The greatest live display in the history of rock music: SLAYER METAL GRAMMYS PERFORMANCE in front of the three remaining Beatles (John, Ringo, and Yoko) and Hollywood celebrities, performing "Angel of Death"
Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them one of the "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax.
💀 Since Hanneman's death from a flesh-eating spider bite in 2013, things haven't been the same. ☠️ Araya became a fat backache-complaining stay-at-home dad, King created Slayer 2.0 (the new band "Kerry King"), Lombardo left after getting fed up with never getting paid.
In the original lineup, King, Hanneman, and Araya contributed to the band's lyrics, and all of the band's music was written by King and Hanneman.
The band's graphic lyrics and album art -- which cover religion, occultism, terrorism, serial killers, fascism, racism, and war -- have generated censorship, album bans, delays, lawsuits, and criticism from religious groups.
However, Slayer's music has been highly influential, frequently cited by many bands as an influence musically, visually (tee-shirts are everywhere), and lyrically... More
How two years of advanced lucid dreaming changed my life (forever)
(Zach Highley) Aug. 1, 2025: What if there were the possibility of something else other than blackness during sleep? What if there were something like chatting with brilliant Einstein or, more importantly, discovering something about ourselves? Interacting with our subconscious? Discovering life’s purpose? Or eliminating nightmares forever? One day, one of my friends introduced me to lucid dreaming. She told me she controls her dreams, and I was amazed!
ABOUT: Who am I?
My name is Zach. [I am Zach. I am Zachness. I am become total Zachitude.] I was an internal medicine doctor, and now I'm figuring out how to build wealth and health while sharing what I learn along the way 🌐 (zhighley.com).
I write a weekly newsletter 💌 (zhighley.com/newsletter) in which I give evidence-based tips on health and wellness. Join the 5,000+ who read it every Tuesday morning to get ahead.
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Dr. Zach Highley; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Have others ever felt a passion -- a sense of urgency -- to do what is profitable, what is wholesome and useful toward liberation? If one, there is an accompanying feeling that one is not doing nearly enough to make reasonable progress toward the goal. How much time has passed, and how much time will pass, before we get on the ball? "Long enough, wanderers," the Buddha frequently said, "has it been that we have wandered on in this round (samsara) -- long enough to have become dispassionate toward all formations."
Lord Time clips Cupid's wings
(TOI) It’s July 2nd. You’re sipping ice water, wondering where [half] the year went, maybe even scrolling photos thinking, Didn’t we just celebrate New Year’s? Suddenly, someone says, “Hey, you know today is exactly halfway through the year?”
Wait, what? Yep. July 2nd isn’t just another random summer day stuck between fireworks and a cousin’s birthday party. It’s Halfway Day — the dead-center midpoint of the year.
Half of 2025 is behind us. The other half? Still ahead, ready to be claimed [if we seize the day, or squandered if we worry about Trump and other corrupt politicians advancing Project 2025].
Whether feeling super accomplished or lowkey behind on every goal made back in January, this little calendar milestone is a gentle nudge from the universe to pause, [meditate like you thought you would], reflect, and maybe even restart. More
Time keeps on ticking, ticking...How can I gain energy to make effort in meditation?
Overcoming complacency in meditation
(Beth Upton) April 21, 2025: Here I discuss what we can do if we notice ourselves becoming complacent (lazy, fatigued, unenthusiastic) in our daily meditation practice.
These videos are only made possible by generous donations. Please consider supporting this work: bethupton.com/support-my-work. Patreon:bethupton Find out more about my work here: bethupton.com. Shot by Alexis P.N. and Zsolt Batar. @GuavaFunk: laffcotchtv. Contact: alexispn777@gmail.com.
(Zen Confidential) May 8, 2025: A Patron sent me an email that basically says, "I have a friend who just found Jesus, and she's driving me CRAZY!!"
Why is she driving him crazy? It's because my Patron's friend is convinced that there is ONLY ONE true religion, one way or path, and she thinks anyone who doesn't follow it -- that is, anyone who doesn't go "full Yazoo" -- is on AC/DC's Highway to Hell.
Is there ONLY ONE TRUE WAY? My Patron wants to know.
Yes, is my answer. There IS just one true way.
