[MD] The Arete Initiative

[Heather Perella]

Ian:
> >Bob's style is indeed more wait and see. Whilst he
> seems happy to
> >cooperate / suggest pointers to anyone prepared to
> interact with him
> >on his terms - he's made it quite clear in Lila's
> Child and in his
> >words at the 2005 conference, that he is not into
> "active public
> >participation" himself - since his "celebrity" or
> "authority" are
> >counter-productive distractions.



Marsha:
> Are we being asked to accept that the attribute
> "celebrity" exists, 
> while the "self" does not exist?


SA:  Less than a minute ago, I finished listening to
the Dali Lama discuss how the self does exist in his
teaching of Dhammapada and the Jataka Tales comments
found on the Dali Lama's website.  The website
provides a free download of real player if one doesn't
have it, for this download apparently is needed to
watch video's or listen to audio's of the Dali Lama. 
Interesting site by the way, offers Dali Lama
interviews on the recent China-Tibet relations and
many of his teachings are archived.  His comments on
self are in the second hour of the morning session
video.  The first hour is more mantra oriented, which
are very soothing:

Dhammapada and the Jataka Tales
Date: 22 February to 1 March 2008 
Venue: Main Temple, Dharamsala, India 
His Holiness the Dalai Lama's annual spring teaching
on Dhammapada and the Jataka Tales. 

Link to referred teaching:

http://dalailama.com/page.209.htm

Link to Dali Lama's home page of his website:

http://dalailama.com/


SA continues:
     The self is an analogy, as hard as a rock sitting
on the earth.  Yet, this self has no boundaries, same
as the rock has no boundaries for it to exist, the
sustainment of the rock and self are dependent upon
much else.  This is how a rock is an analogy of
something more, but I'm not going to rehash these
comments of mine.  This though, the boundlessness (no
boundary) aspect of self is what what emptiness refers
to.  Emptiness is form.  Form is emptiness.  Emptiness
is firm.  Firm is empty.  It is about the boundaries
being demolished - no separation, yet, distinctions
remain alive and well.  
     The no-self refers to how the strict independent
self does not exist.  Everything is co-dependent in
origination.  The celebrity is a hardened, exclamation
point, or emphasized (pick your analogy) view of
patterns where the emphasis is strongly placed upon
something in particular, in this respect, on Pirsig. 
This is also kin to the focus-field view where the
celebrity is enhancing a field of patterns into focus,
as one would focus telescope to zoom in on something
closer.  How the self is loosened and the dynamic or
empty is kept embedded, is kept in ones awareness is a
process much like this as follows:
     
     "The ten-thousand things are the Dao and what is
the Dao, I don't know ten-thousand things, and what's
that, I don't know too many to point out, it's
endless."

                  - SA (now)

woods,
SA

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