Oprah sits down with Jack Kornfield

[dzogchungpa]

After the laundry, the ecstasy.

[dharmagoat]

Get this, I heard that Kornfield reveres ... RAMANA MAHARSHI!!!

It seems that our Jack sees the good in everybody.

[dzogchungpa]

Get this, I heard that Kornfield reveres ... RAMANA MAHARSHI!!!

It seems that our Jack sees the good in everybody.

He must really be a saint to be able to see the good in RM, it's true.

[reddust]

Everyone has something in their life that is gossip worthy! But I have no clue who these people are that Kornfield knows. I am way behind the times. Kornfield's message has been scrubbed of any nutrient for mass consumption (the Dhamma as a resource). That's my opinion on this piece, I am sure he is a seriously good Dhamma teacher as well, but, I dunno, I feel uncomfortable with this message he is giving in this interview.

My laundry is done, so is my practice run on my first beetle painting in this series. I think I'll look up these guys Kornfield likes. Thanks for the awesomely funny post. You all make me laugh so much, I am way to serious and you really help me lighten up

I'm starting on some practice drawings of my Weaver series. I drempt of a lady pointing at me when we first moved to Oregon, she had a spider dangling off the tip of her finger, which was pointing right at my face. If I can get the perspective of that finger and the dangling spider in the viewers face with the woman's face and figure in the background, I'm gonna call myself a genius

EDIT....Oh RAMANA MAHARSHI is into Vedanta .... I know who he is...you guys are so bad. Can't a Buddhist be friends with a Vedanta person without causing all sorts of gossip.

[Lindama]

you're a rock reddust

[reddust]

you're a rock reddust

More like a brick, I'm kinda dense

[dzogchungpa]

you're a rock reddust

More like a brick, I'm kinda dense

Maybe you should change your handle to 'redbrick' ?

[reddust]

you're a rock reddust

More like a brick, I'm kinda dense

Maybe you should change your handle to 'redbrick' ?

I've been told I am built like a brick shithouse

For those not well versed in American slang, this means I am sturdy in body framing, sturdy built, there isn't a wind big enough to blow me over

[padma norbu]

I'm starting on some practice drawings of my Weaver series. I drempt of a lady pointing at me when we first moved to Oregon, she had a spider dangling off the tip of her finger, which was pointing right at my face. If I can get the perspective of that finger and the dangling spider in the viewers face with the woman's face and figure in the background, I'm gonna call myself a genius

oh my, that is interesting considering what we were talking about other day: dreams and spiders of Native American mythology. Did you know anything of spider mythology prior to the dream? Just curious.

[reddust]

I'm starting on some practice drawings of my Weaver series. I drempt of a lady pointing at me when we first moved to Oregon, she had a spider dangling off the tip of her finger, which was pointing right at my face. If I can get the perspective of that finger and the dangling spider in the viewers face with the woman's face and figure in the background, I'm gonna call myself a genius

oh my, that is interesting considering what we were talking about other day: dreams and spiders of Native American mythology. Did you know anything of spider mythology prior to the dream? Just curious.

No I knew nothing about Native American mythology, I knew about the Weaver in Greek Mythology. I've done my research since then. I'm really excited. I had her appear in a day dream, you know like a thought but I see pictures because I am very visual. She showed her self again behind a web with a big fat garden spider covering her left eye. That's gonna make one heck of a painting too!

She is one of the reason's why I am trying to connect with my American Native heritage. I have no idea where this investigation will lead, it's kindof an adventure

Hopefully I won't have to weather too painful of an experience, you know adventures aren't always comfortable.

[anjali]

...I don't know him so this is just an off the cuff assessment. I need to do a long retreat with him as a teacher to see him in action. ...

If you want to get some sense of him as a teacher, you can go to dharmaseed.org and listen to some of his talks. There are other teachers' talks there also, mostly of a Theravada flavor.

[reddust]

...I don't know him so this is just an off the cuff assessment. I need to do a long retreat with him as a teacher to see him in action. ...

If you want to get some sense of him as a teacher, you can go to [urlhttp://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/85/]dharmaseed.org[/url] and listen to some of his talks. There are other teachers' talks there also, mostly of a Theravada flavor.

I have done a search on him since I started this thread. But I will restate what I said at the beginning of this thread. I would have to spend some time with him to see what kind of teacher he is, I know many good writers and lectures that are not what they write about, especially professor type people. I am not saying Kornfield is leading us astray or he is something other than what he portrays in interviews, I don't know him personally, as in leading retreats and teaching the Dharma. Although I know many-many people think he is an amazing leader for Buddhism in America, going with the majority has never been a big influence in my life.

[padma norbu]

I'm starting on some practice drawings of my Weaver series. I drempt of a lady pointing at me when we first moved to Oregon, she had a spider dangling off the tip of her finger, which was pointing right at my face. If I can get the perspective of that finger and the dangling spider in the viewers face with the woman's face and figure in the background, I'm gonna call myself a genius

oh my, that is interesting considering what we were talking about other day: dreams and spiders of Native American mythology. Did you know anything of spider mythology prior to the dream? Just curious.

No I knew nothing about Native American mythology, I knew about the Weaver in Greek Mythology. I've done my research since then. I'm really excited. I had her appear in a day dream, you know like a thought but I see pictures because I am very visual. She showed her self again behind a web with a big fat garden spider covering her left eye. That's gonna make one heck of a painting too!

