A dissertation of an idea that could complement and approach the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis with a strictly scientific method.
A very interesting subject where I find several links to Jewish Qabalah, Sanskrit, Tibetan mantras and all esoteric teachings that approach and treat “the verb” as an indispensable key of their practices. Pronunciation, sound produced and intrinsic vibration convey information on multiple planes that, as with music, can be grasped as new daily nuances.
The work reproduced in the book is meticulous but unfortunately, I do not know if it is due to that I read the digital version, a real estate. Too many information that should be intuited rather than read and memorized. As a fast read in order to grasp the underline idea is fine, but far from the expectations that I have by reading the back cover. I would have preferred that the results, findings, tables and lists were at the end as appendix.
Jump from short sentences to lists and tables has impacted my emotions while reading. It is a pity because in those few sentences in which the author has exposed herself more with sentences rather than data, she was able to share her astonishment in describing this magnificent tool that we call language.
]]>Each word has an aspect of meaning which lies deeper than any of its senses, and it is fundamentally on this meaning that all the senses depend.
The essential nature of a symbol is that it is first of all itself, and only secondarily is it its function.
With the word as the mechanism of creation, everything that did not yet exist was named and all appeared.
Velar phonemes pronounced at the back of the mouth are generally receptive. Labial phonemes pronounced at the lips are rarely receptive and are often directed outward.
Socrates’ Hypothesis 1. That each phoneme has a meaning which it passes on to every word that contains it.
“In truth language does not reside in man but man stands in language and speaks out of it.” We wander the earth, as the instruments of these peculiar sound beings.
The consonants are not essentially physical, but they live, evolve and influence human affairs. We overlook something essential if we deny that they can get up and walk around. This is not to say that their existence is independent of the human psyche. But then everything depends on everything.
We are, so to speak, blinded to content by form. Reference does this by taking a possible context for a word very seriously, and freezing the word within a specific context into a ‘thing’ unto itself. It makes static what was fluid by limiting it to a context and claiming it to be a different thing in this context than in the next. The transition from process to thing is part and parcel to limitation within context.
If we are correct about the usefulness of drawing the distinction between inherent and referential semantics, then the mouth can be viewed as a system whose physics in part determines the meanings of words. Imagine that each phoneme has inherent physical properties.
When an idea gets repeated often enough, it becomes common knowledge. When it becomes really convincing, then it starts sinking deeper and deeper into the unconscious recesses of the language. The sound meanings we are discussing and also metaphors are examples of this subconscious language - this background of invisible assumptions that we all share as speakers of English. The history of human thought lies buried in the phoneme meanings and other unconscious aspects of language.
Emerson says that the corruption of man is followed by the corruption of language.
The mystic must first be an extremely good scientist, for science is the starting point and prerequisite of all higher endeavors. It is the discipline of stating truthfully and non-judgmentally what was observed - no more and no less.
Mystical and scientific thought systems are reconciled in the realization that mind gives rise to matter, and not the other way around. The material universe is a thought.
Language, as it turns out, is not dead, but a living being on whose health all of us depend. The fact that each consonant is an archetype is significant not because of what it can be used for, but because when one meets each god face to face, one cannot but realize that it is conscious, present, and alive. It looks upon the child who wanders into its dominion with a steady eye, and tolerates her only as long as her intentions are pure. One leaves with no doubt that this force, though patient, is silently recording every thought, and will have its way in the end. We may as well deal with the gods now, face to face, rather than be forced to eat our own garbage at some future period of time. There is linguistic ecology just as surely as there is planetary ecology.
All that matters is the act of speaking itself, the manner in which my relationship with him plays itself out. I dance with English, and our tale is only just beginning. Everything depends on my recognition of this.
The best Bhagavad Gita version I have ever read. Pure and clean. Winthrop Sargeant has done a wonderful work, due to his humbleness, he has received critiques. I am sure that after reading the text entirely, all the critiques vanish. An interlinear edition is indispensable in order to catch fully the information that the source aimed to transmit. Thanks Winthrop Sargent and Christopher Key Chapple.
]]>Every Kriyaban independent from his/her lineage find insights reading this book. Lots of paragraph (transliterated) have been taken directly from Shama Churn diaries and memories are reported as it is. I appreciate also the glossary, really well detailed. A true teaching in my humble opinion, even if sometimes it differs from my previous beliefs and precepts. You should be as much as possible open minded to changes and you should evaluate them deeply with your inner Self. Personally, while reading this book, I have done some changes to my sadhana. I write here some of the phrases that catch my attention:
I can not review a book like this. Everyone interested in Hermetic Teachings and or in a path to self-knowledge, should really read it. It is written clearly and is really short, there is not a useless word.
