Hurrah for the man who signs with his name.
Hurrah for those who sign with their real name,
for those that ignore anonimity.
Who stand by what they claim,
and accept the weather of social criticism.

Hurrah for the
Sean Omlor,
Sean Danty,
Plato Rosinke,
Buddy Tripp,
Drew Hempel,
Brian Kennedy,
Keith Frantzis,
and all the ones that I might have forgotten.

Hurrah for all those and for the teacher who teach with their name,
the Bruce Frantzis, Michael Winn and David Verdesi.
Who did not need to change their name into a
lama-sifu-master-joe-nanda-tzu

Hurrah for those who put their face in their avatar.
Or, if too ugly, have their face linked somwhere.

Hurrah for us who don't keep the door open of the "it wasn't me".
Who don't criticise others for what they have done
while hiding behind the veil of anonimity.

Shame on those who keep themself hidden.
Who use strange ambiguous names,
symbolic, indeed !
Who avoid the "who are you?" questions.
Who require from others (with anger, not least)
what they themselves are not ready to give.

Who divide public figures, who need to be x-scanned, teared apart, and thrown eggs to,
from the anonymous mass, and then from this anonymous mass,
throw eggs to all the public figures who don't comply to their high standards.

Hurrah for those who do not divide into public figures and mass,
but realise that we are all human beings, all have our names, our experience, our faults, and we correct them all the time. And who give to others the space to make those corrections.

Yes, I do divide.
High, in my esteem, are the first;
low, the others.


Pietro

CORRECTIONS:
ok, so took away Ian, out of Ian's request. Added a P to to Buddy's name. Any other request?

Pietro,

Most important are the one's without names!
The nameless are the true followers of Tao....

dao ke dao, fei chang dao;
ming ke ming, fei chang ming.
wu, ming tian di zhi shi;
you, ming wan wu zhi mu.
gu chang wu, yu yi guan qi miao,
chang you, yu yi guan qi jiao.
ci liang zhe, tong chu er yi ming.
tong wei zhi xuan,
xuan zhi you xuan,
zhong miao zhi men.

Wudangspirit

Hurrah also
for those who reserve
their real name for friends
to whom it is given freely,
to whom it is music,

hurrah for those who don't let the insatiable trolls
feed off the qi of their beautiful real name
and suck it dry, and move on to the next,
always hungry for the real, never satisfied
till someone else's reality is denied,
always denying their hunger for blood,
never satiated --
hurrah for those
who don't feed them their beautiful real names.

Hurrah as well
for those
who hide their beautiful faces,
for the I Ching tells them,
CONCEAL YOUR LIGHT,
and they obey.

Hurrah for those
who don't spend their online time
looking in the mirror,
because the Master said
there's three most powerful things in the world:
gold, sword, mirror --

hurrah for those
who throw out gold and pearls and diamonds
without measure, without counting,
to those who come like the spring
benefitting all beings,

and for those who bring the sword
designed by the ancient sage
in the image of MiaoTao, the mysterious border
between yin and yang, between wuji and taiji,
between being and non-being.

It is a sword like a blade of grass,
a sword like a surgical scalpel,
it is the sword that made Confucius famous
as a swordsman before he shielded it
to seek a different kind of fame,
that of a peace maker.

Hurrah for those who know the power of the mirror
and never let the gui look from behind their back
into the mirror image of their faces
lest the faceless ones steal their face
and use the stolen eyes as a doorway
into the mysteries of someone else's soul
which the immortal ancestor Lu said must be guarded at all times,
therefore even if you send your mirror image on an astral journey,
you must leave guardian spirits around your body
and send guardian spirits on the journey with you.

Hurrah for those
whose avatars have been appointed
as guardian spirits
around their bodies, souls, and good names.

Hurrah for everybody
who is anybody,
hurrah for everybody
who is nobody,

no hurrah only
for those who think they are everybody,
that everybody should be like them,
that everybody should think like them,
that everybody should look like them,
that everybody should be served them on a platter
the way a lobster is served to a customer at a seafood restaurant.

And most certainly no hurrah for the evil one
for an eternity beyond eternity.

A quote from one of my old favorites is in order:

Wang Chi: "A brave man likes the feel of nature on his face, Jack."
Egg Shen: "Yeah, and a wise man has enough sense to get in out of the rain."

