dog Lake: How Obama punishes Medical Marijuana patients

Troops swoop in on illegal growers (scpr.org)

(Aug. 22, 2013) Despite overwhelming support from the general public, significant backing from medical doctors, and even several prominent Republicans publicly acknowledging that cannabis has a legitimate medical use, the Obama administration officially insists it does not have one.The administration’s dodge when asked to explain this unpopular and scientifically unjustifiable position is to act as if it is a non-issue because they are not arresting medical marijuana patients. When Jessica Yellin asked why the administration refused to use its power to reschedule marijuana to make it legal for medical use, Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest responded: “the President and the administration believe that targeting individual marijuana users, especially those with serious illnesses and their caregivers, is not the best allocation of federal law enforcement resources.”

Cannabis is a safer plant? (hempsaves.net)

The administration pretends that since they are not arresting patients, rescheduling marijuana does not matter. The possibility of arrest, however, is only a small part of how legitimate medical marijuana patients are significantly punished because the Obama administration refuses to use its power to remove marijuana from Schedule I (an assignment shared by the worst drugs of abuse with no redeeming quality whatsoever). Over the years the legal tentacles of the so-called "War on Drugs" have been allowed to touch all parts of federal policy, from gun rights to education. According to Hoyt, some of these groups are not ones his church normally works with and “aren’t necessarily politically sympathetic with.” But the right to personal privacy is a Libertarian position deeply held by both ends of the political spectrum. Complete interview:

Why are we really fighting a war in Afghanistan, DRUGS? (TheRealNews.com)

• VIDEO: "Herman's House" - 42 years in solitary
• (Sept. 30, 2013) Cancer-stricken "Angola 3" prisoner Herman Wallace has been given just days to live after being in solitary confinement for 42 years His crime? Robbery then being falsely accused of participating in the killing of a Louisiana ("the incarceration capital of the world") prison guard. His actual crime was forming one of the first Black Panther chapters in prison, making him a political prisoner, which the US claims not to have. More
•  Climate Change protests heat up

  

  Host Amy Goodman

  Last week, far out in the Arctic Ocean, the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise approached a Russian oil-drilling platform and launched a nonviolent protest, with several protesters scaling the platform. They wanted to draw attention to a dangerous precedent being set. The platform, the Prirazlomnaya, owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom, is the first to begin oil production in the dangerous, delicate, ice-filled waters of the Arctic.
   
  

  KPFA FM - Pacifica Radio, Berkeley

  KPFK FM - Pacifica, Los Angeles

  Alternative News Sources (endthelie.com)

Bunny flies: "Breaking Bad' (video)

Ashley Wells, Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

WARNING: Extreme violence! Not suitable for children or lovers, but hunters may like it.

  .

Will "Walter" (Bryan Cranston) ever learn? Meth is an allopathic Nazi medication that makes people sick and susceptible to all manner of negative influences. Why would we worship anti-heroes in an age of disintegration? Might we be finding a way of saying to ourselves that we are not so bad because, look, he's worse?

After all, humans are not rational beings; we are rationalizing beings.
 
Walter "did it for his family" -- that what he explains -- not because he was selfish or out to harm anyone. Harm done for the sake of profit (selfish or unselfish, harming others to help ourselves or others) is called "evil wishes," the harm being incidental to the act rather than the goal of it. Harm done in anger is the goal.
 
The ridiculous excuse that we we would somehow be blameless when we do harmful, unskillful, unwholesome acts to feed or help our families is misguided. It is delusion. It is harm just the same. It is not even likely to be the result of caring for others, that "caring" just being a convenient excuse to rationalize and live with our decision. If it is sincere and in the service of others, it is still unwholesome karma on our part -- motivated by delusion.
 
It may also, however, to some small measure, be wholesome in that we help someone and thereby care, but that is not the same act.

If I rob a bank, beat someone up, or sell meth in the Albuquerque, that is an unskillful deed with unwelcome consequences when those deeds ripen (which may, admittedly, take a long time). Because what ripens depends on cittas, "mind moments," there are many of them; one unskillful act breeds MANY unwelcome results. Similarly, a  Supporting others with ill gotten gains may be wholesome, just as offering any kind of help or support might be, but it is offset by the harm we are doing, and that harm will come back on us many times over.
 