Darby Crash, frontman of the Germs and an early Hollywood Zen Buddhist, wrote "The Slave," which goes: "It starts in your head/ And moves to your hands/ Your body starts shakin'/ 'Cause you're in demand/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can can// You're lashed 'twixt the stars/ With your ice and motor cars/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can can// Oh yea, yea, pull out the Zen/ I've got a Buddhist principle in my hand/ Your life seems wasted/ Your bodies laced in/ Don't stop now, you've got to trace it/ You put your hands together/ Writhe in the shackle/ You twist your body round/ 'Til it starts to crackle/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can can// Right here right now/ Shake it in and out now/ Lights on off now/ Make it spin and fight now"
Unfortunately, it's different for absolutely everyone!
Let's touch on a lot of the basics that make Zen [and other forms of Buddhism] different from "religions."
For one thing, in Zen there is nothing to "believe" in [except maybe Taoism]. There is a practice, and there are principles, and the practitioner puts those principles into practice. That's kind of it.
What is Catholicism? It's Universalism
The main practice is zazen ("sitting meditation"), often defined as shikantaza ("just sitting"). Through this practice, attention is cultivated. But even this is saying too much.
Speaking of not speaking, we could say that Zen is the practice of not filling silences. To wit, there is the Great Silence from which we all come and to which we all go. Religion kinda sorta sometimes puts a great big Jesus statue right in the center of that silence, or a great big Buddha statue right there in the middle of serene silence.
It tries to fill the void, the peace of silence, as if it could improve on it, gilding the lily, giving the snake legs, papering over the gaps and blanks, pretending that we can fill the not-knowing with some kind of knowing.
But in the end, the job of a spiritual practice is not to remove uncertainty. Rather, in my experience at least, a practice humbles us before that uncertainty. There's a big difference. Every time I think I finally found the One True Way, something changes -- me, the world around me, the situation, life -- and I have to change along with it, grow, go with the flow, and keep going, keep living, keep not knowing.
No fake certainty!
Today, on YouTube,
I offer these videos for free, but you can support my work here:
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Shogan Jack Haubner, May 8, 2025; Darby Crash, Germs, "The Slave"; What is Catholicism? (video); Strangest Catholic relics (video #short); Seth Auberon, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756–December 5, 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age resulted in more than 800 works representing virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture." More
Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit
I was once angry and full of ardor in India (Sharon on left), with Dipa, Dipa Ma, and Joseph G?
Mindfulness is attention, bare attention, but it's not just attention, which we advert to at will. Mindfulness (sati) is a dispassionate looking on without expectations or resistance but rather full of allowing and acceptance. That kind of looking and listening. People all over this country misuse the word "mindfulness" everyday, never realizing that when the Buddha used it, and he used it a lot, like about 14 times in the 37 Requisites of Enlightenment, he meant something that people understood from other things he had said. There's no sense in thinking that we know if we don't, as that will only frustrate us. Wrong mindfulness is a danger. Could make a person feel anxious or unpleasant or distressed. Real allowing, like Tara Brach talks about, is the immediate antidote to those kinds of temporary states.
Just some words of uplift from Wisdom Quarterly
I should probably practice the Path, right? - Ya think? Nah, let it practice you, doing through you, naturally. - What, by some kind word to a cashier? - No, just real being there, noticing without judging or evaluating, expecting or measuring, wanting anything to be any different than it actually is. Just presence. - Ugh. Sounds dreadful. - Yeah, Daria, y'know, we're alive anyway, what if we were to do the radical act of living it? We're there anyway, going through the motions.
By developing the practice of "mindfulness" (sati, satipatthana, "balanced effort," sthira-sukha, not too tight, not too lax, bare present moment awareness that is full of acceptance, gently abandoning resistance, internally letting go, nekkhkamma), it becomes effortless and habitual to stay in the present moment.
It is always the present moment, which is really all there is, as much as we miss the mark most of the time. We drag the past or future here to waste this moment with two infinite unrealities, going over the no-longer-existent or the not-yet-and-maybe-never-to-be-existent.
Rather than abandoning ourselves, let's be present with ourselves free of resistance. In this way we can open to our lives and realize our potential for the stages of enlightenment in this very life. Western lay practice is particularly suited to it; however, our mental habits of rushing, striving, objectifying, measuring, comparing, goal settling, muscling, striving, struggling, and forcing all get in the way. We have yang, okay.
