Thank you Rick for this wonderful conversation/dialogue with Bruce Joel Rubin. Great respect and acknowledgement of each others thoughts shines through in this chat.
Bruce and Rick thank you for this wonderful talk. Meeting you Bruce many years ago was a highlight on my journey. The Sunday mornings at your house were a precious gift! Being with you is experiencing what is, simple and complex in the presence of loving Awareness.
This was an outstanding guest and interview!!! I've listened three times now. Bruce is very clear and sincere - yet does not take himself too seriously. It's great to have someone come along with such a gift to articulate his journey and process of awakening. Rick, your questions were great, thank you for inviting Bruce and your preparation for this interview.
Dear Bruce, You are a breath of fresh air that everyone can benefit from - just by listening to what you say. I very much enjoyed your description of being and awakening. Also, the not knowing, but accepting all that is. A great explanation of Jesus was excellent. Perhaps the learning to just be touched me most deeply. I liked it all. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This guest stands out as one of my favorites. His words really resonate with me. Interestingly, he mentions Bart Marshall, who is also one of my few favorites.
This was a great interview. Of all the interviewees on BATGAP so far that I have watched, Bruce is the only one that has mentioned these night terrors. I have experienced these first hand and know exactly what he is talking about. And as my spiritual journey has progressed, their "terror" has diminished greatly.
Another Great interview, really enjoyed it ....and gosh darn it we need to get rid of the term Awakening, its just remembering who we really are.....and what Bruce said starting at 1: 16 :30 really nailed it ....awesome
Very good point about one making a comparison of the blissful, serene state characterizing sitting meditation with post meditative chaos with the notion that the former should be considered superior.
*A 1.3 on a -3.0 to +3.0 scale.* Disclaimers at the end of the comment. This started out as an "ideal" interview which - sans original cosmological revelations - was heading towards the ideal rating of 2.0 *However*, it then contained only two but major drawbacks: 1. 56:14 - 56:45: *the usual reduction of suffering to psychological suffering, and falsely putting this reduction into the Buddha's mouth* and that is pretty darn twisted and destructive. *The Budda did NOT say that the functioning of conventional reality is "often" (**56:24**) such that he called it suffering. He pointed out that every moment, as long as it is conditioned by defiled causes, for instance conditioned by a sense apparatus that arose on the basis of defiled action, is ALWAYS in each and every moment oppressive, unsatisfactory, irritating and without peace.* As usual, this interviewee has NOT as of yet understood even the first noble truth which is why he glosses over the pervasiveness of the oppressive nature of defiled existence with an avalanche of romantic terminology (I think I never want to hear "beauuuutiful" and "amaazing" anymore), much to the delight of Rick who is always waiting for this theistic hope. The interviewee rightly says that a lot of psychological suffering is reduced by awakening (apparently not all of it because he later mentions the darkness etc.), but typical of all these affluent realizers who never experienced any severe and long stretches of existential poverty, illness, war, homelessness, end stages of cancer, being maimed, raped, years of hunger, persecution, slavery, imprisonment, torture, chronic fatigue etc....they neglect that fundamental suffering inherent in merely being afflicted by a sense apparatus that is prone to pain and other disturbing needs for instance merely the need to breathe in and out. *The Buddha's path was NOT only about eliminating psychological suffering and coming into the now, his path was about getting rid of ALL irritation of ALL shapes and forms FOR GOOD*. Don't misuse the Buddha for this imperial first world exploiter version of spirituality. You practice your reductionist idea of suffering when you have to watch how YOUR children are being raped, maimed, starved, their homes being bombed with weapons containing radio-active wastes, their children born as deformed monsters. Yeah right, God is so nice if my children are being maimed and contaminated radioactively, if only I come into the here and now ! Not ! The Buddha's path has not come to fruition until all causes for a defiled body subject to all of these calamities have been exhausted so that such a body ceases and there is no more sense apparatus that could be subject to all of this. This romantic american spirituality is completely short changing the truth. 