True Nature of Reality (Bhikkhu Bodhi)

Four Elements Meditation

Venerable sir, what is the true nature of existence? American Theravada scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi (Chaung Yen Monastery, Carmel, Upstate New York, BAUS.org) explains from a set of ten lectures called The Buddha's Teaching: As It Is, which he recorded while residing at the Washington DC Buddhist Vihara.

• The Buddha’s Teaching As It Is @ The Open Buddhist University
• Material particles in kalapas (atoms) in Buddhism
• Bhikkhu Bodhi; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What if there's no self, Alan Watts?

Alan Watts The Individual and the World Pt.  1 full lecture (Alan Watts Organization Official)

• Alan Watts (KPFK 90.7 FM) "Individual and the World," Pt. 1 (from Buddhist Radio, aka "Something's Happening" Sunday mornings at 8:00 am on KPFK with Diane of Hollywood Tuckman, Roy's wife)

Wait, you can't leave us hanging there, Alan. Keep going, keep explaining

• Alan Watts (alanwatts.org) via Archive.KPFK.org May 11, 2025; Dhr. Seven, Seth Auberon, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Fight alternative: Writing (Monty Python)

Monty Python: "Novel Writing" as a major stadium sport in England

This is an alternative? Refined literary pursuits?

(Dyynamo) Boxing not interesting? Of course, it's a brutal blood sport for savages. Instead, herewith is color commentary on the athletic exploits of British novelist Thomas Hardy as he attempts to write The Return of the Native before a large bank holiday crowd of lit hooligans going berserk in the stands.

• Bigger Fight: Eric Idle on Monty Python feud with John Cleese: Money can lead to very bad arguments:

The world famous "Parrot Sketch"

Languages of the world

Name the Top 10 most spoken languages

Sexuality in a Hindu monk's view (TRS)

You'll look at sexuality differently after this video: A monk's spiritual perspective

(TRS Clips) June 18, 2024: Website: bbsh.in/trsclips-launch-cpyt. The Ranveer Show (TRS) welcomes Hindu monk Gauranga Das to enlighten us with his knowledge of spirituality and life. He was an IIT engineer who turned monk known for being a leadership consultant, corporate coach, inspirational speaker, and much more.

Make the sound of the universe: aum (om)

He worked for the Kirloskars before ordaining as a monk, after which he joined ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Consciousness), Mumbai (Bombay).

In this episode, Gauranga Das shared some beautiful aspects of spirituality, including the purpose of life, the purpose of sexuality, how monks live their lives, the different stages of life of a monk, Sanatan Dharma ("Eternal Doctrine," which is what Hindus call Hinduism) guidelines, the life of new generation with technologies, and how can one detach him or herself from worldly things and achieve enlightenment (nirvikalpa samadhi).

Spiritual talks are very special for Ranveer as he gets to meet many people who influence his journey of spirituality. He hopes that through this episode, viewers will also get an in-depth understanding of spiritual life and how it shapes our lives. Enjoy and comment. #spirituality #Gauranga Das

• Full show: Life lessons from the Bhavagad Gita

ABOUT: TRS Clips is a collection of short clips from The Ranveer Show (TRS) podcast. Enjoy latest knowledge-fueled videos from the BeerBiceps team. Every conversation on #TheRanveerShow is intellectual, deep, and progressive, which covers everyone from entrepreneurs to Bollywood film stars to athletes. Today, TRS: Happiness Through Curiosity, a show that hosts the world's greatest success stories and tries digging out their secrets to success. Every conversation is an extreme learning experience for the viewer.

Watch The Full Episode Here: • Life Lessons From BHAGAVAD GITA Expla... Check out BeerBiceps SkillHouse's Podcasting 101 Course - https://bbsh.io/podcasting-101 Follow BeerBiceps SkillHouse's Social media handles: YouTube: @beerbicepsskillhouse. Instagram: beerbiceps_skillhouse.  #gaurangadas #TheRanveerShow #spirituality

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Actual magic is real, actually (video)

Dean Radin; Formscapes, 10/23/23; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Supernormal: Science, Yoga, and the Evidence for Extraordinary Psychic Abilities (Audible)

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What if there were an Eightfold Path of Science? There is now, thanks to Dr. Radin. Can yoga and meditation unleash our inherent supernormal mental powers, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, invisibility, and precognition?

Is it really possible to

• perceive another person's thoughts and intentions?
• influence objects with our minds?
• envision future events?

And is it possible that some of the superpowers described in ancient legends, science fiction, and comic books are actually REAL, and patiently waiting for us behind the scenes?

Are we now poised for an evolutionary trigger to pull the switch and release our full potentials?

Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) Dean Radin is the best-selling author of The Conscious Universe. He presents persuasive new experimental evidence for the existence of such phenomena.

He takes us on a thrilling scientific journey and challenges outdated assumptions that these abilities are mere superstition.

Focusing on Patanjali's mysterious Yoga Sutras -- 2,000-year-old meditation practices believed to release our extraordinary powers -- Dr. Radin offers powerful evidence confirming that sometimes fact is much stranger, spookier, and more wonderful than the wildest fiction. More

There is practice of trance (deep concentration) to become an adept capable of real magic, as Dr. Dean Radin, Ph.D. explains in his book Real Magic, and there is the mental masturbation of endless talking, theorizing, and conjecturing, positing strategies and conceptual frameworks for how it might work when the wheel has already been invented, the actions already taken and verified, the path known and walked by amateurs and adepts. But still the thinkers need to get their head around how magic could work, so we have videos like this for those. In Buddhism, "magic" is known as abhinna ("higher knowledge") and iddhis (siddhis). One would be wise to first get one's virtue in order, by a supernormal attainment of insight, before dabbling in the dangerous playground that is PSI and psychic feats.

Actual magic is actually real, actually

(Formscapes) patreon.com/Formscapes... twitter.com/home / @formscapes / discord. Further reading: Wikipedia: artificial cranial deformations / @ucxq9psbvarbk9bpg9syqf7w / @rupertsheldrakephd / @brienfoerster

Real magic? Yes, says Dr. Radin

The chief scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) turns a critical eye toward such practices as

• telepathy,
• clairvoyance,
• precognition, and
• psychokinesis.

Are such powers really possible? Science says yes. According to noted scientist and bestselling author of The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena, Dr. Dean Radin, Ph.D., magic is a natural aspect of reality, and each of us can tap into this power with diligent practice.

But wait, aren't things like ESP and telepathy just wishful thinking and flights of the imagination?

Not according to the author, who worked on the U.S. government's top secret psychic espionage program known as Stargate.

• Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality (audio book)

The Conscious Universe

Dr. Radin has spent the last 40 years conducting controlled experiments that demonstrate that thoughts are things, that we can sense others' intentions and emotions from a distance, that intuition is more powerful than we thought, and that we can tap into the power of intention (think The Secret, only on a more realistic and scientific level).

These dormant powers can help us to lead more interesting and fulfilling lives.

Beginning with a brief history of magic over the centuries (what was called magic 2,000 years ago is turning out to be scientific fact today), a review of the scientific evidence for magic, a series of simple but effective magical techniques (the key is mental focus, something elite athletes [and meditators] know a lot about), Dr. Radin then offers a vision of a scientifically-informed magic and explains why magic will play a key role in frontiers of science.

NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! live (9/28)

WFSB 3; WTTW; Sheldon S., CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Los Angeles Greek Theatre

"Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me" on the road

(WFSB 3) June 20, 2023: The iconic NPR quiz show is recorded each week with some of the funniest comedians alongside Host Peter Sagal and scorekeeper Bill Kurtis.

Local News from WFSB (wfsb.com, YouTube Content: @wfsb).

Thomas E. Perez on Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me! with host Peter Sagal in Chicago (Wiki)

Host Peter Sagal and new young trophy wife

The funniest and by far the most popular show on NPR is "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" because it tells the week's news in a digestible way -- through humor. Who knew it traveled around to different parts of the country to be in front a live audience?

"Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" NPR gameshow

It does though it seems to usually be at one live venue in Chicago called home. Tonight, it's made it to the big time, Hollywood! The secret life of the show, icon Carl Kasell, will be in attendance in spirit.

• Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! | 7:30 pm, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 Los Angeles Greek Theatre (TICKETS)

Los Angeles has a "Central Park" called Griffith Park, a wilderness above and behind the glittering lights of Tinsel Town, in Hollywood's backyard, connected to the largest public parkland in the country, which is the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Chicago Tonight visits "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!"

(WTTW) Nov. 19, 2008: #WTTWnews goes behind the scenes at a taping of "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!"  The popular NPR comedy game show celebrated its 10th anniversary in June 2008. (Chicago Tonight: wttw.com/chicagotonight).

"I Love P-22" mountain lion memorial for LA's favorite wild cat (LAist/KPCC.org)

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It's so big that man-eating mountain lions (pumas or nonhuman cougars) -- like LA's beloved dead mascot P-22 (whose funeral was at the Greek) -- can live there, hunting by night, sleeping under people's houses in the Valley by day.