-- Big Trouble In Little China

Hurrah for the one who can let go of the allure of the little self.
Hurrah for those who withhold from imposing their personality on the world,
for those have dissolved the false reality of descriptions and express only
what is essential in their lives.
Hurrah for those who live true to their nature and refuse to regurgitate the lies of personal history and social custom.

Hurrah for the teachers who remain unnamed and indistinct, who silently work behind the scenes uplifting the plight of humanity without thought or need of recognition or reward.

Hurrah for those of us who, being unattached to our own point of view, can allow others to openly express theirs without criticism or condemnation.
Hurrah to those who keep themselves small and humble in the face of the social fashion toward egotism and pretentiousness.
Hurrah to those who make no claims of importance and refuse to use their teachers and tradition as social ornaments.

Shame on those who make statements of ‘right’ or ‘wrong’,
Who perpetuate the social pollution of narrow-mindedness.
Who tear down the achievements and virtue of others,
for no good reason other than jealousy or prejudice.

Who divide people into high or low, and say one is better than the other,
denying people the right to explore and express their lives as they see fit.
Who will impose a doctrine of good or bad and raise people up or bring them low based on artificial codes of morality.

Hurrah for those who can open their hearts to all people,
who devote their lives in service to humanity.
Who, through their own virtuous fulfilment, work selflessly
to alleviate the ignorance and divisiveness of popular culture.

Yes, I do unite,
Be they high or be they low,
No one is barred from my virtuous expression.

I'll second that, senor Oolongo! John Carpenter - one of the great artists, who doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

My favourites: Big Trouble in Little China and of course Prince of Darkness. Although In The Mouth of Madness is also brilliant

Needless to say I'm not a fan of hiding behind a moniker. It's too easy to shoot your mouth off without having to back it up. But the internet is a wild place and fear of it is understandable.


BTW, two "Ps

Tripp, my dad's name.

Personally, i don't like my name coming up in Google searches for unrelated matters. Accordingly i am using my Dao name. i also have come on here originally because of the David Verdessi matter. i will keep an eye on the forum (which seems to be worthwhile), but i doubt i'll continue to post as much in the future as i have in the past 24 hours. The point is, if you want to know more about me for some reason then talk to me directly. i won't even charge you $250 for it

True. Some fear others, others fear themselves. Laozi, Ch.15: a sage is "cautious and fearful like a guest." Or take the cautious and fearful me (not a sage, no). If someone in RL threatened to beat me up, the way I've seen our mutual friend whose name with two Ps I've encountered before in a similar context, was eager and self-reportedly able to do to more people online than my memory is equipped to retain, I'm afraid I'd be reluctant to trust my martial skill, with only a few years of training. I'm afraid if anyone attacked me physically for the purpose of proving whatever point, I would just shoot them. Just to be on the safe side, you know.

Ah, Buddy. Let's be friends. You don't know what you're missing.

Hehehe ...

Hurray for me!!!
*Pats himself on the back*

"True. Some fear others, others fear themselves. Laozi, Ch.15: a sage is "cautious and fearful like a guest." Or take the cautious and fearful me (not a sage, no)."

Well, I put my name out here. I've woken up in a puddle of sweat during that "dark night of the soul" and didn't know if I would last the week. So, I fear neither.

"If someone in RL threatened to beat me up, the way I've seen our mutual friend whose name with two Ps I've encountered before in a similar context, was eager and self-reportedly able to do to more people online than my memory is equipped to retain, I'm afraid I'd be reluctant to trust my martial skill, with only a few years of training."

I have no idea what you are talking about. I have no idea who you are behind the mask, so how could we have a "mutual friend whose name with two Ps ."


"I'm afraid if anyone attacked me physically for the purpose of proving whatever point, I would just shoot them. Just to be on the safe side, you know. wink.gif"

I'm afraid I don't get this one either. But let me tell you something from a martial art perspective. Do you already have the gun out? I can cut your throat in the space of 25 feet before you can clear holster, and that's assuming it's holstered and not in your purse. I'm afraid you are talking theory and not real life. Please don't do this silly posturing. This isn't a martial art site and you lack credibility with the tough talk.

"Ah, Buddy. Let's be friends. You don't know what you're missing."

But you do? You assume too much.

Bravo to those who never go public and don't place importance to a particular name and let alone the ego.

Bravo to those who help without expecting anything in return.

Bravo to those who help all sentient beings and understand the true nature of reality.

Not referring to myself in any of the above.

