Bardo Thodöl

[Val]

I started reading this book a few days ago, and am even more confused than before.  And regardless the fact that I figured,  from the beginning,  that it is all a matter of interpretation from the oral traditions and translations it has suffered, I cannot help finding an acceptable ""interpretation"" for  some lines in there.  For example, it states clearly and simply that..."if you want to avoid death, you gotta eat your own faeces!"

On the other hand, the Dalaï Lama himself says that..."when people go on vacation/holiday they buy a guide so to not be lost in the place they are visiting." He further explains that since ..."we're all going to die, we need a  guide!" And, according to him, the Bardo Thodöl is that guide!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/11/06/botibet.xml&sSheet=/arts/2005/11/06/botop.html

http://www.near-death.com/experiences/buddhism01.html

http://www.summum.us/mummification/tbotd/

Val
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[alisenjafi]

As a traveler I would disagree with Dali, getting lost is so much fun! Plus you never know who you will bump into!
When I lived in paris and saw all thoses poor snookers with their maps - so engaged they didn't see the city I knew which way to go-
it is all zen!
X

"if you want to avoid death, you gotta eat your own faeces!"

obviously written by someone into scat !

[aupointillimite]

When I lived in paris and saw all thoses poor snookers with their maps - so engaged they didn't see the city I knew which way to go-

Oui.  A se perdre dans une ville... veut dire de trouver le mielleur. 

I always deliberately get myself lost wherever I go... I find that the best stories come out of it.  Itineraries and maps are no fun!

[alisenjafi]

How can you see anything ( or anyone  ) with your nose stuck in a map? I have made some great friends by getting lost! Yes you can take that both ways!
Johnny

[Val]

Well, guys, I have news for you!  And let me tell you a little  adventure that happened to me a long time ago when I first travelled through  China, to exemplify my thought.
I am what the French  call ""casse-cou"" (daredevil) whenever I travel outside our little, cosy and secure world i.e. Western Europe and North America.  China, back in the early 90s, was not the country you will see today, and that even if you venture  through the country side. 
We left Paris with a group of 25 people to Beijing and very soon I found out that our interests were not at all the same.  In Chong Qing, I split and decided to see parts of the countryside on my own.  Bad mistake!  Chong Qing, back then, was still a provincial, awkward town. 
Very soon I also realized  that the Chinese were afraid of speaking to Westerners, and even if they wanted, well, it was almost impossible to carry on  a decent conversation on any subject. No one could read Pin-Yin!
In addition, I found myself secluded in the middle of thousands of Chinese in the countryside, wandering what the hell I was doing there alone! To make it short, it got to a point that I could not get a cab to go back to the hotel, for no one would stop for a foreigner. 
Seeing that no one spoke a word of any language that I spoke --- I even tried Latin, believe me! ---, I just walked for hours on end till a taxi driver finally decided to stop and take me to the French embassy.  Thank God/dess this lady understood Pin-Yin!
And was I glad when I saw the French flag waving on top of that building!

So, a guide is worth what it is worth, I guess!  However, ever since this little adventure took place,  I now make sure I do have at least some kind of information whenever I travel outside my cocoon!
As for this book, I just put it aside for now and will read it again calmly and without any bias during my next holiday.

Val
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[Val]

I have always been a very curious and observant kind of guy.  That is the main reason I am reading this book, of course! 
In fact, I am a very happy, joyous fellow.   However, I tend to read, discuss, and inquire about just any kind of subject without feeling guilty or shame. 
Right now, for example, I am reading something I find interesting and very intense.  It is about the death of a great French philosopher, Michel Foucault.

http://www.ccru.net/swarm3/3_foucault.htm

Val
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[Val]

Tatha-gata = Thus gone
Tatha-agata= Thus come

The following article has had me meditating in a number of ways about this mystery we all call ""Life!""  And the main reason I am still reading stuff like this  is because it really has helped me through some fussy, stony attitudes from my relatives towards me, what I am and represent to them, and the way I dealt with these behaviours.
For example, the following quote is, in my opinion, very true:

..."attachment becomes obstacles in life, or darkness in life or makes you ignorant.  It doesn't mean that you
should not love your children, siblings and parents.  You can love them, but you must never have attachment
for them.
Then, what is "attachment" and what is "love?"...

Val
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[Val]

The article, Val!

http://members.tripod.com/tathagata2000/enlightenment_what_is_life__.htm

Val
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