This is TV, but obviously it reflects tangible realities in a country that glorifies getting rich (by any means necessary) and squeezes its citizens so that they can barely survive. If we take the bait, sell drugs or do other harm, we may get rich. But what would it profit us if we will have to endure states of severe deprivation as a result? It would have been better to be poor.

 

Lordy, can we be reborn as something better?

This is likely why we, as Americans, cannot believe in rebirth (even in modern Christianity, which insists rebirth is real but limited to two planes of future existence awaiting us, celestial or abysmal; ancient Christianity did teach rebirth). It seems to mean there are results of our actions. If we refuse to believe, we comfort ourselves that there is nothing more to come as a result of our choices.

 

What is "Breaking Bad" teaching us? To consider the consequences or to live for today, say there are no consequences, and simply live with the inconvenience of cancer, prison, remorse, or whatever petty comeuppance this life can deal us?

• How will "Breaking Bad" measure up to other TV endings?
• "Breaking Bad" finale: Revenge, redemption, release
• Breaking up with "Breaking Bad" is hard for Albuquerque
• The German granddaddy of crystal methamphetamine

(NY Times) The popular series, which showcased Albuquerque New Mexico's grit and high-desert beauty, has helped the city become a star in its own right and given...

The Nun and the Libertine - Better than Sex

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly, based on Ven. Thanissaro translation Subha Jivakambavanika, Psalms of the Sisters (Therigatha 14.1)

What's a beautiful, enlightened, celibate nun to do? (sodahead.com)

 

The delightful grove by day

As the Buddhist nun (theri) Subha was wandering through Jivaka's delightful mango grove, some libertine (a goldsmith's son) blocked her path. She said to him:

 

"What wrong have I done you that you stand in my way? It is not proper, friend, that a man should touch a woman who has gone forth [entered upon the spiritual life of renunciation]. I respect the Master's message, the training pointed out by the Well-gone One. I am pure and without blemish:
 

"Why do you stand in my way? You -- your mind/heart agitated, and I -- unagitated; you -- impassioned, I -- unimpassioned, unblemished, with a mind everywhere released: Why do you stand in my way?" 

 

Wait says the Libertine (Bighead4144/flickr)

[He answered:] "You are young and good looking, so what need have you of going forth? Throw off your saffron robe. Come, let's delight in the flowering forest! A sweetness they exude from all around, the blossoming trees with their pollen. The beginning of spring is a pleasant season.

 

"Come, let's delight in the flowering forest! The trees with their blossoming tips moan in the breeze: What delight will you have if you plunge into the forest alone? Frequented by herds of wild beasts, disturbed by elephants rutting and aroused, you want to go unaccompanied into the great, lonely, frightening forest?

 

The forest grows scary in the dark with its unseen creatures and wild beasts

 
"Like a doll made of gold, you will go about like a goddess (devi) in the gardens of heaven. With fine and delicate Kasi fabrics, you will shine, O beauty without equal! I would be under your power if we were to dwell in the woods. For there is no creature dearer to me than you, O nymph with languid regard. If you'll do as I ask, happy, come live in my house! Dwelling in the calm of a palace, have women wait on you, wear delicate Kasi fabrics, adorn yourself with garlands and creams. I will make you many and varied ornaments of gold, jewels, and pearls."
 

This wig looks great on you.

"Climb onto a costly bed, scented with carved sandalwood, with a beautiful, well-washed coverlet, spread with a new woolen quilt. Like a blue lotus rising from the water, where there dwell spirits, you will go to old age with your limbs unseen, if you stay as you are in the renounced life."

 

[She said:] "What do you assume of any essence, here in this cemetery grower, filled with corpses, this body destined to break up? What do you see when you look at me, you who are out of your mind?"

 

[He said:] "Your eyes are like those of a fawn, like those of a nymph in the mountains. Seeing your eyes, my sensual delight grows all the more. Like the tips of blue lotuses are they in your golden face -- spotless: Seeing your eyes, my sensual delight grows all the more. Even if you should go far away, I will think only of your sparkling, long-lashed gaze, for there is nothing dearer to me than your eyes, O nymph with languid regard."

