Elli

aspiring arahant, heterodox buddhist, philosopher | "One day I said yes to the world and I have never been told no since." - Kristina Born

[Elli @_elliodell]

to shed the cloak of tradition and wander a path your own is hard; to cloak whatever teachings in the borrowed weight of history is a practice as old as history ;p inch by inch doctrinal innovation marches on, innovation where were it not to wear the skin of its forebears would at least be a religion not dishonest (and having virtues, to be sure, besides). alas!

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

[Elli @_elliodell]

the doctrinal innovation from early Buddhism's "make islands and refuges of yourself, no one can save you but yourself" to the positing of supernatural beings who out of compassion offer us grace which we do no deserve and without which we could not be saved is an interesting convergent evolution to Christian thought. perceptions of grace do seem to be a stable attractor in the spiritual landscape so it makes some sense but it is all the same quite strange!

[Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea ☸️ @RCirlea]

(EN/RU)
Every day life is a realization that I am indeed incapable to save myself from samsara and that only Amida Buddha can do that for me.

Nothing truly reliable, nothing stable can be found within myself. I have never been capable to obtain what the Buddhist magazines or people usually describe as "the Buddhist calmness" or "Buddhist serenity". As for virtues or wisdom? I know about them only from the books!

The best way to describe myself on the Buddhist path is that of a demon or evil spirit subjugated by Amida. You probably know the stories of evil spirits and demons subjugated by the Power of various Buddhas, like those related with Padmasambhava of Tibet. I realize that I am indeed like this - an evil spirit who submitted himself to Amida Buddha and has been subjugated by His Power.

How grateful I am for the undiscriminating Compassion of Amida! If I was to be abandoned to the power of my stupidity, savage impulses and blind passions, I could never escape the karmic fate of falling into the lower realms of samsaric existence.
Everyday I see my limitations and evil tendencies, and every day I give thanks to Amida Buddha for saving me just as I am.
Namo Amida Bu 🙏

*

Каждый день я осознаю, что на самом деле я не в состоянии спастись от сансары и что только Будда Амида может сделать это за меня.

Ничто по-настоящему надёжное, ничто стабильное не может быть найдено внутри меня. Я никогда не был способен обрести то, что Буддийские книги или люди обычно описывают как «Буддийское спокойствие» или «Буддийская невозмутимость». Что уж говорить о добродетелях или мудрости? Я знаю о них только из книг!

Лучший способ описать себя на Буддийском пути — это демон или злой дух, покорённый Амидой. Вам наверняка известны истории о злых духах и демонах, покорённых Силой различных Будд, например, истории, связанные с тибетским Падмасамбхавой. Я понимаю, что я действительно такой — злой дух, который был подчинён Амида Буддой и был покорён Его Силой.

Как я благодарен за неизбирательное сострадание Амиды! Если бы я оказался во власти своей глупости, диких импульсов и слепых страстей, я никогда не смог бы избежать кармической участи падения в низшие сферы сансарного существования.
Каждый день я вижу свои ограничения и дурные наклонности, и каждый день я благодарю Амиду Будду за то, что он спас меня таким, какой я есть.
Намо Амида Бу 🙏

#амидадзи #амидадзихрам #амидадзисангха #амида #амидабудда #амитабха #амитаюс #амитофо #азидафат #буддизм #дзёдосинсю #махаяна #нэмбуцу #синбуддизм #синран #синдзин #сукхавати #чистаяземля #buddha #jodoshinshu #buddhism #amidabuddha #amituofo #amitayus #nembutsu #pureland #sukhavati #amidaji #amidajitemple #buddha #mahayana #japanesebuddhism #nembutsu #mahayanabuddhism #shinjin

[Elli @_elliodell]

@monthrlant hitting children has served as some reason, for some, at some times :p

[Elli @_elliodell]

@Josikinz @algekalipso The email:

[Elli @_elliodell]

@PsychoMechanics @Josikinz @algekalipso The email:

