Playing with Perspectives

[UnbornTao]

By attempting to modify, add to, withdraw from, or hide--acts rooted in misrepresentation--we are conceding that our experience of ourselves and of life is not enough as it is. As a result of this way of relating to others, a continuous struggle emerges as our underlying condition.

Edited 13 hours ago by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Fear is so accessible and constant a condition for us that it often goes unnoticed, receding into the background of our experience--subtly or grossly tainting the way we live.

Edited 13 hours ago by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

What is desire? Can you find a sense of pain accompanying the desire for something?

Edited 13 hours ago by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Quote

Students today can't get anywhere; what ails you? Lack of faith in yourself is what ails you. If you lack faith in yourself, you'll keep on tumbling along, dragged this way and that.

— Rinzai

 

Edited Tuesday at 11:40 PM by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Notice how language (your mind) subtly influences the way you hold infinity to be "something"--an object, a perception, a state or experience, something "huge" out there to be attained. Seriously, whatever you have regarding this "absolute" matter is not it. At best, it is a grounded notion or possibility; at worst, a complete fantasy based on wishful thinking.

Whatever it is remains to be personally realized by you and you alone--and will remain so until you are completely, entirely, and profoundly conscious of everything there is. So be humble and do not fool yourself. And when you do, admit it instantly and keep inquiring.

Edited 13 hours ago by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Enjoying the Shogun TV show.

Edited February 29, 2024 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

The mind is constantly struggling for certainty and safety.

Edited March 19, 2024 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Can your attempts at "resolving" yourself, or life, ever be effective?

For instance, feeling inadequate, you might pursue strength, popularity, or wealth to pacify inner lack--hoping these will "fix" you. I’m not disparaging such efforts but pointing us toward investigating their motives. Don’t use doubt to undermine action; instead, do what you want, but clarify why.

It’s like being blind and--wanting to recover your sight--going about changing your surroundings. This analogy reveals how we address only superficial manifestations, leaving intact the very conditions that source our struggles.

How, then, do we approach real change?

What’s my approach to life--is it to avoid loss? What recurring challenges do I encounter? How do I meet them?

What’s the root of X or Y? How does this condition arise? Where does it begin and end?

Edited 12 hours ago by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Loved Dune 2. Might get the books. 

Edited Tuesday at 11:40 PM by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

AI-generated.

Edited March 19, 2024 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

 

[UnbornTao]

I made a lentil stew not long ago.

[Photo]

Ingredients:

• 1 can cooked lentils
• 1 can mixed vegetables (carrots, potatoes, green beans, peas)
• 2 tablespoons homemade red chili pepper sauce with olive oil (spicy!)
• 1/2 glass tomato sauce
• Minced basil
• Rosemary or cumin
• Hot paprika
• Pepper mix
• 1/3 red onion
• 2–3 garlic cloves
• Salt
• Water

Took about 10 minutes or so.

Pretty good, in my opinion--and spicy! I might use fewer vegetables next time, maybe just half the mix. Personal preference.

Edited 13 hours ago by UnbornTao

[Nemra]

@UnbornTao Sorry for writing here.

I can almost taste and smell it, as if I were eating it. 🤤 One of my top favorite dishes.

[UnbornTao]

Just arrived! The Spanish edition wasn't very accessible to find nor reasonably-priced on second-hand digital markets, but here it is finally.

Edited 13 hours ago by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

On 3/19/2024 at 8:30 PM, Understander said:

@UnbornTao Sorry for writing here.

I can almost taste and smell it, as if I were eating it. 🤤 One of my top favorite dishes.

Thank you! Definitely one of my favs, too.

Edited March 21, 2024 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Quote

When no discrimination is made between the self and the not-self, you open the gate to the highest wisdom.

– Hakim Sanai

 

Edited 13 hours ago by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

A sense of emptiness accompanies the lack of authentic self-expression.

[UnbornTao]

What do you want to be up to before you die?

[UnbornTao]

For happiness in life, what’s basically needed is to enjoy your experience, no matter what it is, and to set goals for yourself to move toward every day. This creates a sense of hope and meaning.

Edited 13 hours ago by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Our assumptions set the parameters for our ways of thinking about, and interpreting, "reality."

Edited 13 hours ago by UnbornTao