 

Golden white Buddha (sukhothai-tourism)

[She said:] "You want to stray from the road! You want the Moon as a plaything! You want to jump over Mount Sineru -- you who have designs on one born of the Buddha [Enlightened One]. For there is nothing anywhere at all in the world with its devasthat would be an object of passion for me. I do not even know what that passion would be, for it has been undone, root and all, by the Path. Like embers from a fire pit -- scattered, like a bowl of poison -- evaporated, I do not so much as see what that passion would be, for it has been undone, root and all, by the Path. Try to seduce one who has not reflected on this, or whom the Master has not instructed. But try it with this one who knows, and you do yourself harm! For whether insulted or worshiped, in pleasure or pain, my mindfulness stands firm. Knowing the unattractiveness of compounded things, my heart adheres nowhere at all. I am a follower of the Well-gone One, riding the vehicle of the Noble Eightfold Way: My arrow removed, canker-free, I delight, having gone to an empty dwelling. For I have seen well-painted puppets, hitched up with sticks and strings, made to dance in various ways. When the sticks and strings are removed, thrown away, scattered, shredded, smashed to pieces, not to be found, in what will the mind there make its home? This body of mine, which is just like that, when devoid of phenomena, does not function. When, devoid of phenomena, it does not function, in what will the mind there make its home?

 

"Like a mural seen painted on a wall, smeared with yellow pigment, there your vision has been distorted, meaningless your human perception! Like an evaporated mirage, like a tree of gold in a dream, like a magic show in the midst of a crowd -- you run blind after what is unreal. Resembling a ball of sealing wax, set in a hollow, with a bubble in the middle and bathed with tears, eye secretions are born there too: The parts of the eye are rolled all together in various ways." 

 

Oh, no, Lisa! What have you done? That's gross. I'm sorry I was hitting on you!

 
Plucking out her lovely eye, with mind unattached she felt no regret. "Here, take this eye. It is yours." Straightaway [dispassionately] she gave it to him. His passion shriveled right then and there, and he begged for her forgiveness. "Be safe, follower of the renounced life. This sort of thing will not happen again! Harming a person like you is like embracing a blazing fire. It is as if I have seized a poisonous snake. So may you be safe! Forgive me."
 
And freed from there, the nun went to the unexcelled Buddha's presence. And when she saw the mark of his excellent merit, her eye became as it was before.

The Trumpet (sutra)

Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly based on Ven. Thanissaro translation Sankha Sutta (SN 42.8)

The Buddha reflected in Thailand (nojustnut/flickr.com)

 

Although Jainism, like Buddhism, teaches a doctrine or dharma concerning the moral consequences of actions (karma), the teachings of the two traditions differ in many ways. This sutra points out two major differences -- the complexity of the karmic process and the application of its proper understanding to the psychology of teaching. A simplistic or fatalistic view is inconsistent and leads to unfortunate results for any person who believes in it, that is, who compounds past bad karma with current wrong view. 

The actual complexity of karma allows for past unwholesome deeds to be overcome by refraining from harmful action now and in the future and developing boundlessly expansive states of friendliness, compassion, appreciation, and equanimity. In such states, the unavoidable consequences of past harmful actions count for almost nothing. The Buddha also shows how his method of teaching is more useful than that of Mahavira (Nigantha Nattaputta) the Jains in that it actually helps free the mind/heart from debilitating feelings of guilt and remorse and leads to the overcoming of past karma.
 

The Trumpet Sutra

The Buddha takes questions and answers in surprising ways (templenews.org)

 
Thus have I heard. Once when the Blessed One was staying near Nalanda in the Pavarika Mango Grove, Asibandhakaputta the village chieftain, a disciple of the Niganthas [Jains], went to the Blessed One, bowed, and sat respectfully to one side. The Blessed One said:
 
"Chieftain, how does Nigantha Nataputta [the founder of Jainism] teach the dharma to his disciples?"
 
