Path: shell.portal.com!svc.portal.com!sdd.hp.com!news.sgi.com!news.corp.sgi.com!user From: sandvik@sgi.com (Kent Sandvik) Newsgroups: alt.religion.buddhism.tibetan,alt.zen,alt.philosophy.zen,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.religion.buddhism,talk.religion.buddhism Subject: Re: is a bodhisattva possible? Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 10:22:27 -0800 Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc. Lines: 25 Message-ID: References: <4qs3mg$s45@news.umbc.edu> <177BB8ACFS86.RJEWETT@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu> <4rujt1$64d@jobe.shell.portal.com> <31EA0E70.3C5@earthlink.net> <4sh1f0$qtp@news.infoserve.net> <4smg7o$gfq@news.infoserve.net> <31EF348F.13A4@ix.netcom.com> <31F033BE.B05@radix.net> <31f19253.105047490@news.infoserve.net> <31F2F379.5BCA@radix.net> <31f41494.72436801@news.infoserve.net> <31F5720F.AB2@radix.net> <31f6cc5e.76120352@news.infoserve.net> <31F99D5F.1EE6@radix.net> <31fab192.65498740@news.infoserve.net> <31FD1C76.E25@radix.net> <31fe48de.62449230@news.infoserve.net> <31FE786B.4013@radix.net> <31ffa05c.54382579@news.infoserve.net> <3201D8D3.429A@mldff.mlm.lucent.com> <3203f3e8.244222554@news.infoserve.net> <3205F675.4DE4@mldff.mlm.lucent.com> <3208190d.23169255@news.infoserve.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: mac-sandvik.engr.sgi.com Xref: shell.portal.com alt.religion.buddhism.tibetan:10592 alt.zen:39412 alt.philosophy.zen:8864 alt.magick.tyagi:10035 alt.religion.buddhism:609 talk.religion.buddhism:24545 In article <3208190d.23169255@news.infoserve.net>, duhh@unix.infoserve.net (dar westlake) wrote: >See part of what i find funny about this is that tantric practioners >say all this stuff is self-existing and just comes up out of the void, >while at the same time they are immersed in an environment thats just >soaking with suggestion and imagery. "the fish dont see the water it >swims in". This is an odd observation, imho. You could have two people placed in the exact same environment, and their observations could be miles different. Let's say we place them in this mythological place full of cows and the stuff that comes out from cows. One might find this extremely disgusting, and would just love to get out from the stinking environment. The other one would not even notice the smell, and look at the beauty of the biological animal of the cow that produces milk. So how could the exact same environment produce different thoughts? This is where the concept of projection comes into the picture -- what we experience is generated by us ourselves. This is the first understanding you need in order to know what a tantric practice implies. Cheers, Kent