Table of Contents:
The Seven Hermetic Principles
- The Principle of Mentalism
- The Principle of Correspondence
- The Principle of Vibration
- The Principle of Polarity
- The Principle of Rhythm
- The Principle of Cause and Effect
- The Principle of Gender
Lama Tsultrim Allione teaches you an ancient tibetan buddhism practice revisited for western people. It is a pragmatic exercise that can be done easily at home. A bit strange for everyone that meet this spiritual practice for the first time but definitely something to try or deepen.
It is a sort of self-guided meditation that light up reasons behind inner conflicts in order to solve them.
The book is really well written. Easy to understand and easy to read. There are summaries sections, case studies and a chapter dedicated to the original ancient practice.
Even skeptics can learn something behind Tsultrim Allione’s words.
The ancient practice name is Chöd, defined briefly and really well by Reprogramming Mind youtube channel as:
Chöd (Tibetan: གཅོད, Wylie: gcod lit. ‘to sever’), is a spiritual practice found primarily in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism (where it is classed as Anuttarayoga Tantra). Also known as “Cutting Through the Ego”, the practices are based on the Prajñāpāramitā or “Perfection of Wisdom” sutras, which expound the “emptiness” concept of Buddhist philosophy. According to Mahayana Buddhists, emptiness is the ultimate wisdom of understanding that all things lack inherent existence. Chöd combines prajñāpāramitā philosophy with specific meditation methods and tantric ritual. The chöd practitioner seeks to tap the power of fear through activities such as rituals set in graveyards, and visualisation of offering their bodies in a tantric feast in order to put their understanding of emptiness to the ultimate test. Interview is with, author and international teacher, founder and spiritual director of Tara Mandala. In 2009, Lama Tsultrim was selected by an esteemed committee of Buddhis.
]]>Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, a Tibetan lama who lived in Italy.
Tibetan butter tea. Gyalwa poured me a cup of butter tea and offered me deep-fried kapsi, a stale cracker made at the Tibetan New Year.
challenges and without recognizing our faults, we would spend our lives waiting for ideal circumstances instead of genuinely working on ourselves. In fact our “enemies,” those who bring up the most
our “enemies,” those who bring up the most in us, are our greatest teachers, and instead of seeing them as demons we could see them as gifts.
Our demons get fatter if they are fought or ignored (which is also an active process), because they feed on the energy of our struggle against them. This is the principle behind fully attending to and nurturing rather than fighting or ignoring our demons.
If we pay attention to a demanding child and give her what she needs, not what she wants, she can relax and settle down. By stopping and discovering what she really needs, you are in a sense paying with your attention. The way to change things is to address the underlying issue, through feeding our demons what they actually need instead of what they seem to want. If we can get down to the fundamental need under the superficial desire, it usually involves love, compassion, and acceptance
Art gives a tangible presence to something that otherwise lives solely in the mind.
Art helps to articulate unconscious content arising through the imagination and to bring it into consciousness.
It is important not to try to create something for someone else to see, but to let yourself enter undistracted into the creation of the image.
When hope or fear or some other feeling attaches to an external phenomenon, whether it’s a person or an event, we have an outer demon. The Tibetan term for outer demons translates literally as “tangible demons.”
a demon that manifests through the senses.
inner demons — are demons that arise from the mind.
spiritual elation demons are attachments to the experiences that develop in meditation.
In Machig’s formulation of the four demons, the demon of ego is the source of the other three demons, because the ego creates the clinging that generates those demons.
Gods create struggles similar to our battles with demons, except they are attempts to get something rather than get away from something. Gods are involved with struggles of desire and longing rather than aversion.
really our hopes are often based on fears. Take a moment and think about your greatest hope. What do you really long for? Then think about your greatest fear. Aren’t they the opposite sides of the same coin, both of which generate tension? I hope for love, and I fear loneliness. I hope for success, and I fear poverty. I hope for praise, and I fear criticism.
Machig’s point in uniting them is that in dividing all experiences into good and bad, the stresses of wanting and fearing are locked together in a cycle of suffering.
when we have a looser, more spontaneous approach, magic can manifest in the simplest of things, and one thing flows beautifully to the next without effort or manipulation.
Where do you find hope and fear at the same time? That’s a god-demon.
releasing the tension caused by our god-demons frees up energy, because we are no longer wrapped up in our own hopes and fears.
think of occasions when you were able to do things without a great attachment to the outcome and noticed how much better they went and how much more pleasant they were.
