Grateful Dead

This book, by religion writer Dan Lattin, is right on topic! It uses biographical profiles of Timothy Leary, Huston Smith, Andrew Weil, and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), who came together at Harvard during the early sixties, experimented with psychedelics, and influenced religion, culture, and health in ways we now take for granted. I wrote an Amazon review of the book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Harvard-Psychedelic-Club-ebook/dp/B003100UOM/… There is a group on Facebook, and the author participates. Barbara

I have a hypothesis that Deadheads tend to be "religious types" - even the atheists among us. Three distinct ideas: belief in a diety, affiliation with a particular organized religious group, pursuit of certain kinds of "mystical" experiences for SERIOUS lack of a better term. I've never met a Deadhead who did not fall into the last category.

I'll be praying that your employment situation is soon resolved. Keep the faith, brother!

in reading your post gonzo, i found myself drifting twixt confusion and understanding, but i see inklings of other religious teachings, or at least similarities. we truly are all connected and it is better to care for others before ones self....or so i believe.

Mind reflected is Mind expressed

On Taking Refuge In The Three Jewels This is the answer that comes from many high Rinpoches through their teaching. When I hear the teaching and I do study, contemplation and meditation that teaching becomes a part of me. Especially the part where they say if you don't understand Refuge in the Three Jewels then you aren't a Buddhist. I think faith is good enough for all else in Buddhism except for this one thing. You HAVE TO know it from the mind and the heart both. Like you said, it is really, really important. So, in order to understand Refuge you must understand the meaning of the word Refuge. Refuge means to seek shelter from something bad. A place that allows you to be away from the bad thing or things. So, what is the bad thing or things? Birth, sickness, old age and death. In other words, the cycle of existence. You are going to die. After you die, where will you go? What kind of body will you take in the 3 realms of samsara and 6 levels of existence? 3 realms of samsara are the Form, Formless and Desire Realms. Within the Desire realm are the six levels of existence: The gods (or devas); The demigods (titans or asuras); The humans; The Hungry Ghosts and the hell beings. So beings of the desire realm will take rebirth according to their good or bad karma in one of these six levels. There are extraordinary human beings who through their meditative contemplation and absorptions take rebirth in the form and formless realms where they enjoy the fruit of their steady concentration and then fall back to the desire realm after their store of good karma runs out. So here I have introduced the two things that are very fundamental to Buddhist refuge: The cycle of samsaric existence that we experience through karmic acts and reincarnation. It doesn't matter if we create the good or bad karma, we are still on the wheel of suffering existence that goes around and around through limitless lifetimes. When we experience the good we have pleasure when we experience the bad we have pain. That is the samsara. So, if you understand this then the mind, YOUR mind, becomes tired of this. It is a question of becoming more subtle and realizing something beyond your every day mind that wants only the pleasurable material things or even just love and happiness because even happiness and pleasure are just called "The golden chains" that bind (tie) you to the wheel of cyclic existence. So, becoming weary (tired) of the pain and pleasure alternating through countless lifetimes one comes to know that there is only one way to be free of the fears of samsaric cyclic existence. That is through the Buddha, who is the skillful physiscian (doctor) who gives (administers) the Dharma (truth of the ultimate nature of reality) which is the medicine. The sangha are the skillful nurses who help the Buddha to give this medicine. The sangha is divided roughly into 2 parts: The monks and nuns (ordained ones who wear robes) who are the first ones traveling the path to Buddhahood through living pure lives of vows and morality and the lay (householders) people who believe in the Buddha and live in community and raise families. So it is through faith and reliance on these three Jewels that we find refuge from the fears of cyclic existence. That is why at the beginning of every Buddhist practice we start with "I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Through the merit from giving and other good deeds, may I attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings." And this introduces the last part of refuge. When we truly realize the unbelievable great suffering of cyclic existence we become very afraid. Very, very afraid of taking uncontrolled rebirth according to our karma from this and many previous lifetimes. We bow (Prostrate with our body, speech and mind) and take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha from the very depths of our being. We want to be free forever from this suffering and we work like crazy the rest of our lives to do it. Because we (I) don't want to suffer anymore. This is the basic refuge of the HINAYANA (Theravadin). It is selfish, for me only. When we meditate further we understand that it is not only I who am suffering. It is all the other sentient beings that are suffering equally. We realize that we have to help all other sentient beings gain freedom from samsaric suffering. When we work for their sake as well as ours, this becomes the greater vehicle of the Mahayana Refuge. Still, if we meditate further on the kindness of all sentient beings who have been our mother because we have lived innumerable lives and there is not one sentient being who surrounds us who has not been our mother, and we realize the incredible kindness these mothers have shown us and seen how it our duty to repay their kindness with love and compassion, when we see this we take the special vow to quickly, very quickly, as quickly as possible, bring them to the state of Buddhahood, this is the ultimate refuge -- it is the Vajrayana refuge that employs the skilfull means of the mantrayana or tantra. This is absolutely the kind of refuge we should take for ourselves and for others. But, the Buddha taught many skillful methods. He taught these three types of refuge for three general kinds of sentient beings. For the ones who wants freedom from suffering for themself, he taught the Hinayana Refuge For the ones who want everybody to be free from suffering, he taught the Mahayana Refuge For the ones who want to free every kind mother they have ever had through countless lives as quickly as possible, he taught the Vajrayana Refuge. I assure you that these are my own words from my own understanding without looking at any book. It comes from many lifetimes as a Lama and this life as a monk who listened well to many teachings and did the study, contemplation and meditation. If it helps even one sentient being to become enlightened I dedicate the merit for the welfare and benefit of every sentient being in cyclic existence who have once been my mother. If there is any mistake here I confess it now as my own and beg forgiveness from the perfect gurus such as Zopa Rinpoche, the Kopan lama and so forth. May the Buddha's teaching always shine through the darkness of cyclic existence that is samsara. May all beings come to find refuge, the means to permanent happiness and freedom from suffering. Sincerely, Lobsang Tengyie

i'll look for it

I just finished a book called "The Fifth Mountain", by Paulo Coelho. It's a novel about the life of the biblical prophet Elijah who, already struggling to maintain his sanity in a world fraught with tyranny and war, is forced to choose between his newly discovered love and his overwhelming sense of duty. A good book for anyone who is struggling with their faith.suffered a loss, or just wants to read a beautifully written and inspiring book. ...let me light your candle Cause mamma I'm so hard to handle

(blushing).......thanx....all we CAN do is try

"But I'll get back on my feet somedayThe good Lord willing, if He says I may 'cause I know the life I'm livin's no good I'll get a new start, live the life I should" I can probably find a lyric to perfectly sum up just about anything and everything... at least for myself. Haven't had that spiritual awakening yet, but the faith is there and I can't force it. My spritual progress is what it's all about. Religion or not, believing that we are all connected as one by some cosmic force or God, Allah, Ras Tafari adds another dimension to the human experience. But it is surely not neccessary. Just don't nuke our imagination, bro!