2. At 1:24:57 he makes a highly misleading inductive thinking error: merely because his intuitive decision and "leap" without safety net had a happy outcome he now concludes that that is a generally valid principle. I want to warn people to think twice before they gullibly accept that because it is - again - such a romantic idea. "God is taking care of me" or life or whatever. Yeah right, only those who got lucky with this "leap" get to report on how good that choice was. But for everyone who got lucky following that leap of faith there are hundreds and thousands who ended up in the sewage of existence by that very same leap. *I highly unrecommend this approach except in exceptionally rare and clear cases*. Yes, life will take care of you ! It will bring you to homelessness, desertion, foreclosure, uninsured illness, into enforced prostitution, hellish jobs, addiction and indeed into concentration camps, but guess what: Rick will not interview you under such conditions because he wants to hear lullabies that support his wishful thinking ! Sorry, this man is otherwise so wonderful, and I want to give him a 2.0 but these two parts, unchallenged by Rick, made that impossible. Of course Rick chimes in with his usual creation poppycock: _"If you are going to have a universe, then you need polarites and so the Pol Pot regime was all in god's hands, yeah !"_ I don't know how many times he can repeat this nauseating nonsense when it is so obvious that *the beings in that existence did not ask for having a universe.* *WHO is going to have a universe, Rick ?* The suffering beings did NOT ask for one. I would rather be without. No one needs a damn universe BEFORE there is a universe !!! If you think you need one, that mental illness to think so is already the result of the universe, it is evidence of the addiction, the illness out of which it came. Don't blame the victims of the universe as if THEY had asked for a universe, they have NOT asked for a universe ! _About the rating: anything below and including 0 means by and large a waste of time, and anything below 0 is not only worthless but damaging to the world. For comparison, on that scale, Francis Bennett would be a +2 or more and Harri Aalto would be roughly a tentative +2 to +2.5. Not coming up with original, independent cosmological insights bans any interviewee from > 2.0 ratings as a matter of principle._ *General Disclaimer:* the rating _pertains to an interview, not to the interviewee_. If the rating is high it means merely and exclusively that I consider the interview to be of high value relative to the stated purpose of the channel, and that it is therefore no waste of time to listen to the interview. It would _not_ imply that whatever the interviewee speaks is the truth (as if I was the arbiter over that) or that you should follow him/her or accept whatever that person offers. _That is particularly in need of emphasis if that would be an expensive enterprise_ !
+Soteriologe That was a nicely written, but I have a question regarding this: q1: "Don't blame the victims of the universe as if THEY had asked for a universe, they have NOT asked for a universe !" How exactly do you know that? This is a BIG assumption, no? q2: "existential poverty, illness, war, homelessness, end stages of cancer, being maimed, raped, years of hunger, persecution, slavery, imprisonment, torture, chronic fatigue" Many yogis have said that once a certain level of spiritual development is reached, the physical agonies and pains of the body are perceived/experienced in a different way than normal consciousness.
+Soteriologe As far as I understand the Buddha';s teachings, as per Theravada (so-called early Buddhism) what you say seems spot on. Now whether my understanding is correct, or whether the Buddha had the last say on this is another matter. But it certainly seems to be the case that he taught that All Life is indeed suffering. He didn't teach that one could have one's cake and eat it too. He did however say that along the path ones life became more and more happy, explaining why his monks appeared so radiant. I am not sure where it comes from but there is a saying : - "The dharma is beautiful in the beginning. Beautiful at the middle and beautiful in the end"; I guess this is to indicate that we should not judge each other's progress too much as we move along the path. Indeed everyone has to start at the beginning and walk each step until the end. We're all somewhere along that path.
+Soteriologe Creation is not a one-time process. The creator is not really separate from the universe. A young, healthy and likely happy man and woman “creates” a new human through their coming together and through making love. They do it likely while in love with each other. This is an act that most humans enjoy. That is how most humans are “created”. If all humans truly thought that all life was suffering, if they truly thought that the life was truly not worth living and was not worth bringing any humans into - at least now, they have a real choice. If humans stop love-making and stop “creating” new humans, the humanity will completely disappear from the earth in about one hundred years. Many women work very hard to get pregnant. Many visit doctors, take medicines, even go through corrective surgeries in order to get pregnant. These women rejoice and celebrate when they finally conceive. They carry the baby for nine months and when needed, they work hard to protect the baby. These women don’t struggle so hard to bring a human baby into this world because they think that all life is suffering. These women don’t say - I can’t wait to bring a new human into the life full of suffering. The problem is that some sixty plus humans, with weak, old, at times diseased, tired, aching, worn out, deteriorating body feel that life is a torture, suffering and not worth living but that is not how many twenty years old with young, healthy body high on hormones feel. Many of these young, healthy humans are often full of passion, energy, zeal, hope, aspirations and enthusiasm.