• History of the Greek Theatre (lagreektheatre.com)

(WWDTM) What is Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!? Bob Seger 9/2/23 episode

What is serenity? (B. Alan Wallace)

B. Alan Wallace; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Shamatha: Meditation for Balanced Living: The Qualities of Attention

(Wisdom Publications Inc.) April 24, 2023. Wisdom Academy Online Courses. In shamatha: Meditation for Balanced Living, a Wisdom Academy Online Course, to discover a range of methods for developing meditative serenity, tranquility, quiescence, or shamatha, particularly as a foundation for Tibetan dzogchen practice with renowned teacher Lama Alan Wallace. Students learn mindfulness of breathing (anapana sati), settling the mind in its natural state, and the practice of “shamatha without signs.” Enroll now at: wisdomexperience.org/courses...

What is shamatha? | Dr. B. Alan Wallace

(Study Buddhism) Oct. 3, 2016. KARMA TASHI LING BUDDHIST COMMUNITY. Love their content? Support on Patreon: patreon.com/studybuddhism. Buddhist teacher Dr. B. Alan Wallace explains the purpose and benefits of shamatha ("calm abiding," stilling the mind), one of the foundational Buddhist practices alongside intensive mindfulness for focusing the mind to gain insight.

Explore Buddhism at: studybuddhism.com.

The Study Buddhism channel features interviews with the world's leading Buddhist masters, practitioners, and scholars. It discusses classical Buddhist topics such as karma, rebirth, and enlightenment (bodhi), and also looks at Buddhism in today's world, as well as its compatibility with modern scientific physics and psychology.

CONNECT with Study Buddhism: facebook.com/studybuddhism. Free guided meditations at: soundcloud.com/studybuddhism. Inspirational imagery at: instagram.com/studybuddhism. Subscribe to the YouTube channel: studybuddhism. Subtitles available in German (Deutsch), English, Spanish (Español), French (Français), Indonesian, Italian (Italiano), Polish (Polski), Portuguese (Português), Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt), Turkish (Türkçe), Russian, and other languages (Монгол, Русский, བོད་ཡིག་, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 日本語, हिन्दी, العربية فارسی پنجابی اُردو).

Call for submissions: TRANSIT (UC Berkeley)

University of California, Berkeley, German Dept.; CC Liu, Dhr. Seven (eds.) Wisdom Quarterly

UC Berkeley's TRANSIT (A Journal of Travel, Migration, and Multiculturalism in the German-speaking World) is currently accepting submissions for Volume 14, Issue 1 on Automated Precarity. Please view the CfP HERE. The deadline for submissions is December 2, 2022. TRANSIT accepts translation and book review submissions year-round. Please submit to transitjournal@berkeley.edu.

Some potential topics might include:

1. Automated surveillance, border policing and criminal justice in refugee/migration experiences
2. Ecocritical migration studies projects that reconsider the relationship between the human, natural and technological
3. The connection between technology and (im)mobility, e.g. the 9 Euro Ticket, multimillion dollar infrastructure investments
4. Automated storytelling techniques, e.g., recursive storytelling in video games, AI-generated texts, social media
5. Feminist practices in (studies of) digital literature
6. Glitch, malfunction, Störungen and other forms of (culture) shock in literary texts
7. Topics that engage with any of these issues in the context of TRANSIT’s ongoing focus on travel, migration, and multilingualism. More

Alan Watts on "YOGA" (Buddhist Radio)

Alan Watts, Sunday, Sept. 4, 8:00 am (kpfk); Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Pacifica Free Speech Radio Archives: ALAN WATTS on KPFK.org 90.7 FM

(Jofy/YouTube) What is Intellectual Yoga (jnana yoga) on the various paths to union, like Christian devotion (bhakti), karma ("action"), royal or integral (raja or kundalini), chanting (mantra), etc.

Go to "Alan Watts on Sunday, September 4, 2022, at 8:00 AM" in archives.kpfk.org

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ABOUT: "Buddhist Radio" is our name for programmer Roy of Hollywood Tuckman's show Something's Happening when, on Thursdays at midnight and Sundays at 8:00 am, it becomes Buddhist-centric, featuring British-Californian Alan Watts and other luminaries like Los Angeleno Shinzen Young, Pema Chodron, Tami Simon (Sounds True) interviews, and other great overnight listening. Tune in to Pacifica Free Speech Radio, Los Angeles (KPFK.org 90.7 FM).

Self-view, non-duality, and Zen (video)

Alan Watts (alanwatts.org); KPFK.org (Audio Archives); Wisdom Quarterly

• PLAY NOW ("Intellectual Yoga," Aug. 5, 2012 8:00 am)

Yoga (to yoke) means union. There are different ways (to yoke, to union). It opposes alienation, the view of separateness of "self" from all (sakkaya-drishti). Experiencing the ONENESS of all things is not enlightenment. But it is blissful, a  relief, giving a sense of connection longed for (connectedness) at a profound and innate level. How? Allow it.