[Elli @_elliodell]

@leif @algekalipso also got an email for this and was wondering what was up

[Elli @_elliodell]

"The atmosphere grew tense, official discourse smacked of punishment ("rigor," "austerity"), as if having more time, money, and rights were somehow illegitimate and we should return to a natural order dictated by economists."
— Annie Ernaux, The Years

[Elli @_elliodell]

"I think that there is only one way to science — or to philosophy, for that matter: to meet a problem, to see its beauty and fall in love with it; to get married to it and to live with it happily, till death do ye part — unless you should meet another and even more fascinating problem or unless, indeed, you should obtain a solution. But even if you do obtain a solution, you may then discover, to your delight, the existence of a whole family of enchanting, though perhaps difficult, problem children, for whose welfare you may work, with a purpose, to the end of your days."
— Karl Popper, Realism and the Aim of Science

[Elli @_elliodell]

@mishapathy Give them a minute, give them a mile!

[Elli @_elliodell]

"If you were to stand on a mountain—Mount Tabor, say, or even Olympus—and turn your ear downward toward where the minds of the philosophers reside, you would hear the roar of impassioned colloquy below, like a wakening polyphonic thunder. And this would be Talmud, the fuguelike music of the rabbis conferring over the sense of a syllable out of Genesis."
— Cynthia Ozick, Heir to the Glimmering World

[Elli @_elliodell]

depending on your ontological commitments I think samādhi practice could potentially fit that bill! samādhi practice has made it so that the ringing is mostly 'gone' for me (most of the time it is not present in experience unless I specifically try to notice it, with exceptions for when I'm very tired/ill and then the ringing is more prominent but likewise not aversive then) (though of course ymmv)

[Elli @_elliodell]

@rajlearns the only one I've ever had any success with is: https://t.co/8x1kudvaJL

[Elli @_elliodell]

"Moments of realization are generally seductive lies concocted by unscrupulous memoirists."
— Sasha Chapin, All the Wrong Moves: A Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything

[Elli @_elliodell]

@CaryHawkins_ lmaooo I didn't know that came from her, when she's good she's so so good

[Elli @_elliodell]

“In some ways it was the conventional clandestine affair in a place like San Bernardino, a place where little is bright or graceful, where it is routine to misplace the future and easy to start looking for it in bed.”
— Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem

[Elli @_elliodell]

"False notions of love teach us that it is the place where we will feel no pain, where we will be in a state of constant bliss. We have to expose the falseness of these beliefs to see and accept the reality that suffering and pain do not end when we begin to love."
— bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions

[Elli @_elliodell]

https://t.co/fWcgwFrwqu

[Elli @_elliodell]

new substack article about some of the reaction to this article! link below

[Bentham's Bulldog🔸 @Benthamsbulldog]

https://t.co/XjLohZPn8J

[Elli @_elliodell]

@orph_ Many other religions and cultures have valued truth-seeking! Many different religions hold out the promise that what they offer is the truth and that it is liberating; that Christian also does it is no major mark of distinction imo

[Elli @_elliodell]

“If anything, the tools and concepts of modern science offered a wider variety of ways for Christians to envision these prophecies. In the late nineteenth century, Nikolai Fedorov, a Russian Orthodox ascetic who was steeped in Darwinism, argued that humans could direct their own evolution to bring about the Resurrection. Natural selection had thus far been a random phenomenon, but now, with the help of science and technology, humans could intervene in this process to enhance their bodies and achieve eternal life. "Our body," as he put it, "will be our business."”
— Meghan O'Gieblyn, God, Human, Animal, Machine

[Elli @_elliodell]

“This is a short public service announcement: you don't have to fail with abandon. Say you're playing Civilization, and your target is to get to sleep before midnight, and you check the clock, and it's already 12:15. If that happens, you don't have to say "too late now, I already missed my target" and then keep playing until 4 in the morning.”
— Nate Soares, Replacing Guilt