+Soteriologe The nature had set it up quite beautifully. In the wild, most old, weak, diseased, suffering humans with low desire to live would automatically get killed and eaten by the wild animals and thus their misery would be quite short-lived. The situation has changed quite a bit because humans have started living away from their natural environment. The advent of the modern medicine has changed it even more. In the wild, only the humans with the strong, healthy, fit body would survive. In the wild, only the humans with the strong desire to live would survive. This way the nature would automatically restore balance. My guess is that in the ancient times, a large portion of population would be young between 15 to 45 years of age. As the body gets weak, old and diseased, most would parish very soon. Now many humans are living way beyond 60 years of age and this is creating issues and challenges that are quite new.
+Soteriologe If I truly believe that I am this human body born on certain date to certain humans, I don’t need to ask any “creator” why it created the universe. The entire universe doesn’t matter to me if I don’t exist. The entire universe doesn’t exist for me, if I myself don’t exist. To understand why this human body came into existence, I don’t need to understand why the big bang happened few billions of years ago. To understand the existence of this human body, it is enough that I understand why two young, healthy, likely happy humans decide to come together and make love to each other. My creation is the young, healthy man and woman coming together and making love. Their union is my creation. Did they enjoy it? Very likely, they did. Were they having great time? Very likely, yes. At that moment, did they feel the life was worth having? very likely, they did.
There is something in the teaching and the teacher that is not conveyed in the words. Ramana spoke very little. Amma speaks very little and she speaks in the language that few understand. His first meeting with Rudi was one such instance. When you listen to Dalai Lama - you may or may not agree with him but his voice, his tone, the way he talks, his presence makes you peaceful.
Hi Rick. I was thinking, wouldnt it be great if Bruce was able to convey the non dual perspective thru a movie that gets to this generation. Quite a challenge but wow, ! Our generation is headed for the Dark side of the Moon" now. So it is up to them. They need all the Wisdom they can get.
+james kelly It would. I'll forward your comment to him, although I think 's out of the movie making business. He also expressed the sentiment that it's hard to do anything really profound in Hollywood. The commercial interest tends to shoot down the deeper stuff.
Suffering ======= I consider pain and ache a normal part of having a biological human body made up of flesh, skin and bones. These are not necessarily bad. When we exercise, the body might ache a little, when we hike, the body might ache a little. When we run long distance, the body might ache. In many such cases, aching body means that the existing muscles are breaking and new, stronger, fitter muscles are likely to replace them. Of course, some ache and pains are due to injury and accidents and we are unable to recover from them on our own. The rest is the best way to help recover from them and some external help too might be necessary. Some ache and pain also result from sitting in an unnatural position for too long and from not being aware of the body. Those can be treated with greater attention and vigilance and with some adjustments and balance. I view suffering similarly. I consider suffering a normal part of having a thinking human mind. Almost every mental learning requires some failures, some tries, some struggle and ...some suffering. Suffering often means that our existing mental makeup (or belief structure) (or thoughts) are breaking and if we relax and allow, they will likely be naturally replaced with stronger, fitter, more agile and more suitable mental makeup. We have to allow the moment, the experience to teach us. Some suffering also result from accidents, misfortunes and the rest or SURRENDER is the best way to help recover from them. Some suffering also results from losing our natural balance - such as living away from nature for far too long, being removed from our Dharma (that which brings us natural peace, peace, deep fulfillment and a deep sense of well-being) for too long, not being aware of our mental state and thinking. Those can be treated with greater attention and vigilance to our mental state and with some adjustments to restore some natural balance into how we spend our time and where our attention is.
