Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

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padma norbu
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by padma norbu »

But, I am not "promoting" Eckhart Tolle. I didn't even know how to spell his name when I posted this thread. I was genuinely curious if it would help anyone or if anyone else thought there was something worthwhile about it. You know, people who can listen/watch objectively to what is being said therein.
"Use what seems like poison as medicine. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings." Pema Chodron
Sherab Rigdrol
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by Sherab Rigdrol »

Rajneesh used hypnosis and tried to disseminate watered down buddhist teachings and he was a bona fide sociopath who ruined thousands of lives.... So yeah....
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padma norbu
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by padma norbu »

Funny, I just watched that the other day.
"Use what seems like poison as medicine. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings." Pema Chodron
Sherab Rigdrol
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by Sherab Rigdrol »

Unbroken eye contact, various tonality, suggestible phrasing, speed etc etc....

Nothing is more powerful than bodhichitta, something which Tolle completely lacks.
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padma norbu
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by padma norbu »

Sherab Rigdrol wrote:Unbroken eye contact, various tonality, suggestible phrasing, speed etc etc....

Nothing is more powerful than bodhichitta, something which Tolle completely lacks.

When you read, when you watch tv, when you walk, run or jog, in fact several times throughout the day, you enter the same trance state he is inducing here by Ericksonian technique. You wouldn't even know what he was doing if I didn't point it out to you and now you're trying to compare it to Rajneesh as if you know something about hypnosis.

Hypnotic writing is also everywhere and sometimes even unintentional. The Easy Way To Quit Smoking is a fine example of hypnotic writing and has helped millions of people like myself to quit smoking overnight without any difficulty. So, yeah... leave.
"Use what seems like poison as medicine. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings." Pema Chodron
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

Thread is cleaned up and unlocked, keep it on topic, and adhere to the ToS please, in particular, personal stuff and dredging up of the past is disruptive, and serves little purpose.
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Fruitzilla
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by Fruitzilla »

Somewhat off-topic, but I hope you'll forgive me...

I notice again and again when watching longtime meditators speak, that their breathing is often quite bad.
Like with Rinpoche here, you can easily observe the gasping for air and lifting of the upper part of his chest when breathing in.
Does anybody else notice this and find it worrying?
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padma norbu
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by padma norbu »

Thanks, Johnny! Would it be a good idea for me to keep videos or whatever of this nature in a specially marked thread so as to hopefully not cause mental turmoil or misunderstanding? It seems like anything goes here until something seems remotely spiritual and then it's OH MY GOD THAT'S NEW AGE CRAP!

For example, I watched part of this video the other day and I haven't heard of most of the scientific research that comes up later on, so I was wondering if others had... I read about stuff like this all the time, too, so I'm interested in finding out how true many of these claims are. It starts off with the usual Quantum Theory stuff, so that's not what I'm talking about.

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Isn't it possible to talk about such a video objectively without it being a big problem? What is the best way to open a discussion about this sort of stuff?

BTW, there is plenty of silly stuff in the video, but I have a high tolerance for b.s. if overall there is some interesting content.
"Use what seems like poison as medicine. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings." Pema Chodron
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padma norbu
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by padma norbu »

Fruitzilla wrote:
Somewhat off-topic, but I hope you'll forgive me...

I notice again and again when watching longtime meditators speak, that their breathing is often quite bad.
Like with Rinpoche here, you can easily observe the gasping for air and lifting of the upper part of his chest when breathing in.
Does anybody else notice this and find it worrying?
It might actually be a testament to their strong practice, ie. living much longer than they normally would with serious health problems. I think I read recently that Lama Yeshe had some serious heart problems and lived much longer than one would expect.
"Use what seems like poison as medicine. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings." Pema Chodron
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oushi
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by oushi »

padma norbu wrote:I was lying down,
...
But, I fell asleep.
Just a hint. There is a part of your brain responsible for triggering sleep, which is sensitive to your posture. It activates when you lie down. This is why sitting posture with straight spine is so important. It keeps you awake, while allowing deep relaxation.
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padma norbu
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by padma norbu »