Kind regards.

durk,

There's the left hand path and the right hand path. I like what you've written from what I've seen. But there are those with ego with no particular stake in them. There are those who stir the pot to muddy the water to see what settles. I guess it's the jackal, the trickster...the fool? And do it without expecting anything in return...except maybe derision. And to see what comes from that. My own beat has been from a different drummer.

I'm slowly inching my way back. The only thing that is constant is change.

Hurrah for the Polar Bears!
And the people who would like to pony up their whole names but realize it might cause problems with their careers eventually!

Nope, it's you who assumes too much. I was taught how to handle firearms by professionals, two years in high school, four years in college, and I respond to intent before I respond to motion, i.e. much faster than the fastest thug. As for "talking tough" --
you have no idea the kind of tough I've been through, you suburban tough guy... The world is bigger and tougher than Massachussets, I can assure you. I've lived on three continents and have handled situations that you can't imagine happening in real life at all, because you've never seen this kind of life, this side of life. And your main battle, which I have every respect for, is something I see every day and help people win. I wouldn't be talking to you at all if you hadn't softened my heart with that story. You are very indiscriminate in your choice of enemies, but who am I to blow against the wind? It's only yourself you're hurting. Shrug.

Taomeo, did you come from one of the former Soviet republics?

Smile
yes, and I've used what your lil' smiley is using too...

Well guess what? So did I.
At least you know you can put a gas mask on in 6 seconds with your eyes closed.

I'm still not sure I could fit it over my cat mask in 6 seconds -- if at all.

Let's take it to PM, I'm afraid we are boring the rest of the bums reminescing like that...

Settle down some of you, please. Don't let your emotions take over your spiritual path (if you are really into one). I used to be like that as well but decided to move on. It only brings bad karma on the person. Everything is karma, we are all creating it at every single instant every time we think, act and speak.

Re-read this Buddhist text to help you understand that the ultimate process is escaping the cycle of reincarnation and help those who are in the event of becoming awakened. For the rest compassion and love.

Let them be able and upright, straightforward and gentle in speech.

Humble and not conceited.

May they be content and easily satisfied, unburdened with frugal and duties on their ways.

Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful.

Not proud and demanding in nature.

May they be wise, with their senses calmed, not arrogant and without desire.

May they do nothing that the wise would later reprove.

May all beings be happy.

May they live in safety and joy.

All living beings, whether weak or strong, the great or the mighty, medium, short or small, seen or unseen, near or distant, born or to he born, may they all be happy.

Let no one deceive another or despise any being in any state, let none by anger or hatred wish harm to another.

As a mother watches over her child, willing to risk her own life to protect her only child, so with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings, radiating kindness over the entire world.

Standing or walking, sitting or lying down, during all one's waking hours, may one remain mindful of this heart and this way of living that is said to be the sublime abiding.

Unattached to speculations, views and sense desires, the purehearted one, with clear vision, being freed from all sense desires, will never be reborn in the cycles of suffering. (Metta Sutra).

Erm, actually, I never had posted under my full name, and I'm not desperately pleased to see it here. My aged mother keeps threatening to get a computer, and while it may never happen, I'd prefer to guard against her getting too many shocks, she being a relatively timid sort. Could you be persuaded to edit the original and withdraw praise accordingly?

Your a true man looking out for your mother, as they say here in OZ Good on ya.

Actually just googled myself and it's not too embarrassing, actually found my uni degree being awarded in 98 with my full name, so thats good. I'm hiding pretty well.

Alt.out of body and Alt dreams lucid is still up there

Sound like me ?

all in all not too DEVILish

Never notice D+Evil = devil before

They should man up and drink some of the Powerthirst...

I usually give my full name at the introduction thread of any forums I use.


I agree with Buddy though, about too easy to run your mouth while anon. I think using your real name is a sign of maturity, taking full responsibility for your mouth and your key strokes.

Well considering what you revealed, and the school you are signed in,
I would not open a PM if I thought it contained your real name.

It's just a secret I don't need to know.

I can honestly say I have no idea what you mean.
/shrug

Sorry, I understood you were an homosexual or bisexual man, who were studying with BKF. Now BKF CANNOT teach to an homosexual man. If he ever knows that he is in such a position he would be forced to throw you out, or stop teaching all together. Knowing your real name would put me in the position of having a secret versus my teacher. Something I am not really happy to have.

