[extropy-chat] off topic

[Robert Bradbury]

Spike,

Kundun (1997) -- see [1].

Lobsang Samten is apparently "Master of the Kitchen".

I have not seen the movie, but given its credit list (4 Oscar nominations as
well as a number of other wins) it might be worth tracking down.

I would tend to agree however that I would prefer messages with "normal"
capitalization for readability.

The point I was trying to make (perhaps poorly), is that self-awareness and
conscious thought are two of perhaps many modes of operation of the
biomatter between our ears.  Certain philosophies have developed various
approaches towards exploring these areas -- as have neuroscientists who have
access to research tools such as fMRI.  In part it comes back to whether
*you* have your thoughts or whether your thoughts have *you*.  The pursuit
of "truth" over mere "thoughts" is one approach to this.  Buddhism, Zen and
other disciplines provide alternate paths.

I would guess that most people on the extropian list migrate towards
enlightenment through the "truth" path in contrast to many Eastern cultures
where a "discipline" path is perhaps more common.  Obviously they are not
exclusive of each other.

Given the common Western mindset (which by default includes thousands of
years of cultural spin control) it may be difficult not to label a
discipline or a path as a religion.  You can see how easy it is for this
trap to present itself in the IMDB quote from Kundun.  An Indian asks the
Dalai Lama if he is the "Lord Buddha"?  The Dalai Lama's answer refuses to
acknowledge that he is a "Lord" of any kind.

Robert

1. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119485/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/extropy-chat/attachments/20060522/43d730cd/attachment.html>