My approach is to love whatever I notice inside or outside... ...pain, ache, sensations, feelings, emotions, thoughts. It is like a baseball game. Someone is throwing a ball at me. My approach is to see if I can hit it. Loving it is hitting it. Some balls are harder to hit. Painful situations are like hard balls to hit. Some balls might be even harder and I might not have skill or speed to hit them. And, that is OK. I can treat them as a practice and an opportunity to learn better skills and an opportunity to even assess my current limits and boundaries. If I fail to hit these balls... ...I have opportunity to love my failure.There are no friends or foes. There are my fellow players throwing balls at me to hit. Some balls are very easy to hit (i.e. to LOVE). Some are much harder to hit (or LOVE) and they take greatly more vigilance, skill, agility, wisdom, focus and sometimes, even preparation. Some might be just too hard for me and I might not be able to hit them at all. Whenever I remember… my question is: Can I love it? When I remember that I had forgotten… ...my question is: Can I love that I forgot? When I am not loving it, my question is… ...can I love the fact that I am not loving it?
Bodhisattva Path ============ My approach is to love the person, thing, animal or plant I am with either physically or in my thoughts. Sometimes, I do things that can look like "helping" - but, I don't see it like that. Whatever I have, comes from the universe/nature/God. I decide how to use what I am given. Even this very body, this brain, this intelligence, this power to think, feel, love is ultimately not really mine. This too is given by the God/nature/universe. Even the this Life, this Consciousness, this Presence is ultimately not mine. When possible, I allow love, wisdom, presence and compassion to guide the usage of what I am given. I do it for many reasons… ...including the reason that I find it deeply fulfilling and enriching.
Dharma ======= In my view, Dharma is that which brings us natural, effortless peace, enjoyment, happiness and a deep sense of fulfillment irrespective of results. Dharma is what we naturally enjoy doing without expecting any rewards. Dharma is what we naturally find worth doing even when nobody is watching, even when no one knows about it. Dharma is what we are grateful just to have an opportunity to do it. Dharma is what make us feel energized and deeply alive while doing it. I think the first duty of a human being is to find out what one naturally, effortlessly enjoys and what naturally brings peace and a deep sense of fulfillment. I see it as finding Dharma. I think that the second duty of a human being is to serve that Dharma. My Dharma is what I would happily die for. If we happen to be so lucky that what brings us food (i.e. our livelihood) is same as our true Dharma - we have a great potential to be happy. If our livelihood, career is not aligned with what brings us deep natural peace and a deep sense of fulfillment, I think we need to look to make some space and time to practice and serve that which gives us a deep sense of fulfillment, peace and wellbeing.
Hahahahaha! Rick is thankfully a "host" as opposed to a "parasite"... :-) He means well, but he is interviewing people who are usually way over his head. I don't mind much... he is a host after all. My "bad"... :-)
Jacobs ladder.....One of THE most underestimates movies ever. Stuart little2 ...? haha. If his story is true. An amount of pure LSD ....People who ever took LSD will propably " tremble" by the idea of such a amount of pure LSD! . Those who did not, will never come near understanding the extend of that " experience" can do to a human being. .. He could have ended into a metal hospital. Or even in a coma. Then meeting the Dalai lama...getting a "personal offer" from THE Dalai lama. to become his "guru". Instead going to "Rudy"and getting "zapped". Just in the first half our of this interview. I must admit. It is different! .But i wonder if A. the LSD overkill , changed the way his memory storage works. To say it politely .
I try not to watch to much. I notice people end up like....well, people tend to focus on other things. Once aweek is abit much! But areal good teacher Or a real fake is always nice to watch. i will take a look. haha.
Pompous ass+ Between a 1 for Non duality and 2 for duality. I am doubting between 1+ and -2. wah,wah,blah,blah,Blah.Buddha Said, wahdid wah diblbla. Spending my life judging others all day, i blah, di blah blah.
Bruce is one of the humble teachers that looks for nothing in return. A true teacher. Walks the talk.
Thank you Rick for this wonderful conversation/dialogue with Bruce Joel Rubin. Great respect and acknowledgement of each others thoughts shines through in this chat.
An awesome guest and a delightful interview.
Bruce and Rick thank you for this wonderful talk. Meeting you Bruce many years ago was a highlight on my journey. The Sunday mornings at your house were a precious gift! Being with you is experiencing what is, simple and complex in the presence of loving Awareness.
"The glory of shopping at the supermarket!" What a great quote.
This was an outstanding guest and interview!!! I've listened three times now.
