Key Elements

This part is interesting info. When I looked it up right here, he did talk about it to his audience.

Spanked.

@Leo Gura I have a friend who is equally as interested in spirituality/non-duality as me. He doesn't go around talking about it everyday somewhere. He points out that the behavior is obsessive. I understand that. I doubt he has ever been through that phase in his life. From time to time, I think of visiting Shinzen Young on a retreat. I want to thank him for doing 'the ten ox herding pics' so well and that he explained it so well on YouTube! It's the main reason why I'm in the forum. It was a major self-discovery for me. Riding the ox backwards and the Cloth Bag Monk made complete sense to me. (And, Leo, thanks for saying something in an enlightenment clip that led me to those clips of his.) However, I had second thoughts about visiting him. I don't want to go empty handed. I rather be prepared to say something useful to him to show that I did the work. I rather show what happened to me, not tell. Maybe gift him a mug of the 10 ox herding pics and my business card of my life purpose with a brief letter to show how I did the work. Then, I tell him that I'm on this retreat to see if I could learn anymore lessons. I'm a long way from this though. I better get to work. I would like to see Thich Naht Hanh face to face too and show him what happened to me. But, what good is the deepest wisdom when it's not being applied to this life properly?

Here's another way of looking at it. If you keep doing things in excess, including validation in spirituality, it could be a trap and a distraction. We humans are naturally into well-roundedness in our own ways. That's a fulfilling life. It's never one way or the other. Make your life purpose well-rounded and profound, including in non-duality/spirituality, then things will start falling into place. Things in your life, including non-duality/spirituality, will start falling into place. You will start having the profound experiences naturally. I'm saying this based on my own experience. I'm not going for just one thing or the other. There is another warning here. Non-duality/spirituality comes on the top of Maslow's. No matter what you do or how you say it or how frequently you say it, it wouldn't matter to most. What counts is how you apply it in your daily life. In other words, you could plant the seed, but it doesn't mean that it will grow. It may not grow well too.

Yes, you're right. Go ahead and validate them for yourself. You don't have to believe anything of anyone. I'm not talking about anything new age. He said something in his book that I could relate to. Otherwise, I wouldn't give it any value and mention it. He is definitely not a new age writer.

@Leo Gura From what you're talking about in this thread, you may want to check out this author and his book. What I could make of it so far is, those 'enlightened masters' who have achieved nirvana could choose to reincarnate back on earth in whatever time they choose--to teach lessons in all kinds of ways. They could choose to be someone of a big ego or an unaware ego in their lifetime to interact with you just to steer you in the 'right' direction.

Ppl in general are born different. That's a given. If you ever worked as a teacher in a school, you will see that some kids are academically inclined and others are not. Those who are not are not doing it on purpose. They are equally as smart. They just have to find another path more suitable for them in life. Yes, some ppl are more prone to become a body builder and some a doctor. You have to discover it for yourself. What are you waiting for? Do a profound life purpose and see things falling into place, including your career with entrepreneurship and enlightenment. A life purpose encompasses everything you put into it.

That's why self-transcendence goes at the very top of Maslow's. You're "supposed to" talk about it sparingly and tactfully. Only those who are ready to hear it will hear it. I'm planning to structure my LP according to Maslow's--basic needs goes at the bottom and self-transcendence at the top. Teaching a skill is a basic need of survival. Everyone can relate. But, you see, when it comes to very profound stuff, like a relationship based on 'enlightenment' involves complete detachment and non-neediness--no different than being single, most will not be able to relate. So, it's better to focus on gaining a skill. That is more productive than continuously talking about enlightenment when a person can't ever relate to it or understand it. Unless, it happened to him/her already.

I don't know the monks personally, but I did know of a monk in real life who had a heart attack due to old age. He was 75 yrs old when this happened. A devoted follower decided to help him and admitted him to the hospital and decided to pay for his bills. Cost: over $10,000. I'm trying to find some time to work on my LP. I'm a bilingual teacher by profession. In the end, I would like to express non-duality in both languages. I posted some of my work and what I do in this thread. That's my style of teaching.

You know, Leo, you have an interesting forum. It's just that, like I said in my post in this thread, 'detachment' pretty much describes enlightenment. So, what I'm saying here is, don't expect a fulfilling relationship to be in the tune of stage orange. ? lol It will never sound like, ?? "Don't you wish your gf was enlightened like me!" ?? It doesn't work that way. Don't confuse ppl.

@Leo Gura you made the best video on relationships here: Although, it's more complicated than this, the key word is 'detachment.' I really like this word. We talk about enlightenment a lot in the forum. However, how you apply enlightenment in life is what counts the most. Life itself operates on the 'principles' of enlightenment. Detachment is one of the principles. When you are the no-self, you are one with everything, yet, when you are transforming back to your ego, you are detached from everything. Yes, you got to be detached in a relationship. Allow the other person to be themselves and discover who they are. Discover who you are first and apply it to life. Once this happens, you accept them for who they are and give them space to develop throughout life. The other person gives you the same respect.

Were you ever in such a situation? Because I posted something here. Then, here is a different way of life. It's a matter of how you adjust and go with the flow. It's easier said than done.

@Shin do comedy as part of your life purpose. Then, you'll have a good reason to talk and joke a lot.

Why? You don't agree? Talking unnecessarily is unfulfilling in the long run. You'll be like, "Oops, I wasn't open-minded enough to do this."