"Nigantha Nataputta teaches the dharma to his disciples in this way, venerable sir:

• 'All who take life...
• 'All who steal...
• 'All who indulge in sexual misconduct...
• 'All who speak falsely are destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell. 

"'Whatever one keeps doing, by that is one led [to a course of rebirth].' That is how Nigantha Nataputta teaches the dharma to his disciples."

Buddha reflection (Anekphoto/flickr.com)

The Buddha responded: "If it is true that, 'Whatever one keeps doing, by that one is led [to a state of rebirth],' then no one is destined for a state of deprivation or destined for hell in line with Nigantha Nataputta's words.

"What do you think, chieftain: If a person is one who takes life... is one who takes what is not given... is one who indulges in sexual misconduct... is one who speaks falsely, then taking into consideration the time spent doing and not doing, whether by day or night, which time is more: the time one spends taking life, taking what is not given, taking sexual liberties, taking the truth in vain, or the time one spends not [doing such things]?"
 
"If a person is one who takes life... who takes what is not given... who takes sexual liberties... who takes the truth in vain, venerable sir, then taking into consideration time spent doing and not doing, whether by day or night, then the time one spends [doing such things] is less; the time one spends not [doing such things] is certainly more. Therefore, if it is true that, 'Whatever one keeps doing, by that is one led [to a state of rebirth],' then no one is destined for a state of deprivation or destined for hell in line with Nigantha Nataputta's words."

"There is the case, chieftain, where a certain teacher holds this doctrine, holds this view: 'All who take life... All who take what is not given... All who indulge in sexual misconduct... All who speak falsely are destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell.' A disciple has confidence (faith, conviction, trust) in that teacher, and the thought occurs: 'Our teacher holds this doctrine, holds this view: "All who take life are destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell." There are living beings whom I have killed. I, too, am destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell!'
 

Hell, naraka, one of the woeful destinations, Japanese depiction (what-buddha-said.net)

 
"One clings to that view. If one does not abandon that doctrine, does not abandon that state of mind, does not relinquish that [wrong] view, then -- just as if one were to be carried off by wardens and put there -- one would fall into hell just as if one had been placed there.
 
"[The thought occurs,] 'Our teacher holds this doctrine, holds this view: 'All who take what is not given... All who indulge in sexual misconduct... All who speak falsely are destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell.' There are lies... that I have told. I, too, am destined for a state of deprivation, destined for hell.' One fastens onto that view. If one does not abandon that doctrine, does not abandon that state of mind, does not relinquish that [wrong] view, then as if one were to be carried off by wardens, one would fall into hell just as if one had been placed there.
 
"There is the case, chieftain, where a Tathagata [a samma-sam-buddha, a Wayfarer, a Welcome One, a Well-gone One] appears in the world, worthy [of gifts and hospitality] and rightly self-awakened, consummate in clear knowledge and conduct, well-gone, a knower of the worlds, unexcelled trainer of those to be tamed, teacher of humans and devas, enlightened, blessed. In various ways he rebukes and criticizes the taking of life and admonishes: 'Abstain from taking life.'

"He rebukes and criticizes taking what is not given and admonishes: 'Abstain from taking what is not given.' He rebukes and criticizes indulging in sexual misconduct and admonishes: 'Abstain from indulging in sexual misconduct.' He rebukes and criticizes speaking falsely and admonishes: 'Abstain from false speech.'
 
"A disciple has confidence in that teacher and reflects: 'The Blessed One in a variety of ways rebukes and criticizes the taking of life and admonishes: "Abstain from taking life." There are living beings I have killed, to a greater or lesser extent. That was not right. That was not good. But if I become remorseful for that reason, that harmful deed of mine will not be undone.' So, reflecting in this way, one abandons right then and there the taking of life and, from then on, refrains from taking life. This is how there comes to be the abandoning of that harmful action (karma). This is how there comes to be the transcending of that harmful action.