The West has very much misunderstood one thing about the Path the Buddha pointed out. It does not need stronger and stronger determination, with the intensity to allow one's blood to dry up and bones become dust. This is sure to fail. This is exactly why the wandering ascetic Siddhartha kept failing to find what he was looking for. What he needed was balanced-effort which, therefore, meant balancing yang with yin, stiffness with softness, striving with allowing, contentment (santussita) over a sense of urgency (samvega). But ask around. It's as if no one has ever heard the oldest and most popular story in the world, the Allegory of the Buddha's Life or "Every Person's Quest"). It's not only about him and what he let go, overcame, saw for what it was, and awakened as a result, it is about us, too.
Let us now practice our powerful yin. Powerful? The Earth is very yin, wet and solid, sitting, observing without getting sucked in, sometimes immovable. It is not holding on with brute force or clinging as we might conclude. It is just allowing, and its nature is such.
We are not making up the Truth, memorizing it, but finding it and allowing it to reveal itself like a sitter at a still forest pool who need only sit still all ever so gentle breaths to come and go, and marveling at all the marvelous forest creatures who present themselves at the waterside to drink.
We are softly, vigilantly noticing, so much so that we may begin to notice what has been there to be found all along. It may reveal, it may not. Let it. Allow it either.
The Buddha did not create enlightenment (bodhi) or liberation (nirvana). They have always been, for they are unmade, unformed, unfabricated.
The path-of-practice to realize the liberating Truth, that he made known again finally allowing the jhanas and their purifying affects on his heart/mind then immediately undertaking systematic insight practices (fourfold sati-patthana). Mindfulness provides stability for the first by bringing back the wandering mind again and again, having noticed it is of a nature to wander off, then bringing laserlike attention on the Four Foundations of which one is mindful. (See the Maha Satipatthana Sutta for the details on this).
Now that it, the Truth, the Dhamma exists in the world and there are peaceful places to withdraw to and practice, now that we have peace, sufficient food, imperfect but sufficient health, and just the beginnings of clarity, let us determine to investigate. The Dhamma (Dharma) is inviting us to "come and see" for ourselves.
There is nothing to believe or accept ahead of time, just the willingness to persist to the culmination of serenity (samadhi, the jhanas) and insight (vipassana). The Kalama Sutta makes it all open and a great place to begin, not falling into misunderstanding by skimming but reading it to the end.
Sharon Salzberg is an amazing living teacher able to both explain and point from experience. - Wisdom Quarterly.
The place is? Mm, somewhere else? The time is? Ugh, some other time? If we never practice and make a persistent effort rather than waiting for a "perfect plan," we will wander aimlessly upcycling and downcycling without end.
Encouragement from the Buddha
Hey, where'd you come from, li'l guy?
Maybe this will be encouraging for the philosophical types, not that we Westerners suffer any of that tendency. No, not us. One time a conniving sophist came to the Buddha with a trick question, even though the Buddha could perfectly well see his heart and his motivation/intention. He innocently asked, something to the effect of:
"O, Great Aryan Guru-jii, those who practice your Path, will they all attain the goal, or half of them, or none of them, or how is it?" You'll never guess what the Buddha replied. Go on. Guess.
(Did he by any chance say 144,000? Because that would be quite a coincidence!) No, he didn't say that.
He remained silent. His attentive attendant monastic Ananda, one of the most beloved figures in all of Buddhism, became distressed. The Brahmin repeated his question a second and third time. Those times, too, the Buddha only replied passively with noble silence. The debater, insulted that his plan to engage the Buddha in some verbal wrangling and a debate he felt sure he was going to win, got up and left.
Fortunately for us, Ananda asked the Buddha why he had remained silent. He had tremendous psychic and intuitive powers beyond the scope of our understanding (an imponderable amount) and could discern the best answer to whatever was asked of him. Why not this innocent-enough question?
The Buddha explained that if he had said either all, some, or none, each answer would give rise to inaction, inactivity, not striving, not exerting, not letting go, and never mind that the Brahmin was more interested in eel-wriggling philosophical debater than real firsthand experience and understanding.
(Hey, Ananda, why? Well, if we're all going to eventually make it, why bother? It'll happen anyway. If some of us are never going to make it no matter if we strive and strive, why bother. We're not going to make it. If, yeah, well, some of us who endeavor are yet others who endeavor are not, what's the fairness in that, Ziggy? Why bother? There is not right answer as all lead to inaction and not setting off and persisting on the Path. (Ah, I get it. That Buddha was wise.)
Hey, but, psst, on the side, just between you and me, what is the correct answer? You know, just for historical purposes in case it ever comes up in real life. Yeah, right, the Buddha explains:
Then he answered humble Ananda to remove all his perplexity, and his answer was profound directly for us.