   

We may be finding it difficult to meditate. That's common and to be expected for untrained hearts. Stress not. Relax more deeply. Wish for it less. But keep applying the "method" -- bring mind back to the object of meditation. What does that mean? It only means remember to give attention to what the mind is being centered on -- the present moment, this breath, a mantra, a sensation, a visualization, a fragrance. If one is engaged in the fundamental practice of not concentrating on the breath but simply allowing attention to go back to the breath again and again until it sits there. There is no effort to make other than persisting, waiting for a natural elevated state to come as a result of everything falling away, letting go, restoring consciousness to pure awareness without a goal.

Full-length "The Art of Meditation" by British Zen teacher Alan Watts

 

MCTB The Non-Duality Model

DharmaOverground.org

The Non-Duality Model essentially says that the goal is to stop a process of identification that turns some patterns of sensations into a Doer, Perceiver, Center Point, Soul, Agent, or Self in some very fundamental perceptual way. By seeing these sensations as they are, the process can gradually be seen through until one day: “In the seeing [there is] just the seen, in the hearing just the heard, in the thinking [otherwise experienced] just the thought”...

Buddhism and Human Consciousness

Bhikkhu Bodhi

Since my presentation is entitled "A Buddhist Response to Contemporary Dilemmas of Human Existence," I should begin by spelling out what I mean by the expression "contemporary dilemmas of human existence."

Our root problem, it seems to me, is at its core a problem of consciousness. I would characterize this problem briefly as a fundamental existential dislocation, a dislocation having both cognitive and ethical dimensions.

That is, it involves both a disorientation in our understanding of reality, and a distortion or inversion of the proper scale of values, the scale that would follow from a correct understanding of reality.

Because our root problem is one of consciousness, this means that any viable solution must be framed in terms of a transformation of consciousness. It requires an attempt to arrive at a more accurate grasp of the human situation in its full depth and breadth.

[And it requires] a turning of the mind and heart in a new direction, a direction commensurate with the new understanding, one that brings light and peace rather than strife and distress.

Before I discuss some of the responses that religion might make to the outstanding dilemmas of our age, I propose to offer a critique of the existential dislocation that has spread among such significant portion of humankind today.

Through most of this century, the religious point of view has been defensive. It may now be the time to take the offensive, by scrutinizing closely the dominant modes of thought that lie at the base of our spiritual malaise. More>>

Mad at Atheists

Prof. P.Z. Myers (LA Times, May 22, 2009)

Most of the arguments we've heard that try to reconcile god and science seem to make God a subtle, invisible, undetectable ghost who at best tickles the occasional subatomic particle when no one is looking....we speak out against the intellectually bankrupt beliefs of religion.

Charlotte Allen is very, very angry with us atheists -- that's the only conclusion that can be drawn from her furious broadside in The Times on May 17, 2009. She can't stand us; we're unpopular; we're a problem. What, exactly, is the greatest crime of modern atheists? We're boring.

I can't actually argue with that. It's true. We're all just ordinary people -- your neighbors, your friends, your relatives. I know atheists who are accountants, real estate agents, schoolteachers, lawyers, soldiers, journalists, even ministers (but don't tell their congregations!)

Our leading lights are college professors, scientists, philosophers, theologians, and other such pedantic, scholarly riffraff. For entertainment, they read books. And if they want to do something ambitious and dramatic, they write books. I'm one of them, so trust me, I know -- we don't exactly live the James Bond lifestyle. Calling us boring is a fair cop.

But still -- why would anyone get angry about that? I find myself bored witless by games of chance. But I don't write irate letters condemning all card players and demanding the immediate shuttering of all casinos. I'm afraid I don't believe Allen. There are other motivations behind her denunciations, and they aren't as simple as that she finds us boring.

She should drop the pretense that the objectionable part of our character is our lack of excitement. What really annoys Allen is that in our books, blogs, and media appearances, we challenge religious preconceptions. That's all we do. It's admittedly not exactly a roller-coaster ride of thrills. But it does annoy the superstitious and the fervent true believers in things unseen and unevidenced. We are also, admittedly, often abrasive in being outspoken critics of religious dogma. But it's also very hard to restrain our laughter and contempt when we see the spectacle of god-belief in full flower.

We witness many people who proudly declare that the Earth was created 6,000 years ago, roughly 9,000 years after the domestication of dogs... More>>

• Prof. Myers (U. of Minn.): ScienceBlogs.com/Pharyngula