The brain and the immune system are continually communicating with each other, often along the same pathways, which may explain why visualization influences health.
In the Tibetan language, a demon that causes disease is called a gonpo.
the body and mind are one;
Once again, if we think of diseases as “beings” with personalities and needs, we are giving them an alternative way to get their needs met. The entity of the disease is being redirected to another food source and being satisfied, and therefore diverted from feeding on the body. This takes place through the intelligence of the body-mind complex.
it’s a good idea to ask yourself when you are attacking your partner: Is this my own projected demon?
No one knows your demons better than your intimate partner, which makes this relationship both a priceless gift and a special challenge.
it’s important to recognize that the addictive substances themselves are not demons; our attachment to them is the demon. These demons come from our own mind
Addiction is a clear example of how the outer world is not the problem. This is why diets, prohibitions, and repressive strategies have never worked with addiction; they all assume the issue is the substance rather than the person’s relationship to it. By feeding these demons and coming to a place of rest and integration in the fifth step, we can treat the insanity of addiction at its root level. When dealing with a serious addiction, I suggest a holistic and integrative approach using psychotherapy and twelve-step programs as well as feeding your demons.
Whoever fights against monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you. — Friedrich Nietzsche
Thinking about our demons in the wider context of our maternal and paternal lineages can help us to track the broader patterns of demons at work in our lives.
“Merely,” of course, is a huge step. It’s nothing but a few neurons’ worth of faith, just the knowledge that you can do it. But without faith, the leap never works.
For example, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is considered to be a living Buddha by the Tibetan people and could certainly be at risk of being caught by this demon, yet he is humble and compassionate to everyone. If
If we find we have taken on an air of self-importance, or start labeling those who think differently from us as wrong, this is the demon of elation at work.
If we are in the grip of this demon, we stop examining our own motives and actions. Our behavior may become sloppy and careless. If demons like this appear and we fail to recognize them, we will be taken over.
If you are honored but recognize that the praise is like a hollow echo, then you are not in the grip of a demon of elation.
Buddhist thinkers teach about the demon of elation, they always emphasize its dangers for spiritual seekers.
In the Tibetan tradition one of the safeguards against this kind of demon is to share your spiritual experiences only with your teacher. These experiences may be exciting, but it’s important to hold them close.
People can also get caught in the demon of elation when using drugs to try to experience spiritual epiphany. Whitney learned about psychedelics in college and began using them with the hope they would take her to the ultimate experience.
Anyone on a spiritual quest should know these moments will come and are actually opportunities to go deeper into our path. Becoming caught by demons of elation is like seeing a sign for Paris and thinking you have arrived in Paris. Spiritual experiences and dreams are an indication you are going in the right direction, but they are by no means the end of the path.
the power of demons depended solely on ego-clinging.
the demon of egocentricity should come first, not last. But then I saw that it is the very process of understanding the other three demons that allows us to see the fourth demon.
The real root problem is clinging to notions of self versus other, not realizing how much of what we consider to be external reality we ourselves project. A simple way to put it is this: where there is egocentricity, there are demons and gods; where there is no egocentricity, there are no demons or gods. We can see the demon of the ego in our reactivity, in being irritated by criticism and inflated by praise, in wanting to accumulate material things, and in being upset when we lose wealth, possessions, or status.
once we’re caught in the apprehensiveness, we become unable to experience the original, fundamental state of openness. We don’t realize we ourselves are creating this experience moment by moment; we think it is coming from outside.
Let’s use swimming in the ocean as a metaphor for our relationship to original spaciousness. We can have many relationships with the ocean: we can struggle against it in panic, we can manipulate it for commerce, or we can relax and play in it. The ocean is vast and spacious, so we might feel distrustful of it. But if we can relax the feeling of separation from the ocean and rest in it, we discover the vastness that has always been there. Now we can float easily and restfully in it, and all anxiety disappears. This is release from the ego.
The ground of being has always been there, but it hasn’t been seen.”
Knowing this, don’t try to block the emotions and sensations that arise in your mind. Don’t try to analyze them. Whenever thoughts or memories come up, don’t hold
But clouds do not change the sky, and if you let your mind have its transient thoughts without interference, the demons will be overcome effortlessly.
just hold things in a lighter way, seeing them in a context of spaciousness. When you realize that most of your experience is a fabrication of the mind, there is no demon to be fed. It’s already gone. The traditional analogy for this state is “a thief entering an empty house.”
I have focused mainly on personal demons, with the idea that the influence we cast on the world begins with ourselves.
