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Enjoyed your post. It reminds me of a story I read somewhere about Vishnu asking for a glass of water. Does anyone know the story I'm thinking of? Vishnu sends this guy off and he gets "sidetracked" through several lifetimes then finds himself back in Vishnu's presence and he asks "Well, did you bring me some water?" :)

DHARMA THE CAT'S FOUR TRUTHS:

1. Impermanence: In life, the only constant factor is change.
2. Reciprocity: Whatever qualities you perceive in other people you draw out in them.
3. Self-Description: Peoples judgements and criticisms of others (as distinct from detached observations) are self-descriptive.
4. Accusation: Accusers are guilty.

Dharma the Cat

"Once there was a monk, a disciple of the great Buddha, which signifies He Who Is Awake. For men asked the Lord Gotama, are you a God? And he answered, No. And they asked again, Are you a saint? And he answered again, No. So then they asked, What are you? And he answered: I Am Awake. So he was known as the Awakened One.
And the Monk, seeking to emulate the Buddha, practiced the art of Meditation, which in its original form before being distorted by false imaginings and the elaborations of theologians was but this: To look upon all things and Remembering your Self to say unto your Soul, "This is impermanent".
And so the monk looked upon all incidents, all happenings, reminding himself "This too is impermanent."
And the Monk came close to Awakening, and therefore he was in great peril, for the Lord of the abyss of hallucinations, whom Buddhists call Mara, the Tempter, cometh quickly to one near Awakening, to hypnotize him again into the Sleep of Fools which is the ordinary consciousness of Men.
And Mara did sorely aflict the monk with death of offspring, with the insanity of loved ones, with eye troubles, sickness, slander and malice, with great curses and diverse suffering; but the monk always Remembered; This too is impermanent.
So Mara, enraged, caused the Monk to die, and to reincarnate as a mindless creature, a Parrot, which flitted without care from tree to tree in the forest. And Mara felt sure the Monk had no chance of Awakening.
But one day a brother monk of the Buddhist order came through the forest chanting the teachings of the Great Gotama that All is Impermanence. And this sparked mental activity in the Parrot who began to remember himself and his old life and again the teaching brought him close to Awakening.
Frustrated, Mara caused the Parot to die and to reincarnate as an elphant even deeper in the jungle. Now the Tempter felt sure that the Monk would never Awaken. Years went by, but good Karma by nature always returns and eventually the Elephant was captured and sold to the Rajah. Again another Buddhist monk came, this time to the Rajah, and he taught the Buddhist wisdom in the courtyard where the Elephant was kept. And his teaching was, All is Impermanent.
And the Elephant's memories were stirred as he remembered himself as a monk who practiced this teaching. But again, before he could Awaken, Mara came down on the Elephant with all her fury and caused him to die and this time to reincarnate at the furthest possible remove from all chance of Awakening, as an American Evangelist.
And the Evangelist was in the Moral Majority and journeyed across America preaching that all were in danger of Hellfire, and that there was only one path to Salvation, and that path was to believe all he said, and to do all he demanded.
And he enslaved many, who became mental Automatons who went about crying , Halleluja, We Are Saved.
And Mara was pleased for now this dogmatist was surely beyond reach.
But the evangelist met with others of the Clergy to plan Missionaries to the Heathen of the East; and there One spoke of the superstitions of the Orient, and he mentioned the Buddhist teaching that All is Impermanence.
Mental activity began in the Evangelist as his past incarnations surfaced in his memories. His attention fell away from his preaching and as he began again to stir toward Awakening, Mara tried the last trap of All. She caused the evangelist to become Mahabrahma, Lord of Lords, God of All Universes.
And Mahabrahma abode in Divine Bliss for billions of years, creating many lesser Brahmas who created their own Universes of which they were overlords. Mahabrahma watched all this pass and rejoiced in it with High Indifirrence, for He was Conscious Without Desire. And so the monk now seemed completely cut off from any chance of Awakening.
But as the Eons passed, Mahabrahma observed that the Great Law of Laws was that All these things were Impermanent. If All was impermanent and he was All, then he too must be Impermanent. And this Realisation came like a flash of lightening and he was suddenly Awakened and retuned to ordinary consciousness and returned to the mind of the Monk practising the Buddhist meditation of looking on all things and Remembering, This too is Impermanent.

And the Monk was not sure if he was a monk imagining he had been a God, or a God playing at being a monk."

Namaste'.

P.S. In addition to my previous message let me add - on the site below his picture, click on the arrow and write ADD and you should receive the periodic messages on your screen.....

Eureka! I just found Deepak's site for The Daily Guru. It can be found under the title Deepak Chopra's Self Help Guru. Hope this helps those of you who are interested. Periodically you will receive a profound statement from this site. Good Luck......

Hello, everyone - I've just been lurking on this site and reading the forum. Have enjoyed it VERY much. I have read most of Deepak's books and just finished How To Know God - it was awesome and inspiring.
Just wanting to respond to Lois: I don't exactly remember how I signed up, but I do have the email address for the Daily Guru. It is: thedailyguru@aol.com.
Namaste

Is there a Daily Guru?

"I" need to know where too!

How do I E mail the webmaster for info in receiving THE DAILY GURU?

I have been listening to a wonderful talk by Jack Kornfield on the "Ten perfections of the heart". You can find it here - you'll need to have Real Audio installed on your computer. Most people do. If not, there is usually a link which pops up which will install it 4U.

Yes, I did have a period of "Mystic depression" for a while. :) On the one hand, it was revelatory that such an experience as the "Unity state" was possible. I mean I thought I was about the last person on this little blue ball of dirt who would ever have such an experience. :) But yes, once you come back to ordinary day-to-day consciousness, it can seem very flat ...