"[One reflects:] 'The Blessed One in a variety of ways rebukes and criticizes taking what is not given... indulging in sexual misconduct... speaking falsely and admonishes: "Abstain from [such things]." There are lies I have told, to a greater or lesser extent. That was not right. That was not good. But if I become remorseful for that reason, that harmful karma of mine will not be undone.' So, reflecting in this way, one abandons right then and there speaking falsely and, from then on, refrains from speaking falsely. This is how there comes to be the abandoning of that harmful action. This is how there comes to be the transcending of that harmful action.
 

1. Having abandoned the taking of life, one refrains from it.
2. Having abandoned taking what is not given, one refrains from it.
3. Having abandoned sexual misconduct, one refrains from it.
4. Having abandoned false speech, one refrains from it.
5. Having abandoned divisive speech, one refrains from it.
6. Having abandoned harsh speech, one refrains from it.
7. Having abandoned idle chatter, one refrains from it.
8. Having abandoned covetousness, one's mind/heart is free of it.
9. Having abandoned ill will, one's mind/heart is free of it.
10. Having abandoned wrong view, one adopts right view.

• [See "Ten Courses of Unwholesome and Wholesome Conduct," Bhikkhu Bodhi.]

"That disciple of the noble ones, chieftain -- devoid of covetousness, devoid of ill will, unbewildered, alert, mindful -- keeps pervading the first direction [east] with an awareness [a mind/heart] imbued with friendliness [metta, loving kindness], likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth directions. So above, below, and all around, everywhere, in their entirety, one keeps pervading the all-encompassing universe with awareness imbued with friendliness -- abundant, grown great, immeasurable, free of hostility, free of ill will.

"Just as a strong conch-trumpet blower can notify the four directions without difficulty, in the same way, when the wisdom-liberation through friendliness is so developed, so pursued, any deed done to a limited extent no longer remains there, no longer stays there.
 
"That disciple of the noble ones -- free of covetousness, free of ill will, unbewildered, alert, and mindful -- keeps pervading the first direction with awareness imbued with compassion... with awareness imbued with appreciation... with awareness imbued with equanimity, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth direction. So above, below, and all around, everywhere, in their entirety, one keeps pervading the all-encompassing universe with awareness imbued with equanimity -- abundant, grown great, immeasurable, free of hostility, free of ill will.

Buddha, Thailand (Andyzart/flickr.com)

"Just as a strong conch-trumpet blower can notify the four directions without difficulty, in the same way, when the wisdom-liberation through equanimity is so developed, so pursued, any karma done to a limited extent no longer remains there, no longer stays there."
 
Reaction
When this was said, Asibandhakaputta the village chieftain, the disciple of the Niganthas (Jains), said to the Blessed One: "Magnificent, venerable sir! Magnificent, venerable sir! It is just as if one were to place upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to point out the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see what was there to be seen! In the same way has the Blessed One -- through many lines of reasoning -- made the Dharma clear. I go to the Blessed One for guidance. I go to the Dharma for guidance. I go to the Sangha for guidance. May the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for guidance from this day forward."

• Karma and the Ending of Karma (Wings of Awakening, Tan Geoff)
• See also: MN 21; MN 101; SN 42.9; AN 3.33; AN 3.65; AN 3.99

Zach G. beats Justin Bieber on TV! (video)

Wisdom Quarterly; Zach Galifianakis "Between Two Ferns," Superstar OG Justin BieberWARNING: Things get violent as the TV interviewer begins to beat Justin Bieber on the air!

 

Bieber (right) with model (perezhilton.com)

This is the real Bieber without his agent Scooter. He appears like a deer in the headlights on comedian Zach Galifianakis' Internet interview show "Between Two Ferns," Sept. 26, 2013. Bieber now lives in a dowdy suburb of Los Angeles and is angry about his wannabe rapper friends destroying his home while he is on a world tour winning over the hearts and minds of little girls and creepy guys everywhere.

Zach goes over Justin's head with many of the veiled jokes at Justin's expense but then makes it perfectly obvious how he really feels as he proceeds to assault and batter the dancing Canadian idol (and national embarrassment) by repeatedly beating him (Min. 3:50) as most people alive on the planet today have at some time or other wanted to do.