The Buddha answered by giving a simile of a marvelous and impenetrable fortress so well built that not even a very flexible cat could squeeze through its walls and ramparts to gain entrance. But there are four guarded and well-marked gates by which to freely enter.
Then he said: Ananda, just as a ruler, owner, or guard at the gate on duty is not interested in counting how many are inside now, or how many remain outside, or how many will eventually pass him coming in -- all of that he sets aside. But the one thing he does know with certainty is that if someone is inside, that person gained entrance by one of the four gates, alluding to the teachings he made known like, say, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (AN 10.95).
Ananda was startled and in awe, at peace and rejoiced at the Buddha's words. So why do we do this to ourselves, piling up points of contention, fearfully "needing" to know everything in advance -- What will it take? How long will it take? If I fail, do I get all of my suffering back in full? -- a tangle of views and disputes, more clever questions than could possibly have ever been asked by any ancient before us. You know, they weren't as smart as us, those old seekers on their spiritual quest in millennia and aeons past?
Practice and see. It is of immediate benefit. If one is burdened by clinging, how long after letting go will I feel relief?
Immediate. Simultaneous. Just as soon as. It isn't the common, "Be good now, and be rewarded with a slice of heaven later" religious deal. It isn't, "Well, if I don't become a monastic and go all in, what's the point, Droopy Dog?"
You know what the man should have asked, and thank goodness someone else did? "What does it take to conduct this path-of-practice? Who can succeed? Who is it for that you have taught for 45 human years what you taught?" That question, remarkably, he did answer. It's for the average person or deva (light being, lit. "shining one" of which there are many kinds but presumably those closer to human plane of existence, of average intelligence, the manyfolk. He didn't attain in a deva world and come down from on high to tell people what's up and give commands and threats. He in fact said the human plane is the easiest place to attain enlightenment. Why? It is because there are worse worlds, like the animals, ghosts, and those suffering worse than we suffer. And there are much better worlds, the many planes of the various kinds of devas, where they party and celebrate, cavort and conduct entertainments so much and so pleasing, who's got time to strive or just sit there? I need a cool dress for the cotillion! A corsage, a suit, a cape to really make an entrance, and so on and so forth. But the human plane, which is not just this Earth, is like the seashore beach where the waves are tumbling and being tossed about in torments and tempests. We get swept away, sure, but we can usually swim back to the sort of safety of the beach. Inland, where the parties endlessly roar, as well as celestial wars and more troubles than one would think the long-lived devas (deus, Olympic gods, asuras, gandhabbas) would have to endure given their good but far from perfect previous karmic merit. Here we experience enough pain to remember why we need and want to practice for freedom and complete liberation; yet, here, too, we experience enough pleasures that it's kind of nice and devic sometimes. That's why it's best to practice here and not delude ourselves, imagining, "Oh, yeah, later, when I'm in the mood."
If it were not so, we would not bother to say all of this. As peace grows, the heart gains confidence (saddha) which gently impels us forward.
Which way will you turn tomorrow on the way to the whatchamacallit thingy? Yeah, that's the way you usually go, but what if that path is blocked by the remains of a bonfire or crowds in the crosswalk or heavy bumper-to-bumper traffic? Since you don't know for sure, you shouldn't leave the house. Too risky. Play it extra-safe. Stay in bed. Sleep in. Bliss (piti) can wait. It's always been waiting. 💖
Text by Teacher Seven for Wisdom Quarterly; animated video by Sharon Salzberg (sharonsalzberg.com, podcast, videos, all that jazz someone else has to manages), Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation)
The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath by Yogi Ramacharaka (1903)
(Master Key Society) This book explores the principles and techniques of yogic breathing, highlighting its benefits for physical health, mental clarity, and spiritual development.
SUMMARY: The book The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath was written by Yogi Ramacharaka, first published in 1904. It is a study of the "science of breath" (pranayama) and the ways in which it affects body and mind.
At the core of the book is the idea that breath (prana, pneuma, holy spirit, animating principle) is the key to physical and mental well-being and that by learning to control and regulate our breath, we can improve our health and achieve a higher level of consciousness.
The book explores a range of techniques for controlling and regulating the breath, including pranayama, the practice of controlling the breath through specific breathing exercises.
Throughout the book, author Yogi Ramacharaka discusses the science behind the various techniques for controlling the breath and offers practical advice for incorporating these techniques into daily life.