She is one of the reason's why I am trying to connect with my American Native heritage. I have no idea where this investigation will lead, it's kindof an adventure

Hopefully I won't have to weather too painful of an experience, you know adventures aren't always comfortable.

I know that Buddhists often say "supernatural" type experiences are just experiences and not to get hung up on them because they can just be distractions and we should especially not concern ourselves with non-Buddhist concepts, but I think there is probably something to stuff like that which is connected to the ideas of Buddhism, regardless of where the stuff comes from. Famous and inspirational gurus and lamas have dreams and visions that communicate some previously unknown truth or idea that turns out to be relevant and it happens in other traditions, too. It must have something to do with one's ripening karma as per learning about different aspects of reality. Not everything is detailed in Buddhist texts, after all.

I had a similar experience as you, as you call it a "day dream," when I used to practice another tradition and had a vision where I was interacting with a few different beings who very much seemed to have a life of their own. I could PM you about it. I just typed it up and deleted it because I don't need to subject myself to the responses which are guaranteed from some people.

So, I think I am of the belief that these sort of things are "living symbols" that communicate specific ideas about reality and conceptual relationships and maybe they just naturally bubble up from our subconscious from whatever intelligence is embedded in our DNA or something. Who knows? It is impossible to deny when it happens, though, and is obviously not mere coincidence once you have an experience that really piles on quite a few "coincidences" in one shot.

[reddust]

I had a similar experience as you, as you call it a "day dream," when I used to practice another tradition and had a vision where I was interacting with a few different beings who very much seemed to have a life of their own. I could PM you about it. I just typed it up and deleted it because I don't need to subject myself to the responses which are guaranteed from some people.

So, I think I am of the belief that these sort of things are "living symbols" that communicate specific ideas about reality and conceptual relationships and maybe they just naturally bubble up from our subconscious from whatever intelligence is embedded in our DNA or something. Who knows? It is impossible to deny when it happens, though, and is obviously not mere coincidence once you have an experience that really piles on quite a few "coincidences" in one shot.

Send me your day dream, it's always nice to share with someone else. I use my visions and dreams for painting ideas. However sometimes these visions manifest in real life as well. Not as an actual woman carrying around a spider though. It's a very personal experience that I share through my art.

[TRC]

Anyone that is unwise enough, lacks the discernment and integrity to even consider appearing on Oprah, is already inevitably on the slippery slope of maintaining any genuine credibility, IMO.

As reddust, so succinctly and cleverly put it, “Kornfield's message has been scrubbed of any nutrient for mass consumption … ”. And it was. By appearing on Oprah, you are already compromised.

[Johnny Dangerous]

Does that include TNH and HHDL?

They've both been interviewed by Oprah also, if I recall correctly.

EDIT: yep.

http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Oprah-In ... Dalai-Lama

[reddust]

Does that include TNH and HHDL?

They've both been interviewed by Oprah also, if I recall correctly.

Maybe all three of these teachers and probably any Dharma/Dhamma teacher has different messages depending on context. So when speaking on Oprah you give messages easily understood for mass consumption. Kinda of like fluffy white bread is tasty to everyone but has no nutritional value, that's what corporate media sells so well. You would get a serious slump in ratings if you went into anything that touched the reality of today's society.

[Jesse]

Does that include TNH and HHDL?

They've both been interviewed by Oprah also, if I recall correctly.

Maybe all three of these teachers and probably any Dharma/Dhamma teacher has different messages depending on context. So when speaking on Oprah you give messages easily understood for mass consumption. Kinda of like fluffy white bread is tasty to everyone but has no nutritional value, that's what corporate media sells so well. You would get a serious slump in ratings if you went into anything that touched the reality of today's society.

Yes they have. There is nothing wrong with presenting information to people in a way they can understand it.

phpBB [video]

http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Oprah-In ... Dalai-Lama

[Johnny Dangerous]

Does that include TNH and HHDL?

They've both been interviewed by Oprah also, if I recall correctly.

Maybe all three of these teachers and probably any Dharma/Dhamma teacher has different messages depending on context. So when speaking on Oprah you give messages easily understood for mass consumption. Kinda of like fluffy white bread is tasty to everyone but has no nutritional value, that's what corporate media sells so well. You would get a serious slump in ratings if you went into anything that touched the reality of today's society.

Right, that's true.

Alot of what TNH and HHDL puts out on things like Oprah falls into that exact category though, and really..that's a definition of upaya. If a Buddhist leader can't use materialism as a medium to communicate their messages effectively, IMO that is not a great thing. More impressive is IMO what people like TNH and HHDL do, which is present a very simplified set of ideas in these arenas that can benefit the people listening, however unattractive or incomplete it might seem to us Buddhists, what they are doing is IMO very valuable. It's exactly what they are "supposed" to be doing isn't it? Benefiting beings with the Dharma, and letting them make a connection to it, in way they can comprehend and value.

Chogyam Trungpa mentions a couple places that people who run away from materialism in that way ( reflexive aversion/revulsion and refusal to acknowledge that Dharma can transmit, or at least plant seeds in that culture) have lost the plot. I'm beginning to agree with that more and more.

[TRC]

Well, I'm not really interested in either of them as spiritual teachers, so form my point of view, after giving it some consideration, I guess the answer is, yes. I've seen the Dalai Lama on cooking shows. Do you think that this engenders credibility?