Rihanna stays in the tabloids

He may not be the most followed person in the Twitterverse -- a distinction that rightly goes to media royalty like Lady Gaga, or the Dalai Lama, or anyone with non-bot followers -- but he sure doesn't have much to say when bombarded with the kind of questions we would ALL like to have asked the Beebs over the years as he skyrocketed to fame vomiting on stage, having sex with Rihanna (who would be his molester under state law) but not Ke$ha, abandoning a hapless monkey in Germany, endangering the lives of his neighbors, or hurting former Disney child star Selena Gomez's standing in the media. While he's peeing in buckets, smoking drugs, getting bad tattoos, insulting Holocaust victim Anne Frank... keep in mind, we are all still being spied on by the NSA, and the CIA is still promoting imperial war all over the world.

But is anyone more desperate than Miley Cyrus?

NSA defeats privacy, encryption, and Internet security (D.N.)

The Lotus Sutra (Chapter 2)

Dhr. Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; based on Burton Watson translation

Chapter II: Expedient Means

At that time the World-Honored One calmly arose from his meditative-absorption (samadhi) and addressed Sariputra, saying: "The wisdom of the buddhas is infinitely profound and immeasurable. 

The door to this profound wisdom is difficult to understand and difficult to enter. Not one of the hearers (shravakas) or nonteaching-buddhas (pratyekabuddhas) is able to comprehend it.

 

"What is the reason for this? A [supremely enlightened samma-sam-] Buddha has personally attended [on] a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a million, a countless number of buddhas and has fully carried out an immeasurable number of religious practices. He has exerted himself bravely and vigorously, and his name is universally known. He has realized the Dharma that is profound and never known before, and preaches it in accordance with what is appropriate, yet his intention is difficult to understand.

 

"Sariputra, ever since I attained buddhahood, I have through various causes and various similes widely expounded my teachings and have used countless expedient means to guide living beings and cause them to renounce attachments. Why is this? 

It is because the Thus Come One (Tathagata) is fully possessed by both expedient means and the perfection of wisdom.

A lotus, its beauty and fragrance, arise from mud.

 

"Sariputra, the wisdom of the Thus Come One is expansive and profound. He has immeasurable [mercy], unlimited [eloquence], power, fearlessness, concentration, emancipation, and meditative-absorptions, and has deeply entered the boundless and awakened to the Dharma never before attained.

 

"Sariputra, the Thus Come One knows how to make various kinds of distinctions and to expound the teachings skillfully. His words are soft and gentle and delight the hearts of the assembly.

 

"Sariputra, to sum it up: the Buddha has fully realized the Dharma that is limitless, boundless, never attained before.

"But stop, Sariputra, I will say no more. Why? It is because what the Buddha has achieved is the rarest and most difficult-to-understand Dharma [truth]. The true entity of all phenomena can only be understood and shared between buddhas. This reality consists of the appearance, nature, entity, power, influence, inherent cause, relation, latent effect, manifest effect, and their consistency from beginning to end."

 

At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse, saying:

The great hero of the world is unfathomable. Among heavenly beings or the people of the world, among all living beings, none can understand the Buddha. The Buddha's power, fearlessness, emancipation, and meditative-absorptions, and the Buddha's other attributes -- no one can reckon or fathom.

 

(windhorse.com.au)

Earlier, under the guidance of countless buddhas, he fully acquired and practiced various ways, profound, subtle, and wonderful doctrines that are hard to see and hard to understand.

 

For immeasurable millions of aeons (kalpas) he has been practicing these ways until in the place of practice he achieved the goal. I have already come to know-and-see completely this great goal and recompense, the meaning of these various natures and characteristics.

I and the other buddhas of the ten directions can now understand these things. This Dharma cannot be described, words fall silent before it. Among the other kinds of living beings there are none who can comprehend it, except the... More

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Burn me out; twist my wrists. I promise not to shout. Beat me with your fists. Squeeze me, squeeze me, make me feel. In my red high heels, I'm an easy kill. Tease me, tease me, make me see. You're the only one I need to be me. Thank you, will you take me? Thank you, will you make me? Thank you, will you break me? Use me; don't lose me. Taste me; don't waste me. Use, lose, taste, waste.