When a collective demon is able to possess us, it means that we have in ourselves some aspect of whatever we are reacting to.
As we consider the challenge of understanding collective demons and how they work, it is important for us to remember that the only way to stop collective demons is by becoming aware of our own demons. By doing our own work we are less likely to get swept up by a collective demon in the first place. The personal becomes global
Do not be fooled by the idea that demons are external to us. We are seeing our own mind projected in living color all around us. Train yourself to see things this way. Generate love and compassion toward whatever demon appears — without or within. When you finally understand from your own experience that there is no need to cater to the concerns of the ego, you will no longer cling to hopes and fears, or gods and demons. You will see that the source of your pain is clinging to your ego. You will rest in the limitless expanse of awareness — your true home. And you will be free.
The Outer Limits of Reason is as far as I remember one of the best research essay that I have read so far. I definitely recommend the book to all inquiring minds around and to anyone who is too much confident about him/her-self knowledge.
Noson S. Yanofsky confirmed his knowledge page by page and with astonishing clarity explain hard topic such as Chaos, Relativity Theory and Quantum Mechanics. As a graduate student of Computer Science and Engineering I have found really well written explanations about theoretical computer science. Not for nothing Yanofsky is Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science at Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Winner, 2013 American Publishers Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE Award) in Popular Science & Popular Mathematics, presented by the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers
Science is a human activity. It is created by finite, flawed human beings attempting to search for the ultimate truth.
The mathematics becomes abstract and about nothing in particular. Because these concepts are about nothing, they are about everything.
Rather than asking why the laws of physics follow mathematics, ask why there are any laws at all.
When we talk about the limits of scientific reasoning, we must keep in mind how we are observing the universe…the way we look at the universe is the way it will present itself to us.
Do not mistake the metaphor for reality.
SPOILER: Yanofsky conclusion thought
We human beings already live beyond reason. Real life has importance only when it includes ethics, values, and beauty. Reason is a powerful but nevertheless limited tool.
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Not an easy text as introduction to Zen teachings but definitely recommended. Like other old text, additional readings clarify concepts, inspire more and improve your understanding. You always find something to learn from them.
The teachings are essential and there are not useless words. Insights bring the reader to deeply understand sacred text and Sutra, in my humble opinion.
Often you must read carefully and you must pay attention and put lots of effort in order to get the idea.
Bodhidharma explains in the last few chapters the real meaning behind sages teachings. In order to reach enlightenment you do not focus on external practices. Sages use metaphors to facilitate beginners mind to understand the Way. Bodhidharma says that you must focus on your perceptions and your inner grow.
As others before me said, disciple must not be a repeater. He must renew the teachings and find new formulations that are right at the moment and in such new conditions. He must accomplish much more. Bodhidharma succeed on it and the reader must do the same.
]]>I accept it with an open heart and without complaint of injustice.” The sutras say, “When you meet with adversity don’t be upset,
we’re ruled by conditions, not by ourselves. All the suffering and joy we experience depend on conditions. If we should be blessed by some great reward, such as fame or fortune, it’s the fruit of a seed planted by us in the past. When conditions change, it ends. Why delight in its existence? But while success and failure depend on conditions, the mind neither waxes nor wanes. Those who remain unmoved by the wind of joy silently follow the Path.
To have a body is to suffer. Does anyone with a body know peace? Those who understand this detach themselves from all that exists and stop imagining or seeking anything. The sutras say, “To seek is to suffer.
To seek nothing is bliss.” When you seek nothing, you’re on the Path.
Six virtues. The paramitas, or means to the other shore: charity, morality, patience, devotion, meditation, and wisdom. All six must be practiced with detachment from the concepts of actor, action, and beneficiary. Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict (Allione, Tsultrim)
all humans, each of us, must come to terms with the demons of fear, aggression, temptation, ignorance, and their cohorts if we are to live a free and sacred life. They cannot be neglected.
Trying to find a buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab space. Space has a name but no form. It’s not something you can pick up or put down. And you certainly can’t grab it. Beyond this mind you’ll never see a buddha. The buddha is a product of your mind. Why look for a buddha beyond this mind?
As long as you look for a buddha somewhere else, you’ll never see that your own mind is the buddha. Don’t use a buddha to worship a buddha. And don’t use the mind to invoke a buddha.16 Buddhas don’t recite sutras.17 Buddhas don’t keep precepts.18 And buddhas don’t break precepts. Buddhas don’t keep or break anything. Buddhas don’t do good or evil. To find a buddha, you have to see your nature.19 Whoever sees his nature is a buddha. If you don’t
Suzuki’s Zen Doctrine of No Mind.