He also explores the role of breath in spiritual development and offers guidance for using the power of the breath to connect with a higher power.
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Book Shelf
00:45 - I. Salaam
06:32 - II. “Breath Is Life”
13:10 - III. The Exoteric Theory of Breath
24:53 - IV. The Esoteric Theory of Breath
34:27 - V. The Nervous System
41:41 - VI. Nostril Breathing vs. Mouth Breathing
50:48 - VII. The Four Methods of Respiration
01:03:28 - VIII. How to Acquire the Yogi Complete Breath
01:10:02 - IX. Physiological Effect of the Complete Breath
01:19:48 - X. A Few Bits of Yogi Lore
01:27:11 - XI. The Seven Yogi Developing Exercises
01:38:02 - XII. Seven Minor Yogi Exercises
01:44:11 - XIII. Vibration and Yogi Rhythmic Breathing
01:53:46 - XIV. Phenomena of Yogi Psychic Breathing
02:08:33 - XV. More Phenomena of Yogi Psychic Breathing
02:27:45 - XVI. Yogi Spiritual Breathing
Credits: Text by Yogi Ramacharaka. Audio narration by Adam Hanin.
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General Disclaimer: This recording is a production of Master Key Society for the purpose of research and study. The views and opinions expressed in this book belong to the author and may not necessarily reflect those of Master Key Society, nor its affiliates.
ABOUT: Master Key Society's educational channel offers rare and often previously unseen books in an easily accessible format. Each book is accompanied by an overview in the description, original narration, and detailed photographs of each page. Its library is intended for academic study and research of metaphysical philosophy, as well as for those seeking wisdom, personal transformation, and self-improvement. MKS welcomes participation through subscribing and sharing thoughts in the comments section.
Wait, what is the Dharma again? It is the Buddha's Teaching about what is real and unreal and how to become enlightened to see all things as they truly are, to awaken to the utmost reality. The dharma refers to timeless Truths that govern our lives if we fail to pay attention or remain distracted until it's too late to make any progress in calm or insight.
Impossible moments in sports history
(WOW SPORT) Hello! Ready? This is WOW SPORTS. Games always have moments that go beyond everyone's imagination. So chances are people will not believe that the following moments really happened. Buckle up, and check it out. 🔥
For copyright matters please contact: copyrightwowtv@gmail.com
👍🏻 Thanks for the support! Don't forget to give this a like, subscribe, hit the little bell, call my parents, tell them I didn't waste my life by playing with my balls non-stop, and send money to cover expenses, plus do some marketing and tell everyone to watch and for them to also send money and tell my parents I don't need a real job because I'm a content creator and influencer who's doing great, if it's an enjoyable video! Kids, finish your homework before going outside to play, especially the math stuff. #sporthighlight #sports #sportsvideo
Sign language: "F.U., I'm walkin here, I'm walkin here!" - You call yourself a "monk," sir?
Who wants a holy water blessing? I'll beat the bad karma out of ya! Leave, demons, leave them!
I nodded off in Zen, better beat me, too, Guru!
Q: Like, do Buddhist monks have emotions, like, do they get angry?
WQ: What do you mean?
Q: Like, do they get angry?
WQ: What, like, humans?
Q: Yeah, like, or like regular non-monks.
WQ: People? Are you asking if monks are people?
Q: No, I'm asking, do they, like, have emotions?
WQ: What do you mean?
Q: Like, do they get angry?
WQ: But isn't anger an emotion?
Q: Yeah, like, exactly, right?
WQ: So you mean you're asking if monks are humans, who have emotions, and one of those emotions is anger, so do Buddhist monks, who being human and therefore not beyond emotions, one of which is anger, will they experience that emotion?
Q: Exactly.
WQ: No.
Q: No???!!! But, like, you just said they're human with normal emotions like any other humans.
WQ: Yeah, sure, they have human emotions, and anger is a human emotion, but they don't have anger.
Q: Like, how, how could they not have anger?
WQ: Exactly, right? I mean, they must, if they're human. They're human, right?
Q: Yeah, like, aren't they?
WQ: They look human but I don't think they could have anger.
Q: Like, how not?
WQ: Exactly. You're right. I mean, but they're monks. I always see them so well behaved, well, not always.
Q: Aha, like, so you have seen them angry?
WQ: What the human ones?
Q: Yeah, like, aren't they all human?
