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Previous Posts
Where Have We Gone? New Website!
The internet, with all of it's unpredictable curves and nooks has beckoned us to re-envision the way we organize our online community. We've been working hard here at the Interdependence Project the past half a year to develop a brand new, highly interactive website, which is hosting a n
posted 10:54:22am Aug. 16, 2010 |
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Mixing technology and practice
There were many more good sessions at the Wisdom 2.0 conference this weekend. The intention of the organizers is to post videos. I'll let you know when. Here are some of my notes from a second panel.
How do we use modern, social media technologies — such as this blog — to both further o
posted 3:54:40pm May. 02, 2010 |
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Wisdom 2.0
If a zen master were sitting next to the chief technical officer of Twitter, what would they talk about? That sounds like a hypothetical overheared at a bar in San Francisco. But this weekend I saw the very thing at Soren Gordhamer's Wisdom 2.0 conference — named after his book of the same nam
posted 1:43:19pm May. 01, 2010 |
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The Buddha at Work - "All we are is dust in the wind, dude."
"The only true wisdom consists of knowing that you know nothing." - Alex Winter, as Bill S. Preston, Esq. in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure"That's us, dude!" - Keanu Reeves, as Ted "Theodore" LoganWhoa! Excellent! I've had impermanence on my mind recently. I've talked about it her
posted 2:20:00pm Jan. 28, 2010 |
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Sometimes You Find Enlightenment by Punching People in the Face
This week I'm curating a guest post from Jonathan Mead, a friend who inspires by living life on his own terms and sharing what he can with others. To quote from Jonathan's own site, Illuminated Mind: "The reason for everything: To create a revolution based on authentic action. A social movemen
posted 12:32:23pm Jan. 27, 2010 |
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posted July 14, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Could you elaborate a little? What is an appropriate sentiment for our times? Any thoughts on the tradition of describing miraculous events in hagiographies and the lense through which these accounts should be viewed? Is calling other writers small-minded and equipped with the faith of fools part of the appropriateness of sentiment that you see as beneficial for our times?
I realize you may have been in a rush to get this thought out, but the paucity of context and clarity of assertion is confusing.
posted July 15, 2009 at 9:55 am
gzza,
Thanks–this is a really interesting passage and I second your evaluation of it.
etc.,
I understand your request for context. I actually read “appropriate” not as a prescription but as a description. Calling “writers small-minded and equipped with the faith of fools” not a recommendation for appropriate speech, but rather an appropriate description of how contemporary readers may view those writers. Modern readers may well find the miracles of hagiographies a turn-off — it may increase their doubts and make them less likely to study or practice.
On the other hand, as T?ran?tha notes, in other times and settings such stories may increase faith.
Context is everything.
posted July 15, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Etc, you are right that I didn’t elaborate or contextualize adequately.
What I felt was particularly appropriate was the idea that well-intentioned deception, particularly in the form of inflated hagiographies, ultimately does more harm than good.
As far as how we might relate to miraculous events in hagiographies and the lens through which these accounts should be viewed – hmm. I don’t know that I could generalize about that. I am probably more open to fantastical things than most modern people overall, but I guess I just feel like in the case of Padmasambhava the embellishment was so egregious that it was obvious even to Tibetans who were much more open to such things than modern people generally are.
I find in my case, Padmasambhava is more relatable not as a “Second Buddha” for whom no claim is too outrageous, but more as a historical mahasiddha who acted in concert with other siddhas in Nepal and Tibet (which is what the earliest available textual sources indicate was the case).