Invoking buddhas results in good karma, reciting sutras results in a good memory; keeping precepts results in a good rebirth, and making offerings results in future blessings—but no buddha.
“Nothing is more important than life and death. But instead of looking for a way out of the Sea of Life and Death, you spend all your time looking for ways to earn merit. If you’re blind to your own nature, what good is merit? Use your wisdom, the prajna-nature of your own mind. All of you, go write me a poem.” (Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, Chapter One)
The truth is, there’s nothing to find.
without the help of a teacher you’ll never know it. Only one person in a million becomes enlightened without a teacher’s help.
Those who worship don’t know, and those who know don’t worship.
Don’t cling to appearances, and you’ll break through all barriers.
To understand this mind you have to act without acting. Only then will you see things from a tathagata’s perspective.
If, as in a dream, you see a light brighter than the sun, your remaining attachments will suddenly come to an end and the nature of reality will be revealed. Such an occurrence serves as the basis for enlightenment. But this is something only you know. You can’t explain it to others. Or if, while you’re walking, standing, sitting, or lying in a quiet grove, you see a light, regardless of whether it’s bright or dim, don’t tell others and don’t focus on it. It’s the light of your own nature.
If you see your nature, you don’t need to read sutras or invoke buddhas. Erudition and knowledge are not only useless but also cloud your awareness.
Unless you see your nature, you shouldn’t go around criticizing the goodness of others. There’s no advantage in deceiving yourself.
I only talk about seeing your nature. I don’t talk about sex simply because you don’t see your nature. Once you see your nature, sex is basically immaterial. It ends along with your delight in it. Even if some habits remain, they can’t harm you, because your nature is essentially pure. Despite dwelling in a material body of four elements, your nature is basically pure. It can’t be corrupted. Your real body is basically pure. It can’t be corrupted.
It’s only because you cling to this material body that things like hunger and thirst, warmth and cold, and sickness appear. Once you stop clinging and let things be, you’ll be free, even of birth and death.
It’s only because you cling to this material body that things like hunger and thirst, warmth and cold, and sickness appear.
Once you stop clinging and let things be, you’ll be free,
I don’t talk about precepts, devotions or ascetic practices such as immersing yourself in water and fire, treading a wheel of knives, eating one meal a day, or never lying down.
It’s like space. You can’t hold it.
Using the mind to look for reality is delusion. Not using the mind to look for reality is awareness. Freeing oneself from words is liberation. Remaining unblemished by the dust of sensation is guarding the Dharma. Transcending life and death is leaving home.58 Not suffering another existence is reaching the Way. Not creating delusions is enlightenment. Not engaging in ignorance is wisdom. No affliction is nirvana. And no appearance of the mind is the other shore.
Keep your every thought free of delusion, and in life you’ll witness the beginning of nirvana,
Every suffering is a buddha-seed, because suffering impels mortals to seek wisdom. But you can only say that suffering gives rise to buddhahood. You can’t say that suffering is buddhahood. Your body and mind are the field. Suffering is the seed, wisdom the sprout, and buddhahood the grain.
whoever wants to see a buddha sees the mind before he sees the buddha.
sages don’t consider the past. And they don’t worry about the future. Nor do they cling to the present. And from moment to moment they follow the Way.
Three sets of precepts. There are five for ordinary lay Buddhists, eight for the more devout members of the laity, and ten for novice monks and nuns. The first five are injunctions against murder, theft, adultery, falsehood, and intoxication. To these five are added injunctions against bodily adornment (garlands, jewelry, and perfume), bodily comfort (soft beds), and overeating (eating after the noon meal). And to these eight are added injunctions against the enjoyment of entertainment and the possession of wealth. These three sets are summarized by the three vows. The vow to avoid evil is made by all believers. The vow to cultivate virtue is made by the more devout lay believers. And the vow to liberate all beings is nade by all monks and nuns.
people today don’t understand the Tathagata’s real meaning. They use an ordinary flame to light material incense of sandalwood or frankincense and pray for some future blessing that never comes.
Those who observe the precepts don’t injure any of the myriad life forms of heaven and earth.
The point of reference for Kombucha fans and lover.
The author was able to gather and share with readers tons of information such as: applications history details, hints for production, alternative recipes and He did it easily and in a comprehensible way.
References are from all the different cultures that have in common this special beverage in their daily lives.
Useful read to both beginners and experts. It is also helpful for inquiring minds that does not want to produce the tea by themselves.
I really appreciated quotes and the author’s philosophical thoughts that go along with the book.
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