Bruce is very clear and sincere - yet does not take himself too seriously. It's great to have someone come along with such a gift to articulate his journey and process of awakening.
Rick, your questions were great, thank you for inviting Bruce and your preparation for this interview.
+Christina Guimond
Yes, agree with that assessment completely.
Amazing graphic description of an LSD trip at 5:50.
Dear Bruce, You are a breath of fresh air that everyone can benefit from - just by listening to what you say. I very much enjoyed your description of being and awakening. Also, the not knowing, but accepting all that is. A great explanation of Jesus was excellent. Perhaps the learning to just be touched me most deeply. I liked it all. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This guest stands out as one of my favorites. His words really resonate with me. Interestingly, he mentions Bart Marshall, who is also one of my few favorites.
His movie Brainstorm still holds up as a Sci-Fi masterpiece to me.... An awesome interview....Thanks...
This was a great interview. Of all the interviewees on BATGAP so far that I have watched, Bruce is the only one that has mentioned these night terrors. I have experienced these first hand and know exactly what he is talking about. And as my spiritual journey has progressed, their "terror" has diminished greatly.
Another Great interview, really enjoyed it ....and gosh darn it we need to get rid of the term Awakening, its just remembering who we really are.....and what Bruce said starting at 1: 16 :30 really nailed it ....awesome
I can really feel the sincerity in his voice.
Thanks Rick and Bruce. Really enjoyed this interview and really sensed Bruce's genuine-ness (for want of a better term)
Great descriptions - quite what you'd expect from someone who's profession is writing :)
Fantastic !! ,Really enjoyed this ,The beautiful melodious bells too in the back ground .
Very good description of Awakening at 41:50.
Very good point about one making a comparison of the blissful, serene state characterizing sitting meditation with post meditative chaos with the notion that the former should be considered superior.
This would have to be the best interview at batgap.
WOW - one of thee best interviews yet!!! Thanks :-)
*A 1.3 on a -3.0 to +3.0 scale.* Disclaimers at the end of the comment.
This started out as an "ideal" interview which - sans original cosmological revelations - was heading towards the ideal rating of 2.0 *However*, it then contained only two but major drawbacks:
1. 56:14 - 56:45: *the usual reduction of suffering to psychological suffering, and falsely putting this reduction into the Buddha's mouth* and that is pretty darn twisted and destructive. *The Budda did NOT say that the functioning of conventional reality is "often" (**56:24**) such that he called it suffering. He pointed out that every moment, as long as it is conditioned by defiled causes, for instance conditioned by a sense apparatus that arose on the basis of defiled action, is ALWAYS in each and every moment oppressive, unsatisfactory, irritating and without peace.* As usual, this interviewee has NOT as of yet understood even the first noble truth which is why he glosses over the pervasiveness of the oppressive nature of defiled existence with an avalanche of romantic terminology (I think I never want to hear "beauuuutiful" and "amaazing" anymore), much to the delight of Rick who is always waiting for this theistic hope. The interviewee rightly says that a lot of psychological suffering is reduced by awakening (apparently not all of it because he later mentions the darkness etc.), but typical of all these affluent realizers who never experienced any severe and long stretches of existential poverty, illness, war, homelessness, end stages of cancer, being maimed, raped, years of hunger, persecution, slavery, imprisonment, torture, chronic fatigue etc....they neglect that fundamental suffering inherent in merely being afflicted by a sense apparatus that is prone to pain and other disturbing needs for instance merely the need to breathe in and out. *The Buddha's path was NOT only about eliminating psychological suffering and coming into the now, his path was about getting rid of ALL irritation of ALL shapes and forms FOR GOOD*. Don't misuse the Buddha for this imperial first world exploiter version of spirituality. You practice your reductionist idea of suffering when you have to watch how YOUR children are being raped, maimed, starved, their homes being bombed with weapons containing radio-active wastes, their children born as deformed monsters. Yeah right, God is so nice if my children are being maimed and contaminated radioactively, if only I come into the here and now ! Not ! The Buddha's path has not come to fruition until all causes for a defiled body subject to all of these calamities have been exhausted so that such a body ceases and there is no more sense apparatus that could be subject to all of this. This romantic american spirituality is completely short changing the truth.