oushi wrote:
padma norbu wrote:I was lying down,
...
But, I fell asleep.
Just a hint. There is a part of your brain responsible for triggering sleep, which is sensitive to your posture. It activates when you lie down. This is why sitting posture with straight spine is so important. It keeps you awake, while allowing deep relaxation.
Oh, I know. I really didn't take it seriously at all when I first played it. I just play videos to put me to sleep, actually. And I was concentrating on my breathing because I always attempt to do dream yoga. But, this one kept me awake for quite a while and I noticed it was better than I thought. That's why I decided to try it again, but like I said the magic was ruined the second time because it was too familiar already.
"Use what seems like poison as medicine. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings." Pema Chodron
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by reddust »

anitya, anitya, anitya, (runs and hides) :twothumbsup:
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padma norbu
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by padma norbu »

reddust wrote:anitya, anitya, anitya, (runs and hides) :twothumbsup:
:twothumbsup:

phpBB [video]
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by reddust »

Karma is the breakfast of Champions :mrgreen:
Mind and mental events are concepts, mere postulations within the three realms of samsara Longchenpa .... A link to my Garden, Art and Foodie blog Scratch Living
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padma norbu
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by padma norbu »

reddust wrote:Karma is the breakfast of Champions :mrgreen:
Hmm, does that mean the same thing Padmasambhava meant when he said he eats dualistic concepts for sustenance?

http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=14984
"Use what seems like poison as medicine. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings." Pema Chodron
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by reddust »

padma norbu wrote:
reddust wrote:Karma is the breakfast of Champions :mrgreen:
Hmm, does that mean the same thing Padmasambhava meant when he said he eats dualistic concepts for sustenance?

http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=14984
I'm not that profound, it means I eat my own deeds (mistakes). Or in other words this life is my begging bowl :heart:
Mind and mental events are concepts, mere postulations within the three realms of samsara Longchenpa .... A link to my Garden, Art and Foodie blog Scratch Living
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padma norbu
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by padma norbu »

well, you are off topic. We are discussing this master of the park bench!

I just found this exposé (apparently) of Tolle and his mentor on a website proclaiming him a fraud...

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...and even after I watched it and read what the website critic had to say here, I thought "yep, he takes a bit of this and takes a bit of that... but, I do like the bits he takes, mostly." He's a pretty good aggregator to some degree. I remember from what I read in Power of Now he actually discussed Dzogchen quite early on with some semblance of understanding. I'll have to finish that book one of these days. I didn't get very far and being that I know "the answers" are not really in there, I'm not all that motivated to do so.
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by Adamantine »

padma norbu wrote:well, you are off topic. We are discussing this master of the park bench!

I just found this exposé (apparently) of Tolle and his mentor on a website proclaiming him a fraud...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BVLFtfjrkU

...and even after I watched it and read what the website critic had to say here, I thought "yep, he takes a bit of this and takes a bit of that... but, I do like the bits he takes, mostly." He's a pretty good aggregator to some degree. I remember from what I read in Power of Now he actually discussed Dzogchen quite early on with some semblance of understanding. I'll have to finish that book one of these days. I didn't get very far and being that I know "the answers" are not really in there, I'm not all that motivated to do so.

Hmmmmmnnnn.. I dunno.. I know people I really respect who got a lot out of Eckart.. so I rejoice that he, or his teachings, or his marketing.. or all of it.. reach out and affect some people for the better (hopefully).

I personally never got much out of him. . . I even attended a talk of his once in person, because my friend encouraged it.. I found it really dull.. I couldn't sense any of the real qualities in him that are what have drawn me into the orbit of my Dharma / Dzogchen teachers. I also tried reading The Power of Now and I couldn't get into it.. I got to chapter 2 maybe. Anyway, that's my personal experience...( and that's all it is!)
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Re: Eckart Tolle - master of the park bench

Post by dzogchungpa »

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche doesn't seem to think he's so bad. From "The Tibetan Yogas of Body, Speech and Mind":
The Tibetan spiritual traditions use the term pain body or body of suffering in contrast with the term changeless bliss body. Eckhart Tolle, the renowned author and spiritual teacher, has additionally offered a simple and direct explanation of the pain body that I find inspiring. As the pain body is such an essential concept, I have expanded it to incorporate the notion of pain speech and pain mind.
There is not only nothingness because there is always, and always can manifest. - Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
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