Parasites? ... hmmm ... I think the greatest parasites are fear, anger and hatred. Until we transcend them it really won't matter what we put in our bodies ...

Actually there's a wonderful little book called ET 101 which was the first place I saw fear described as a "parasitic lifeform" which has ruled life on this planet for far too long.

PARASITES CAN UNDERMINE YOUR HEALTH Many people today are suffering from chronic fatigue and other debilitating illnesses. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical products often provide only temporary relief for these "hard-to-classify" diseases and in the long run have proven to be ineffective. One overlooked cause of chronic fatigue and other symptoms is the presence of unhealthy organisms in the system, otherwise known as parasites! A parasite is an organism that lives off the host; the host being you or me. The parasite lives a parallel life inside our bodies, feeding off either our own energy, our own cells or the food we eat, or even feeding off the HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS we use. In recent medical studies, it has been estimated that 85% of the North American adult population has at least one form of parasite living in their bodies. Some authorities feel this figure may be as high as 95%. Unfortunately, medical testing procedures only catch about 20% of the actual cases of parasites. OVER A 1,000 SPECIES OF PARASITES that can live in your body, tests are available for approximately 40 to 50 types. This means doctors are only testing for about 5% of the parasites and missing 80% of those. This brings the ability to clinically find parasites down to 1%. Once you've established that you do have parasites, taking drugs to get rid of them may not always work. This is because a drug will often drive a parasite from one organ of the body to another. It's like people moving to better climates to make their living conditions more pleasant, or birds flying south for the winter. What does a parasite actually do? They eat, lay eggs and secrete. Parasites live off the food that goes into your body. They exist mainly in the digestive tract, but can be found in the liver, as well as throughout the body. Other parasites actually get their nutrition directly from the cells of the body. They can literally attach themselves anywhere and suck nutrition out of the cells. These parasites are significantly more dangerous because they can travel to places in the body where they can do a lot more damage than a parasite living exclusively in the digestive tract. Since drugs are ineffective against most parasites, the best way to get rid of them is through herbal cleansing. A comprehensive program will include both a digestive cleanser that eliminates hardened material on the walls of the colon along with a parasite cleanser and easily absorbable liquid supplements to boost the immune system and replace any lost good bacteria. Although herbal cleansing is the "key" to restoring one's health, many people will give up after a short time. That's because it takes patience and persistence to overcome one's health problems and many people are not willing to undergo the discomfort of "cleansing reactions" as they detoxify their bodies. For those who are willing to put in the effort over an extended period of time, they will see remarkable changes in their health for the better. By following a good diet and being consistent on one's detoxification program, unhealthy organisms will pass out of the body and the body will begin to heal itself. --Turfseer@aol.com

Hadi, then maybe Sensei would be a better title for Kaga-san than Guru. (^_^)

This existence of ours is as transient as autumn clouds.
To watch the birth and death of beings is like
looking at the movements of a dance.
A lifetime is like a flash of lightening in the sky,
Rushing by like a torrent down a steep mountain.

~Gautama Buddha

Tom: He looks like he's about to go head to head with Bruce Lee!

Make that the "Food Network." their website is at www.foodtv.com

Hi Hadi,

The picture is of the Chairman of the Cooking Acedemy in Japan, Takeshi Kaga. A flamboyant millionaire who stages cooking competitons in his Kitchen Stadium against his Iron Chefs.

Actually Kaga is only an actor and doesn't dress like this in real life. I was so disappointed to learn this as his bizarre character adds to my enjoyment of this cult favorite offered in the States on Food TV.

I just couldn't resist posting the picture. I feel I'm not up to par with the Iron Chefs and am in the foil category myself, hence the name. :-)

Click here for an article describing the show and where from I stole the picture. (Probably get a cease and desist order form Fuji TV now as they have sent to all the fan sites honoring their show.)

Tinman, who is that in the photo?

Hi , Chris. Long time, no see. The Mystic Depression is something I heard Caroline Myss refer to. Everyone who has had a big mystical experience ends up spending a long time in a dark place because that bliss has gone and life can seem meaningless from then on. But it's really only step two in the Four Noble truths.

Mystic Depression... Very interesting Hadi.

Geoff, thanks for the Dalai Lama quote. I think it addresses Franks post about difficult people.

Ravi, good to "see" you!

My Guru:

Good Afternoon....thanks for putting a smile on my face....I have one girlfriend in particular that in constantly saying to me, 'How come you always say that 'you know'??? and I just chuckle..someplace deep inside of me there is that simple 'knowing'. It's not that I'm the most brilliant person in the world..yet there are some things that seem very familar...

There was one cute little kitch in Tenzins' book and it was referring to the word Guru...and she explained that ...'Gee you are you' !! Kinda neat.... Anyway...had a good 4th..enjoyed the sun, swam and ate....couldn't ask for more....now all I have to do is wait for the air conditioning repair men and I'll be a very happy camper!! x

Try as I might I cannot find how to receive "The Daily Guru'. Can anyone help me?

Try as I might I cannot find how to receive "The Daily Guru'. Can anyone help me?

Frank: Rely on your "intuition".

Terry: I was just thinking about our Frank.

Of course you're the only "Frank" in the whole world-----ha. (I ass-umed it's the "Frank" who has been around here for awhile.)

Frank, is that your e-mail address now? I sent you one but it came back.

I`ve read a number of Deepak`s books.I only have a problem with unpleasant people & situations,&that it seems we have to physically change things sometimes without meditation,intent,etc...in other words,sometimes things appear to demand an immediate solution!Any clues?

Hi Geoff! You said about the Unity experience, "I just naturally assumed it would be permanent."
You too? Welcome to "Mystic Depression". It's all part of the plan. Didn't Buddha say something about "impermanence"?

Hey, Ravi nice to see you!!!!!

Crown/Harmony Books

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