There is no tragedy like getting your own way

“When Michael Jackson asked for something, he got it. This was the great tragedy.”
~ Uri Gellar

"There is no thief like nature, but it is our own will that does the damage."
~ Chuang-tzu

Change you can believe in

If things were different then they wouldn't be the same; and they're more the same than ever!

Nirvana

If ignorance is bliss then remember to forget.

fools rush in, again

John joins the circus to ask a silly question

The following email was posted to a Buddhist group of which I am a member:

Date: Tue 30 Jun 03:13:43 IDT 2009
From: "stark_source"
Subject: [InsightPractice] Why is this group mostly filled
with bickering?
To: InsightPractice@ yahoogroups. com

Isn't this group supposed to be about insight practice?

Shouldn't people be discussing difficulties with meditation,
perhaps experiences in meditation, meditation retreats they've
been on, the benefits gained through meditation practise,
questions about meditation techniques, perhaps even alternatives
to insight practice? There's so much to talk about when it comes
to insight practice, but what I see is people debating, and
finally arguing, about the finer points of Buddhist terminology,
philosophy, even etymology.

All these topics are worth talking about, but what I see most is
people bickering with one another.

The mood in general here is hostile, very uninviting.

What is wrong here? How long has it been like this?

With kind regards,

John

The answer to his question is obvious - because it's the same clowns. They're just hiding under a different tent. Though they are well rebuked, those who won't be counseled can't be helped. A better question is "why did John decide to join the circus?". Though his observation is accurate, his question is silly. Naturally his answer came in the form of double talk.

Hello John,

Thanks for your comments.

I've been a member of this group since about 1994 both
at yahoogroups and earlier when it was under
world.std.com. The group was started by John Bullitt,
who runs Access To Insight. The has always been an open
group without much by the way of active moderation.
That is the moderators don't actively control which
posts appear on the group. That means that, for the
most part, people act the way they do normally. And one
of the things people often do is bicker.

That's the simple explanation, anyway.

Why do people with an interest in Buddhist practice and
ideas bicker? That's a good question. I don't have a
good answer.

Why aren't the moderator's more active in their
approach? Well, I can't speak for Jina, but I can speak
for myself as an occasional moderator. I like open
groups. I like the challenge of trying to apply
Buddhist principles in an open, even turbulent
environment. Because if we can't manage to practice on
an open mailing list, how can we practice in the real
world, which is far more dangerous.

Metta,

David.

Join in, get involved, & become part of the problem!

I'm glad we got the simple explanation (even if the mod had no answer)! The moderator begins by thanking John for his post, so you can tell that the guy is sincere straight off the bat! The moderator then responds that since this is what goes on out there in the real world it's better to get used to it on the forum. That's like saying it's better to get sick now rather than waiting until you wind up in the hospital.

Thanks, I think

I'd call John's sincerity into question. He knows what the group is like and yet asks a straight question expecting something other than a crooked answer. By posting John has effectively engaged in the very behavior that he was complaining about. Perhaps John is being insincere with himself. God lets us meet the wrong people so that we can learn to recognize the right ones; and when God speaks, it's good to get the message.

Maxwellisms: Jordan Maxwell is a conspiracy theorist who has made a living by misconstruing the meanings and origins of words. For instance he thinks that the words "lord" and "lard" are related because the shortening brand name "Crisco" sounds like the word "Christ". With that in mind here's today's Maxwellism "You can't spell Hope without Hop, so take that leap of faith!" Just look before you leap.

Samsara

"Life is a game where everyone interferes with everyone else."
~Eric Berne

Hence the impossibility of anybody winning. The game just isn't set up that way.

We share to care so pass the chair

Send the chamber pot back down the line to be filled up again.

Poor Understanding

Truth can never be told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd.
William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell

Actually that's a half truth. More like

Truth can never be told so as to be understood.

Progress Without Politics? An example of humanism.

from the Thomas Edison homepage

"He led no armies into battle, he conquered no countries, and he enslaved no peoples... Nonetheless, he exerted a degree of power the magnitude of which no warrior ever dreamed. His name still commands a respect as sweeping in scope and as world-wide as that of any other mortal - a devotion rooted deep in human gratitude and untainted by the bias that is often associated with race, color, politics, and religion."

Edison's great boast was that nothing he'd invented had direct applications for harming his fellow men & women. Even today much of our technology are refinements on Edison's inventions - CD players have merely replaced the needle with a laser. Movie's are still made using the basic Edison tech. Before Edison people were still reading by oil lamps! 90% of all the technological progress ever made has been made in the last 100 years. The big question is "what's taken us so long?" Personally I blame game playing and petty in fighting, other wise known as "politics as usual".