Most ppl do, including myself of course. I like this quote: "If you propose to speak, always ask yourself 'is it true; is it necessary; is it kind?" -Buddha If we take more time to remain silent, we could be more aware of the problems and solutions. We could do a little research and know where to go next for the solutions.

I agree with this part: "Any proper response to almost any of his content ends with dismissal." Not always, but there is some truth to this. Someone might be saying something that is hinting at a turning point in one's life, but the other person dismisses it and may take years to rediscover it and apply it to one's life.

Are you healthy by the time you're 65-100? Some are not. They take a bag full of medicines. They depend on others (younger family members) due to health reasons. Watch what you eat. Learn to cook healthy and go for long walks on hills and exercise. Do you have enough to retire when you're old? I like this lifestyle: Looks like a monk's lifestyle. Most of it is great, but I do see monks and others getting into health problems and depending on others. Nothing wrong with that. They should get help but sometimes a lot of trouble. 24/7 job. Completely disabled and dependent on others. Here's someone (a monk) who had to depend on her wealthy/famous brother for help due to her heart/cancer problems: They did a book together so she could get passive income. Another important thing to me is: did you incorporate non-duality in your life purpose? Are you successful in teaching it and reaching out to others saying that 'we are one' so that this can trigger and spread peace in some way.

I see something else in the video too. The entrepreneurs (Angels/VCs), the ones who made it and became philanthropists are the ones running the housing projects, similar to Bill Gates and his AIDs foundation (non-profit). Well, it's complicated. It's hard to live with dysfunctional families and relationships. At one point or another, like you said, we have to work out our own salvation with a life purpose. Anyway, these philanthropists may not have had an awakening but it's better than doing nothing for those who are needy. Just gain a skill for your life purpose first and incorporate your awakening later, if you have one. We got to become the Cloth Bag Monk in our own ways. That's why these 'enlightened masters' are able to implement their awakening (deepest wisdom) in their LP. Example:

If you were stuck in this situation, what are you going to do? What are your plans to prevent this from happening?

@Elisabeth yes it is a problem.

Thanks for your reply. I was wondering about that too. I was wondering the same thing. Since we talk about enlightenment a lot in the forum, I'm going to include that here too. It does relate. Just allow me to try to explain. It's just what I noticed. Remember how Leo did the 10 ox herding pics video? Well, if you digged into that, you will notice that Riding the Ox Backwards is your awakening. That's when you are the no-self (nothingness). Then, you transform into everythingness. Then, there's a "major" transformation back into your ego (body) and this world (realm) where you collapse as a black hole within yourself. You flow into love (bliss) when this happens, and when you finally realize this, your physical environment changes in some way in the form of "ah-ha" moments. If you could apply this in your own life, you become 'enlightened.' You don't suffer when this happens, just like in your awakening, and you're completely detached from everything, including the outcome. It's the end to suffering. You realize that everything is you. That's why it surprised me that at the end of the video, the homeless man mentioned world peace. In the end of the 10 ox herding pics, there is a street person called, The Cloth Bag Monk, who liked to sleep in the snow and mingled with ppl in the market place, esp children, and liked to pass out gifts. I'm wondering, this Cloth Bag Monk lived his life to the fullest as a street person in ancient times. He just had a smile on his face and mingled and went with the flow of things. He didn't look like he suffered, even though his conditions may seem harsh. He followed the "principles" of the deepest awakening (wisdom). I'm wondering, what did he do for a living? Did he babysit out on the streets? Maybe, and no one paid him. He may have just lived off of donations from others since he was considered a "monk." Nowadays, we have the internet. We have a life purpose. We have research and great sources. We have entrepreneurship and startup networking with angel/VC groups esp in major cities across the world. This is our marketplace. We form ideas and exchange our ideas. This is because our society is at stage orange. In the Cloth Bag Monk's time, society was at red/blue. They didn't have the exchange of ideas and opportunities. I think it's time to form ideas and go to our marketplace. Here is a modern day Cloth Bag Monk. I'm a busy person, but looks like I have to follow my own advice.

If you have to force yourself or coerce yourself to believe in something, the information will be useless to you. You'll not be able to relate to it. You will just be wasting your time watching it and hearing it over and over again. Just go and do something else. For example, if you can't understand that money can't buy you happiness, go and learn about entrepreneurship and become rich. Once you retire young, you will be wondering, "what am I supposed to do for the rest of my life?" Some ppl, when they've reached this point, and don't know what to do next, say that it's like living in a hospital. So, they turn to habits like drugs/alcohol/etc. This is learning the hard way. Ask yourself, what steps do I take to learn the life lessons in an easier way?

There has to be some way around this. Don't just give up and settle for a low conscious job. For instance, if you want to become a doctor, work for a doctor doing medical transcriptions while you study. And, when you reach a certain stage in your life purpose, for example, like early stage startup, go to networking/entrepreneur events, mingle with other startups, and get ideas on where to go next, like where to work next. Work related to what you are doing for your life purpose. You may find a mentor (Angel/VC) who made it and see how they've made it. I did find a mentor (Angel investor) who said that getting a job related to what you're doing is the easy part.

Actually, think about it. A pen is like a magic wand. "The pen is mighter than the sword." Information is more powerful than money. It could get you beyond the money. Remember, I used the Harry Potter example. The author of Harry Potter was a poor single mom. Now look at her. The only thing with Leo and actualized.org is, it's trying to get you to have the deepest awakening and apply this wisdom in this life in your own way. That will trigger peace in this world if you do this properly.? Then, you become enlightened. It's so easy nowadays. We could do a life purpose with our smartphones right at our fingertips.