WQ: I thought so, but then someone asked me if they get angry, so now I'm not so sure.
Q: Like, wouldn't they, if they're all human?
WQ: Yeah, I'm just yanking your chain. I've seen some angry. I've seen some so self-possessed as to be unflappable and they won't show it. Almost all of them are very well behaved. It's very odd to see one who isn't disciplined enough to behave. Except in Thailand, the temporary ordination novices look just like monks. People wouldn't know that's not a monk and so might think it is. But they're usually very well behaved, too, because they're just temporary and will soon revert to household life.
Q: So, like, they get angry?
Rev. Dr. MLK, Jr. and Thay/Thich Nhat Hanh
WQ: I guess that depends on what we mean by "get angry" because for you and me, if we get angry, everybody's going to know it. We're going to yell, cry, sulk, act out with exasperation, sarcasm, or less than 100% loving kindness. There's Engaged Buddhism, which is good, following the social justice work of Thich Nhat Hanh and MLK Jr. during the secret U.S. War on Buddhist Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. And there's Enraged Buddhism, where some monks think it's okay to hurt people who hurt you -- rather than turning the other cheek, amping up the sympathy and special counter-emotions called The Four Supreme Abidings, which are positive emotions that counter our common base behavior of anger, callousness, envy/jealously, and favoritism.
Q: Like, what could counter those?
WQ: Anger is countered with loving-kindness (boundless-friendliness), callousness with compassion, envy with joy in the joy of others (mudita), and bias with equanimity or seeing everyone as the same in receiving these positive emotions and intentions from us, not more because we like them or less because we don't (which is called upekkha or "looking on at all with a sense of balance and ease, a fairness and impartiality).
The miracle is not his bad choice but that he remains calm. He neither clings nor identifies, likes nor dislikes. It's only feeling, pain, body, like Bahiya of the Barkcloth. In jhana, one is safe. If enlightened, one is free of all suffering. Was Aaron Bushnell?
Q: Like, can anyone really do that?
WQ: Yeah, anyone can. Imagine if we had been practicing that since childhood. Do you think we'd have any good mental karma stored up?
Q: Like, yeah.
WQ: And we might even say nice things, pleasant things, friendly and inoffensive things, for good verbal karma?
Q: Yeah, like, of course.
WQ: Then might we even think good things about people and the living beings we meet for the generating of good mental karma?
Q: Yeah, sure, like, if we're saying nice things and doing nice things, we're probably thinking nice things.
WQ: ALL of us?
Q: Well, like , anyone who practices.
WQ: So you're saying the ones who practice?
Q: Like...well, yeah!
WQ: But isn't it enough to be human?
Q: No, humans, like have emotions, like anger, and like if they don't practice, they're going to think, say, and do harmful and offensive things sometimes.
WQ: Like get angry?
Q: Like, yeah.
WQ: But isn't it enough to become a Buddhist monk?
Q: I don't know, like, don't you have to practice?
WQ: Yeah.
Practice for self-control, not to control others.
Q: So, like, I don't think it would be enough to be human or be a monk...but I think, like, it would be enough to practice.
WQ: But wouldn't I still get angry?
Q: Like, well, you might, but then it wouldn't get out of hand, or you could reel it in really fast if you slipped and it did.
WQ: That sounds human, and doable, even for us non-monks. What was your question?
Q: Like, do monks get angry?
WQ: Human ones?
Q: *Laughing* Yeah, human ones, like, that's the only kind, right?
WQ: Right.
Q: So, like, yeah, right?
WQ: Naw, I don't think so. I mean they may act like it, but on the inside, after all that practice, it probably doesn't come up that much.
Q: But they're still human, so like it'll probably come up a little?
WQ: Well, yeah, I guess, a little, but with so much practice, they can probably reign it in really quickly or notice it arise and avert an outburst. That's probably why they can behave so well so much of the time.
Q: Hey, like, I might want to be a monk.
WQ: If you do, will you get angry?
Q: Like, I don't know. I hope not. That's why I might want to try it, like, at least a temporary monk that you said.
WQ: Yeah, good idea, then you can practice so much that even if you disrobe and return to the household life, you'll probably be a lot nicer.
Q: Yeah, like, right?
WQ: And if you practice so well that anger hardly comes up, your meditation will grow so great you may have a breakthrough so that it never comes up again.
Q: Is that possible?