2. At 1:24:57 he makes a highly misleading inductive thinking error: merely because his intuitive decision and "leap" without safety net had a happy outcome he now concludes that that is a generally valid principle. I want to warn people to think twice before they gullibly accept that because it is - again - such a romantic idea. "God is taking care of me" or life or whatever. Yeah right, only those who got lucky with this "leap" get to report on how good that choice was. But for everyone who got lucky following that leap of faith there are hundreds and thousands who ended up in the sewage of existence by that very same leap. *I highly unrecommend this approach except in exceptionally rare and clear cases*. Yes, life will take care of you ! It will bring you to homelessness, desertion, foreclosure, uninsured illness, into enforced prostitution, hellish jobs, addiction and indeed into concentration camps, but guess what: Rick will not interview you under such conditions because he wants to hear lullabies that support his wishful thinking !
Sorry, this man is otherwise so wonderful, and I want to give him a 2.0 but these two parts, unchallenged by Rick, made that impossible. Of course Rick chimes in with his usual creation poppycock: _"If you are going to have a universe, then you need polarites and so the Pol Pot regime was all in god's hands, yeah !"_ I don't know how many times he can repeat this nauseating nonsense when it is so obvious that *the beings in that existence did not ask for having a universe.* *WHO is going to have a universe, Rick ?* The suffering beings did NOT ask for one. I would rather be without. No one needs a damn universe BEFORE there is a universe !!! If you think you need one, that mental illness to think so is already the result of the universe, it is evidence of the addiction, the illness out of which it came. Don't blame the victims of the universe as if THEY had asked for a universe, they have NOT asked for a universe !
_About the rating: anything below and including 0 means by and large a waste of time, and anything below 0 is not only worthless but damaging to the world. For comparison, on that scale, Francis Bennett would be a +2 or more and Harri Aalto would be roughly a tentative +2 to +2.5. Not coming up with original, independent cosmological insights bans any interviewee from > 2.0 ratings as a matter of principle._ *General Disclaimer:* the rating _pertains to an interview, not to the interviewee_. If the rating is high it means merely and exclusively that I consider the interview to be of high value relative to the stated purpose of the channel, and that it is therefore no waste of time to listen to the interview. It would _not_ imply that whatever the interviewee speaks is the truth (as if I was the arbiter over that) or that you should follow him/her or accept whatever that person offers. _That is particularly in need of emphasis if that would be an expensive enterprise_ !
+Soteriologe That was a nicely written, but I have a question regarding this:
q1: "Don't blame the victims of the universe as if THEY had asked for a universe, they have NOT asked for a universe !"
How exactly do you know that? This is a BIG assumption, no?
q2: "existential poverty, illness, war, homelessness, end stages of cancer, being maimed, raped, years of hunger, persecution, slavery, imprisonment, torture, chronic fatigue"
Many yogis have said that once a certain level of spiritual development is reached, the physical agonies and pains of the body are perceived/experienced in a different way than normal consciousness.
+Soteriologe As far as I understand the Buddha';s teachings, as per Theravada (so-called early Buddhism) what you say seems spot on. Now whether my understanding is correct, or whether the Buddha had the last say on this is another matter. But it certainly seems to be the case that he taught that All Life is indeed suffering. He didn't teach that one could have one's cake and eat it too. He did however say that along the path ones life became more and more happy, explaining why his monks appeared so radiant. I am not sure where it comes from but there is a saying : - "The dharma is beautiful in the beginning. Beautiful at the middle and beautiful in the end"; I guess this is to indicate that we should not judge each other's progress too much as we move along the path. Indeed everyone has to start at the beginning and walk each step until the end. We're all somewhere along that path.
+Soteriologe Creation is not a one-time process. The creator is not really separate from the universe.
A young, healthy and likely happy man and woman “creates” a new human through their coming together and through making love. They do it likely while in love with each other. This is an act that most humans enjoy. That is how most humans are “created”.
If all humans truly thought that all life was suffering, if they truly thought that the life was truly not worth living and was not worth bringing any humans into - at least now, they have a real choice. If humans stop love-making and stop “creating” new humans, the humanity will completely disappear from the earth in about one hundred years.
