This is a first step in stopping, resting there, and refreshing purpose.

The last comment had a very timely question: “What is RFS’s purpose anymore?”

We (the editors) have been considering this, as well as RFS conduct and decorum in light of that purpose.

The idea of an RFS weekthun, a pause in commenting for a week, came up as a good full stop, and an essential part of a further journey of revisiting, resting in, and acting from our deepest intention, what we really care about.

In light of the question of RFS purpose, I’ll post a short article summarizing some of the issues and approaches possible, with an invitation to join in discussion of that, with that discussion exemplifying where we want to go and how we want to be even while getting there.

That purpose has everything to do with what we call enlightened society. The question is how to get it more under our skin.

Let’s pause, and stop for a moment, using the formality of not commenting – and keep that moment in our subsequent actions and thoughts.

In preparation for the weekthun, I’ll start turning off commenting on articles, so that we can begin the weekthun on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, let the commenting pause now.

To talk with the editors, use the “editors at radiofreeshambhala.org” email channel.

Cheers,
Mark

I think it has become a social venue for lonely CTR students to just talk to each other about this and that. That’s o.k. too.

I think not supporting it financially and warning new students about it, as you are doing, is also keeping samaya with CTR.

For now, I’m simply not in that place. I have been highly critical of certain aspects of Shambhala but I don’t follow you all the way. My purpose in contributing here is just to write about what I’ve experienced and feel so that maybe someone visiting might find some of it helpful in some way. And also to engage in ongoing conversation much as one does in retreat centre dining rooms over meals. It sounds like you want me to–no, are *demanding* that I!–storm the ramparts of the Sakyong’s castle or something. How can I do this when I don’t feel that way?

I stopped contributing to SI some time ago and whenever anyone becoming interested in buddhism asks me about sanghas I advise them to avoid Shambhala (just as I used to suggest they check it out), and I give them reasons. I’ve also spent some time here putting those reasons together as clearly as I can. One way or another, SI will change–for better or for worse. And as it does we’ll all be playing our parts, but we can’t do it ourselves. Trungpa Rinpoche spoke of relationship as a dance. It has to be mutual.

It clearly hasn’t been. So then your other suggestion comes in: that we withdraw our energy completely. That’s a good reminder. But at the moment I don’t feel I’m putting an enormous amount of energy in anyway. Really it’s just the number of minutes per week I spend writing posts, which doesn’t add up to a tremendous amount. And also, I still *am* connected to Shambhala–in the sense that I feel I have a responsibility towards it and towards all those who may join it in the future.

Yes I thought his name was Mr D’eath…yes Sir Percy D’eath Esquire

Chris yes I think the breeze of delight website was a bit weird especially the stuff about divinations always thought that was not on the cards with Trungpas way of doing things.

But what I found more absurd was the online auction because it did not even seem to be raising any great amount of funds so what was the point of it?

So yes re Z. perhaps one overdid it – but I do still feel that one aim of rfs is to discuss politics in connection with the shambhalian teachings. And I do believe that Trungpa was highly involved with connecting to discussions about politics in the states particularly in regard to Kasung affairs.

Re money and Shambhala well I am no financial expert but even if they have loads of wealthy benefactors to really establish a connection to the teachings in society you have to have many people of all social levels engaging with the teachers and teachings. So I dont think the money ploy in the end will result in them getting more members so to me they are going the wrong way with the excessive emphasis on money.

No I truly believe that a new appreciation of meditation comes from the ground up and ones genuine contact to the teachings. This is the way that the teachings will survive. So possibly SI might indeed lose the plot with its emphasis on financial affairs.

Yes I have done some publicity in the past for the former dharmadhatus and indeed now I could probably get something going like SI and thats just me on my own but if you dont have the people in place who are soaked in the teachings I believe nothing of any value will occur. Yes religion is very strange –it survives indeed on a principle of deep shared community-certainly this is the case in my own region with its radical dissenters of the past.

Well best from this side of the water.

Rita Ashworth

Ambedkar certainly seems like an amazing guy. And apparently he brought an astounding number of people to Buddhism, maybe even hundreds of thousands.

I have just come to Zizek so I am not familiar with his writings a great deal.

However in checking him out on utube the stuff that interested me the most was him still being a communist and talking about how new forms of communism could arise. That did seem to tie in with the Triad concept on our former cafe table so I thought that was interesting that there were still thinkers and ‘popular’ thinkers out there discussing how a new communism could come about. Of course Zizek has provided only tentative ideas on how this could happen.

Yes on film I think I will buy his dvd as he does have a good grasp of cinema –there are also clips of his stuff on utube which are quite funny in a cranky eastern European way. Maybe this is also why he is so paradoxical – coz its partly a cultural thing coupled with his wide knowledge of philosophy and psychology.

On another tack re Gandhi and perhaps backtracking from Zizek a bit Dzongsar Rinpoche does mention Gandhi in a clip on the Chronicle Project where he highlights the role of the writer of the Indian constitution Dr Ambedkar, I believe, a Buddhist and an untouchable. Dzongsar also posits that Dr Ambedkar was not much in favour of independence from the British because he realised that under Gandhi the caste system would still survive in India. So yes its interesting to listen to Dzongsars point of view on this on the Project. Yes perhaps we need more knowledge of Ambedkar to contrast him with the legendary figure of Gandhi. So yes could Zizek therefore know of Ambedkar and have considered the roles of both Gandhi and him in the establishment of the Indian state? Maybe not – but as you have mentioned Gandhi I thought I would bring this up to kind of state that there are many views in the pot about historical figures and the times they lived in.

So yes re Zizek will have to read one of his books in more depth to see where he is coming from as to the formation of ‘new’ societies so will check that out.

As to the talk of samaya –well mines with Trungpa, but much more than that too because re shambhala the idea is to create enlightened society re his command in the Shambhala book. So theres SI and the rest of us and we have these teachings to a degree –so jeez many ways could evolve with this. So for me nothing is locked down with these teachings they are still just so open and I just dont know what they will materialise into in our world. So this might be also a reason why I am interested in people like Zizek and others because at least they are talking about new conceptions of society. So yes to a degree I am looking for other similar discussions about politics byWestern thinkers which push some new buttons. So yes who would you suggest is out there re political thought that is somewhat like Trungpa’s take on society? There is Fromm who I have read but there might be others out there aswell –perhaps Mark Szp. could fill people in with more political thinkers in this vein.

Well best from this side of the pond.

Rita Ashworth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoBTsMJ4jNk

SMR NOT teaching in CTR’s stream…
Changing of the mediation practices of CTR
Changing Lineages

And the Spiritual Materialism and degeneration of the Dharma because of it’s emphasis on MONEY MONEY MONEY.

No one, for example, even addresses the incredible gauche, vulgarity of the “Breeze of Delight” website and how this is a sign of the complete corruption of CTR’s mandala, the “end of the end” times. Nor how certain “events” like this tell us much more about the financial state of SI than any PR claptrap.

But these things are ignored, to dissect Zizek now, who was simply mentioned in the context of blah blah blah, vs, movement.

There is no focus to any issue, because liberals just like to TALK TALK TALK. Endless talk . I am sure THAT factor alone was enough for CTR to see the dangers of a liberal democracy. That was probably why he didn’t trust it.