WQ: Oh, yes. Fully enlightened beings, arhats, don't get angry, though they may have the habit, the residual, the custom of being annoyed, or the symptoms of aversion. But on the inside, it doesn't overtake them anymore. It can't. They can, however, act like it does. The Buddha says some things sometimes in some sutras that sure sound like he's upset or annoyed or finds some people wearisome and vexing, like his brother-in-law Devadatta or the monks of Kosambi who used to like to argue and debate rather than practicing and realizing. The Buddha would distinguish them from great examples of monks such as Ven. Kimbila, his fellow monks (Anuruddha and Nandiya), Ananda, and his ten principal disciples. Two Buddhist nuns, Ven. Khema and Ven. Uppalavanna, were always restrained and able to abide in the Four Supreme Abodes, even if they got sick or were attacked.
Q: Like, attacked-attacked?
There is no "punishment" for karma, just nature.
WQ: One time this guy was praising how not-angry and wise Ven. Sariputta was, the male monastic declared foremost in wisdom, to this other guy who didn't believe him. So the other guy rolled his eyes and told his friend that the reason he didn't get angry was because his friend never saw Ven. Sariputta meet with a bad (anger-inspiring) situation. So to help his friend, he said he'd show him Ven. Sariputta's anger. The friend was surprised. Ven. Sariputta was a good monk, always practicing, a great disciple, a chief disciple, and a special assistant to the Buddha, teaching other monks and bringing them to the first stage of enlightenment before passing them on to the other chief male monastic, Ven. Maha Moggallana, who would continue to teach them and bring them to full enlightenment. (One has to think the same set up was happening with the female monastics, first taught by Ven. Khema, a great disciple, a chief disciple, the female disciple declared foremost in wisdom by the Buddha, then passed on to Ven. Uppalavanna, who brought nuns to full enlightenment just as Ven. Maha Moggallana did for monks). This is almost certainly why the Buddha had four chief monastic disciples helping him train and enlighten tens of thousands of people he met and countless devas most could not see but some could).
Q: Like, what happened to that monk, like, did he get angry?
He doesn't get angry? We'll see.
WQ: Oh, the friend stood in the bushes by the path where Ven. Sariputta passed every morning on his way for alms. We he passed, the man stepped out behind him and punched him in the back of the head as hard as he could then was amazed when he heard Ven. Sariputta look up -- without turning around to see who hit him -- and exclaim, "I wonder what that was" as he continued on his way. The man, startled, started to burn up with remorse, in disbelief that this monk really didn't get angry or want to know who or what hit him or why, and didn't want retaliation, revenge, or even to criticize or condemn. He begged the monk's forgiveness, and Ven. Sariputta freely gave it. But the humans who saw him do it were not going to let it go. They moved in to apprehend him to drag him off to the king to request a death sentence for such a [blank] who would hit an innocent monk who wasn't hurting anyone. The man said he felt bad, and had apologized, and his apology had been accepted, and that he didn't want to be reported to the king and punished, certainly not beheaded. It was just an experiment. But the people were furious and were not going to let this matter go, they were not going to drop it, and they were forcibly going to drag him before the king that very day and see to it that the king imposed the higher punishment of death as the mob grabbed him. Ven. Sariputta had to intervene on the man's behalf to save him from the mob, allaying their anger and telling them everything was all right and that the man who hit him was fine with no need for anyone to do anything. The man was astonished. The monk he just punched as hard as he could was doing everything he could to calm the mob that would surely have him destroyed, because no doubt the king would sentence him to death over the mob's testimony.
Q: Wow, like, did that really happen?
WQ: It is written so I assume so. The question is, Do you think enlightened Ven. Sariputta got angry?
Q: Not, like, if he didn't look back. Anybody would have immediately swerved around to look back and see what was happening just to save their lives. Do you think he did?
WQ: I don't think so, even though he was human and had human emotions. Now he had superhuman positive responses to override human habits of reacting because the Buddha had taught him and the others The Parable of the Saw, a short sutra on how to respond if someone is hurting you.
Q: How, like, run?
WQ: That's a good idea. But, you know, if you run and get away from the immediate danger, you won't have outrun the feeling, the emotions, the anger over what happened to you, how unfair it was, how the person got away with it...
Q: Yeah, like, there's that. What about that?
Let's cut this one from limb to limb.