Many women work very hard to get pregnant. Many visit doctors, take medicines, even go through corrective surgeries in order to get pregnant. These women rejoice and celebrate when they finally conceive. They carry the baby for nine months and when needed, they work hard to protect the baby. These women don’t struggle so hard to bring a human baby into this world because they think that all life is suffering. These women don’t say - I can’t wait to bring a new human into the life full of suffering.
The problem is that some sixty plus humans, with weak, old, at times diseased, tired, aching, worn out, deteriorating body feel that life is a torture, suffering and not worth living but that is not how many twenty years old with young, healthy body high on hormones feel. Many of these young, healthy humans are often full of passion, energy, zeal, hope, aspirations and enthusiasm.
+Soteriologe The nature had set it up quite beautifully. In the wild, most old, weak, diseased, suffering humans with low desire to live would automatically get killed and eaten by the wild animals and thus their misery would be quite short-lived. The situation has changed quite a bit because humans have started living away from their natural environment. The advent of the modern medicine has changed it even more.
In the wild, only the humans with the strong, healthy, fit body would survive. In the wild, only the humans with the strong desire to live would survive. This way the nature would automatically restore balance.
My guess is that in the ancient times, a large portion of population would be young between 15 to 45 years of age. As the body gets weak, old and diseased, most would parish very soon. Now many humans are living way beyond 60 years of age and this is creating issues and challenges that are quite new.
+Soteriologe If I truly believe that I am this human body born on certain date to certain humans, I don’t need to ask any “creator” why it created the universe. The entire universe doesn’t matter to me if I don’t exist. The entire universe doesn’t exist for me, if I myself don’t exist. To understand why this human body came into existence, I don’t need to understand why the big bang happened few billions of years ago. To understand the existence of this human body, it is enough that I understand why two young, healthy, likely happy humans decide to come together and make love to each other.
My creation is the young, healthy man and woman coming together and making love. Their union is my creation. Did they enjoy it? Very likely, they did. Were they having great time? Very likely, yes. At that moment, did they feel the life was worth having? very likely, they did.
There is something in the teaching and the teacher that is not conveyed in the words. Ramana spoke very little. Amma speaks very little and she speaks in the language that few understand. His first meeting with Rudi was one such instance. When you listen to Dalai Lama - you may or may not agree with him but his voice, his tone, the way he talks, his presence makes you peaceful.
+TOA (Transmission of Awakening)
But would you feel more "impressed" if he just sat there saying virtual nothing?"
Wow, gem of an interview. Go BatGap!
Beautiful.....
Hi Rick. I was thinking, wouldnt it be great if Bruce was able to convey the non dual perspective thru a movie that gets to this generation. Quite a challenge but wow, ! Our generation is headed for the Dark side of the Moon" now. So it is up to them. They need all the Wisdom they can get.
+james kelly It would. I'll forward your comment to him, although I think 's out of the movie making business. He also expressed the sentiment that it's hard to do anything really profound in Hollywood. The commercial interest tends to shoot down the deeper stuff.
+BuddhaAtTheGasPump Thanks Rick, A great interview.
Suffering
=======
I consider pain and ache a normal part of having a biological human body made up of flesh, skin and bones. These are not necessarily bad. When we exercise, the body might ache a little, when we hike, the body might ache a little. When we run long distance, the body might ache. In many such cases, aching body means that the existing muscles are breaking and new, stronger, fitter muscles are likely to replace them.
Of course, some ache and pains are due to injury and accidents and we are unable to recover from them on our own. The rest is the best way to help recover from them and some external help too might be necessary.
Some ache and pain also result from sitting in an unnatural position for too long and from not being aware of the body. Those can be treated with greater attention and vigilance and with some adjustments and balance.
I view suffering similarly.
I consider suffering a normal part of having a thinking human mind. Almost every mental learning requires some failures, some tries, some struggle and ...some suffering. Suffering often means that our existing mental makeup (or belief structure) (or thoughts) are breaking and if we relax and allow, they will likely be naturally replaced with stronger, fitter, more agile and more suitable mental makeup. We have to allow the moment, the experience to teach us.
Some suffering also result from accidents, misfortunes and the rest or SURRENDER is the best way to help recover from them.