Well I never studied under or with BKF in the lineage sense. I took a few classes,seminars and retreats between 1996-2000. Thats it. Ever since then I realized that I could spend several lifetimes perfecting what I learned during that time and it was time to move on to dedicated solo practice indefinitely. I started out wanting to learn more of his MA stuff but shifted to focusing primarily on nei gung and sitting meditation.

As for secrets? There is no secrets here. Who in the world could actually care what my sexual preferences are anyway? My own father knows I am bisexual and he thinks I am lucky.

It says F on my license, last time I looked anyway.

I think it would be pretty funny to get thrown out of a class I paid for , for being bisexual. Not to mention that that would make a great blog post. I can not see how big K could possibly profit from it. Here in SF, that might be a big fucking mistake actually. Cellphone cam ftw.

Anyway, after being exposed here and there from time to time, as well as having over 150,000 video views on my personal youtube channel. I have nothing to hide.

BKF is not my teacher anymore anyway. It is completely irrelevent.

My name is Jane Alexander and I am no one's student at this time.

Jane, I think your videos rock. Especially, the one where you are talking about doing neidan for two weeks straight. Can't find it in your profile though.

.........

...for some people this is simply a work-career issue...

I'm a beginner and probably about to get my ass kicked but I've found the TTC profound and want to try to live by it, I teach myself Chi Kung for my health and I will be reading the Eva Wong book in the bookclub to learn more BUT what is this about somebody not working with someone homosexual? A couple of times on the board lately (when people haven't been worrying about who's taking money from who) I've perceived what looks like homophobia. Can someone explain this to a European woman in her middle years?

Also, lists of people's names put up and PMs being made public? It doesn't feel very good in here. I know - tell me to leave, that's ok. I'd just like to understand what's going on because it doesn't look like Taoism.

Hello 'Onigiri',

Doeas asking you to read another thread count as kicking your ass?


The name that I put up where strictly the name of people who are using their name publicly.
Except for Ian, for which there was a bit of confusion (I also know him on another internet site), and I corrected.

No, my ass feels fine, thanks. That was a very helpful thread and I can see now that there are plenty of people on here who aren't homophobes, which makes me more comfortable.

Well, the problem is a deeper one. On the one side people want authenthic traditional teachings, (you know, the water method, Wang Li Ping, lineage masters...), on the other they protest because the traditional teachings do not conform to our modern western ethics (a teacher in one had to swear not to teach to male homosexual, on the other school a bull is being killed in a ritual). Traditional China was not the modern western world, and somehow we need to accept that.

As the teachings arrive here they will somehow change. The problem is that when they change too much they loose part of their flavour, and feel more and more like new age crap. Finding the right balance is tricky.

Your ass still ok?
Can I go on?

It is something I've thought about a bit. I can see the huge problem with wanting to be authentic but with us having entirely different ethics now. To be honest, I'm not sure that authentic is always the way to go. Just because something was done a few thousand years ago, doesn't make it the best.

You can go on if you like, I don't mind. I love to learn. I know nothing about methods and masters and I wonder if we sometimes place too much importance on things that we can find on our own. I wonder what 'new age crap' is too? You mean just playing and not doing it according to the original teachings? I'll probably just annoy you because I don't know enough to argue yet

By the way, I did overreact about the names that were put up. I think it was just the drawing attention to them that worried me.

Just for the record, all this Heroic 'hurrah' stuff makes me nauseous.

All the new age crap makes me nauseous too as does the knee jerk PC thoughtlessness.

I would be very disapointed if the board got infected with the PC virus which is the equivalent of Big Brother, really.

The polarities of the red neck boastful aggression and the quiche eating fearfulness , can we please avoid them.

For the record also, 'cat' is something I am called by people who love me, so for me it is an honest name as well as a way of not allowing identiity theft or whatever else.


Running off at the mouth becasue you are on the internet and dont have your real name on view is an evolvement issue. Most of us post responsibly because we are sane and want to be part of this online community, not because our real life identity is known or not.

People who 'hide' behind their handle are basically trolls, arent they. And you can either think they bring balance and truth, or that they are mosquito's, or some other theory.

The solution to trolls doesnt lie in splaying your "real life " identity across the internet.

Yep, sums me up

agreed.