WQ: The Parable of the Saw starts with a question. If someone hurt you, would you get upset -- angry, vengeful, want to strike back, want to force them to stop or not be able to do the same thing to someone else? It might cause you a lot of grief thinking like that, "He hurt me, he wronged me!" With thoughts like that, you're going to be upset and feel a lot of aversion for a long time. That's why it's a good remedy to bring The Parable of the Saw to mind again and again. Forgive (practice khanti, forbearance, tolerance) over and over, every time the feeling comes up. It's not nearly enough to forgive once and think that it's all gone. There's lots of residual, and new feelings of nonforgiveness are bound to arise many, many times. Unless we forgive and forgive again, our reaction to that one act will ruin is over and over again.
Q: Like, what's the parable?
WQ: Imagine someone comes up to you, grabs you, and starts cutting you limb from limb with a two-handled saw. If you were, toward that person doing it, to vent or give rise to thoughts of anger or revenge, you would not be following the Buddha's teaching on metta, "boundless friendliness." Even toward that person doing that at that time, you should cultivate thoughts of loving-kindness/
Q: Like, will that save you?!
WQ: It depends what we mean by "save."
Q: C'mon, man, quit yanking me. Like, will you live doing that?
WQ: You might not. I guess you were right. You should run. But if they catch you, stay friendly and kind. Cultivate sympathy, love, agape, concern, and interest in their welfare. Then, in that sense, what harm can they do you? They can't ruin you. Even though they take this body, cause this pain, commit this great injustice, you will not be disturbed if you have been following the Buddha's advice.
Q: Like, but that takes practice.
WQ: Practice.
Q: Like, but how much practice?
WQ: I don't know, but we should wait until it happens, right? When someone grabs you, holds you down, pulls out the saw, punches you in the back of the head by surprise, THAT'S when you should start practicing for the day someone might insult you.
Q: Huh? Like, are you serious?
WQ: No. It won't work then. What's the chance that never having practiced patience, forbearance, tolerance, boundless friendliness, and forgiveness you're going to be able to start when you're being accosted, assaulted, or threatened?
Q: Like, not much.
What, I get to choose between the two of you?
WQ: Not much is right. None at all probably. So the time to practice is NOW. There's only now. There's ALWAYS only now. There is no other time. The past doesn't exist. The future doesn't exist. Look at your watch. What time is it? NOW. That's the only time it ever is. And if it ever happens those axe-, I mean saw-murderers come for you, you're ready. Now, it's not likely they will ever come. BUT, what do you think, if we practiced that way, that even for the sake of being sawed into pieces, we wouldn't allow ourselves to get angry or vent or give rise even to thoughts of revenge, what would happen if someone verbally assaulted us, insulted us, said something offensive? Could we bear it?
Q: Hah, like, compared to being cut up, what are mere words?
WQ: Right. Maybe the Buddha was onto something with this crazy teaching in this parable.
Q: I think, like, he meant it.
WQ: Yes, of course, but what's more likely to happen, that someone punches us or holds us down and saws us to pieces?
Q: Like punches us.
WQ: Not like punches us. Actually punches us. Even that's not likely to happen. But you know what is? Insults, verbal and mental. Someone's staring at us, giving us a hard look, the Evil Eye, smirking, puffing his chest...think you could handle that?
Q: Of course, like, he didn't even do anything. He didn't even say anything. He's just thinking or using sign language or telepathy. Who cares about that?
WQ: Well, you know, that's how it happens most of the time. And sometimes words get used. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words?" Thoughts? It'll be easy not to get mad IF?
Q: If, like, it just stays at thoughts?
WQ: No, even if it escalates to full on weaponized violence IF we practice.
Q: Oh yeah, like, I forgot. If we practice.
WQ: When's that?
Q: Like, later on?
WQ: When?
Q: Like in a little while?
When I practice, anger doesn't arise to begin with.
WQ: Oh, I was thinking now because "later on" and "in a little while" do not exist right now. They might exist or come into existence at some time. We only have control of ourselves right NOW. And if we do it now, we're likely to have control of ourselves at other times. Yeah?
SELF-IMMOLATION: Though Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc made a decision to protest the imperial US War on Vietnam, and it was a bad choice, yet he remained calm and unperturbed during this act of ritual suicide. Why? The US is the greatest purveyor of war in the world, as MLK told us. HOW? Because he does not identify with the pain, nor cling to this body nor to any feelings, pleasant or unpleasant, nor to any idea of "self," he can endure without complaint. He seems deep in meditative absorption (jhana), guaranteeing a good rebirth outcome if he is not yet liberated, in which case he is already free of all rebirth and suffering.
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