Some suffering also results from losing our natural balance - such as living away from nature for far too long, being removed from our Dharma (that which brings us natural peace, peace, deep fulfillment and a deep sense of well-being) for too long, not being aware of our mental state and thinking. Those can be treated with greater attention and vigilance to our mental state and with some adjustments to restore some natural balance into how we spend our time and where our attention is.
My approach is to love whatever I notice inside or outside... ...pain, ache, sensations, feelings, emotions, thoughts.
It is like a baseball game. Someone is throwing a ball at me. My approach is to see if I can hit it. Loving it is hitting it. Some balls are harder to hit. Painful situations are like hard balls to hit. Some balls might be even harder and I might not have skill or speed to hit them. And, that is OK. I can treat them as a practice and an opportunity to learn better skills and an opportunity to even assess my current limits and boundaries. If I fail to hit these balls... ...I have opportunity to love my failure.There are no friends or foes. There are my fellow players throwing balls at me to hit.
Some balls are very easy to hit (i.e. to LOVE). Some are much harder to hit (or LOVE) and they take greatly more vigilance, skill, agility, wisdom, focus and sometimes, even preparation. Some might be just too hard for me and I might not be able to hit them at all.
Whenever I remember… my question is: Can I love it?
When I remember that I had forgotten… ...my question is: Can I love that I forgot?
When I am not loving it, my question is… ...can I love the fact that I am not loving it?
Bodhisattva Path
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My approach is to love the person, thing, animal or plant I am with either physically or in my thoughts.
Sometimes, I do things that can look like "helping" - but, I don't see it like that. Whatever I have, comes from the universe/nature/God. I decide how to use what I am given. Even this very body, this brain, this intelligence, this power to think, feel, love is ultimately not really mine. This too is given by the God/nature/universe. Even the this Life, this Consciousness, this Presence is ultimately not mine. When possible, I allow love, wisdom, presence and compassion to guide the usage of what I am given. I do it for many reasons… ...including the reason that I find it deeply fulfilling and enriching.
Dharma
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In my view, Dharma is that which brings us natural, effortless peace, enjoyment, happiness and a deep sense of fulfillment irrespective of results. Dharma is what we naturally enjoy doing without expecting any rewards. Dharma is what we naturally find worth doing even when nobody is watching, even when no one knows about it. Dharma is what we are grateful just to have an opportunity to do it. Dharma is what make us feel energized and deeply alive while doing it.
I think the first duty of a human being is to find out what one naturally, effortlessly enjoys and what naturally brings peace and a deep sense of fulfillment. I see it as finding Dharma. I think that the second duty of a human being is to serve that Dharma.
My Dharma is what I would happily die for.
If we happen to be so lucky that what brings us food (i.e. our livelihood) is same as our true Dharma - we have a great potential to be happy. If our livelihood, career is not aligned with what brings us deep natural peace and a deep sense of fulfillment, I think we need to look to make some space and time to practice and serve that which gives us a deep sense of fulfillment, peace and wellbeing.
Hahahahaha! Rick is thankfully a "host" as opposed to a "parasite"... :-) He means well, but he is interviewing people who are usually way over his head. I don't mind much... he is a host after all. My "bad"... :-)
Jacobs ladder.....One of THE most underestimates movies ever. Stuart little2 ...? haha. If his story is true. An amount of pure LSD ....People who ever took LSD will propably " tremble" by the idea of such a amount of pure LSD! . Those who did not, will never come near understanding the extend of that " experience" can do to a human being. .. He could have ended into a metal hospital. Or even in a coma.
Then meeting the Dalai lama...getting a "personal offer" from THE Dalai lama. to become his "guru". Instead going to "Rudy"and getting "zapped". Just in the first half our of this interview.
I must admit. It is different! .But i wonder if A. the LSD overkill , changed the way his memory storage works. To say it politely .
I try not to watch to much. I notice people end up like....well, people tend to focus on other things. Once aweek is abit much! But areal good teacher Or a real fake is always nice to watch. i will take a look. haha.
Rick grates on me. MY "bad"... :-) Fuck the "Chakras"... pffffft!
Rick... this in NOT "drugs"... LOL.
Pompous ass+ Between a 1 for Non duality and 2 for duality. I am doubting between 1+ and -2. wah,wah,blah,blah,Blah.Buddha Said, wahdid wah diblbla. Spending my life judging others all day, i blah, di blah blah.