I'm gonna be a bit ambiguous with this one: If you come up to a dog and begin to tell it how much of a bad, smelly, terrible, unlovable animal it is, but do so in a high pitched, lively, loving tone - the dog will still wag its tail, and happily soak up your attention. This is a case of content (the words used) and context (the way the words are used) - tradition is always a mixture of content and context - in the case of spiritual development the context is where the value is - content matters as much as words do to a dog... of course we all forget this from time to time...

... I also like all the ex-soviet nostalgia... I know how to stay alive in an earthquake! and in a -30C winter with no heating, running water or electricity - but with plenty of delicious preserves and some good humour!

And countless other situations... Here's an example:
a few years ago, my elderly parents went on vacation to South America, and it so happened that the day they were supposed to leave, the country they were visiting decided to undertake a military coup, their first one in twenty-five years. The previous one was pretty bloody. The one my parents got themselves into proved short-lived and the government regained control within three days and it was over before it made the news, but while it was going on no one knew what kind of a ride they're in for. Thousands of foreign tourists were stranded at the airport, with all commercial flights canceled, the troops parading menacingly all around, garbled explanations in a language my parents don't understand making things not much easier. Thirty minutes after the official announcement of the coup, however, they were the only foreign tourists leaving the country, on a charter plane making their way to some obscure Caribbean island whence they made it to Florida and then home to New York. Solving a crunch before anyone has explained to you how it's "supposed" to be solved -- we learned that well, right, FF?

Yeah, and for the record:

I followed the "hurrah" genre in my response to Pietro with an ulterior motive to illustrate how a phenomenon discussed in another thread, Zheng, can be applied to any situation. It was a zheng entry, I aligned my expression with the already-present (Pietro's) stylistic form. Another (better) example of zheng workings on this board is the Haiku Chain thread.

And,
I am not only the farthest thing from a homophobe any gay man or woman can hope to meet outside of their own sexual preference pool but I've kicked some ass (verbally) for those who are. Using the word "gay" in an alchemical context where yang-yang interactions are described instead of the alchemically correct yin-yang dynamics when talking a technicality of cultivation was a joke, a funny one I was hoping, not an offensive one. The very reason I can say something like that is that I don't think twice because I don't care that much. However, if a gay guy/gal is being an ass, his or her being gay is not enough exemption in and of itself from being perceived as such in his or her human capacity, not his or her sexual-preference capacity.

The record is getting well fed today, nevertheless I add to it's plate - TaoMeow I was well aware of what you were doing with your stylistic echoing. I recognise the style of making a point very well. I'm far from critical of such devices. I might have done it myself if you hadnt got there first.

I would have made myself queasy in the effort so I'm glad I didnt have to do it.

Also, I am with you on your second point. As someone who has swung hither and yon in her time I'm hardly likely to be homophobic, and of course that just isnt what we are speaking about when we speak of Taoist methodologies, and even the suggestion that Taoism is homophobic and that this would need to be chewed over just wearies me...


which doubtless shows what a cat ready to recline I have become...

Most delightful!

I am here for two reasons. One is you, Mistress TaoMeow, and the other is that I must do the opposite of the eighth house of secrets, and must sun my secrets in plain view, to be read by anyone who chooses.

So my name is Marrena Lindberg, author of The Orgasmic Diet. My online names are Eris and zaneblue.

Oh! I just remembered a tip--google cancer anthrax. Not much longer now, I don't think, before it is approved, and in the meantime there might be ... workarounds.

I've only been here for 5 minutes and it did seem that some of the posts might have been homophobic. Maybe in the 'red neck' behaviour that you described. Certainly not from you Cat or Taomeow. If it's wearying then it's because you've seen it before. I hadn't. It's all new to me and I wanted to clear it up in my own head. Obviously that's aggravated you, Cat. I would like to be able to ask questions and would like to know where to do that?

I learned from the 'man love' thread that there are differing opinions on the yang-yang relationship. Pietro showed me what I needed to know, so now I know.

Witch, I am honored pink. Do stick around!
Will google what you suggest in a moment.

Did I ever mention to you that I found some indirect confirmation for your dietary credo in an unexpected source? Been reading an old Latin American novel and came across an assertion that there's a kind of fresh-water dolphin in the Amazon whose fat is used by local folks as a remedy for any and all sexual difficulties -- a dangerous animal all around because that fat if ODed on can cause men and women to become permanently sex-minded to the point of insanity.

I get that a lot!

I'll stick around--I've got protection

Here's the link, but I can't read it

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/299/5/513-a

Here's a readable one

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/01/va...closing_in.html