Showing posts with label Ācārya Malcolm Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ācārya Malcolm Smith. Show all posts

John Tan and I thinks this writing by Kyle Dixon is very good.


Often we hear people questioning what is the meaning of viewless view. Kyle explains well:


https://old.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/162teze/what_is_the_phrase_the_right_view_is_no_view/jxzdfud/


–]krodha [score hidden] 25 minutes ago 

On the “absence of views”:


An “absence of view” does not imply a refusal to engage in concepts, or choosing to remain indifferent and neutral, not taking a position so that one has “no views.”


The actual meaning of abandoning “all views” [sarvadṛṣṭi] is defined in the Ārya-mahāyānopadeśa-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra, which states:


Abandoning all views is entering into the middle way, seeing all dharmas as equal.


The “equality of dharmas” is directly related to the absence of characteristics [alakṣaṇa] that is revealed in the realization of emptiness [śūnyatā]. 


The Āryākṣayamatinirdeśaṭīkā describes the interrelation of these aspects of awakened insight:


The descriptions from the element of self [atmadhātu] up to the element of all phenomena [sarvadharmadhātu] are the nature of one taste in the ultimate dharmadhātu, emptiness. Since individual characteristics do not exist, all phenomena said to be "equivalent" since they are undifferentiated.


Therefore to actualize the “abandonment of views” one must realize emptiness, and through realizing emptiness, the absence of characteristics is directly known due to the absence of a would be inherent nature or “svabhāva” to possesses said characteristics. At that time, because entities are realized to be non-arisen, the basis of imputation which was previously mistaken to be an object endowed with specific characteristics is recognized to be a heterogeneous array of appearances that do not actually constitute or create the entity they were previously misconstrued to characterize. In the absence of an entity, existence and non-existence, having no substantial referent, are undone and as a result all views (and characteristics) are exhausted.


In his Mūlamadhyamakakārika, Nāgārjuna clarifies that the pacification of views is contingent upon insight into emptiness whereby existent entities that are capable of existing and/or lacking existence are recognized to be unfounded. He likewise chastises those of “little intelligence” who assert otherwise:


Some of small intelligence, see existents in terms of “is” or “is not”; they do not perceive the pacification of views, or peace.


“Peace” here again is intended to illustrate an absence of characteristics, the Ārya-tathāgatācintyaguhyanirdeśa-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra states:


"Nirvana is peace" denotes actualizing the absence of characteristics.


Candrakīrti concurs in his Madhyamakāvatāra:


The absence of all characteristics is peace.


We can understand “peace” and “pacification” in general to be the import of such statements. The pacification of characteristics and therefore the pacification of views, resulting from an awakened and experiential knowledge of the nature of phenomena, emptiness free from extremes, the Aṣṭasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā sūtra states:


What is called "knowledge of all things" is the result of knowing one thing: the true nature of phenomena, which has the attribute of peace.


The only means to obtain “peace” is via the awakened insight that ascertains the absence of a core entity which possesses characteristics, the untenability of selfhood and the associated implications of a self. The Samādhirāja Sūtra states:


If the selflessness of phenomena is analyzed, and if this analysis is cultivated, it causes the effect of attaining nirvana. Through no other cause does one come to peace.


One may ask, how is such an insight possible? It is possible because all phenomena are innately empty and devoid of a svabhāva that possesses characteristics, however ignorance and affliction obscure that fact. The purpose of applying the dharma is to discover that hidden nature of phenomena that is always already the case, but is concealed by our delusion. The Ārya-kāśyapa-parivarta-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra is clear that emptiness and an absence of characteristics are innate attributes which only need be recognized:


Kāśyapa, moreover, the true discernment into dharmas of the middle way is not making dharmas empty with emptiness, dharmas themselves are empty; it is not making dharmas without characteristics with the absence of characteristics; dharmas themselves lack characteristics.


It is only our affliction which causes us to perceive entities that are endowed with characteristics, when in actuality no such entities have ever originated in the first place. The realization of emptiness is simultaneously the antidote to those afflictions, and the means by which the absence of characteristics is ascertained. 

The Play of Noble Mañjūśrī Sūtra states:

Afflictions are temporary, they cannot simultaneous with the realization of emptiness; they cannot simultaneous with the knowledge of the absence of characteristics and the absence of aspiration; they cannot simultaneous with natural luminosity.


Nāgārjuna states in his Lokātītastava:


You [the tathāgata] taught that those who do not realize that characteristics do not exist are not liberated.


And in closing it is important to bear in mind that because the referent to lack characteristics is exhausted, even the absence of characteristics is ultimately absent as a characteristic.


The Ananta­mukhapariśo­dhana­nirdeśaparivarta states:


Although the teachings conventionally refer to “the essence and nature of all phenomena,” phenomena are actually devoid of an inherent essence or a nature. The inherent nature of things is that they are empty and lack an essence. All that is empty and devoid of an essence has a single [generic] characteristic: since phenomena are devoid of [specific] characteristics, their [generic] characteristic is complete purity, and thus by definition there is nothing to label as empty or essenceless. Since by definition there is nothing to label as empty or essenceless, no phenomena can, by definition, be labeled.


Bhāviveka states in his Tarkajvālā:


When that yogin dwells in the experience of nonconceptual discerning wisdom [prajñā] and experiences nonduality, at that time, ultimately, the entire reality of objects are as follows, of the same characteristics, like space, appearing in the manner of a nonappearance since their characteristics are nonexistent, therefore, there isn’t even the slightest thing that is not empty, so where could there be emptiness?


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Also, some other excerpts from the AtR guide: 

From Dharmawheel, Dzogchen teacher Acarya Malcolm Smith says Madhyamaka is not a simple minded “I have no view” proposition:

“gad rgyangs wrote:

He clearly says in the VV that he has no view to defend. Do you think he was wrong about himself?

Malcolm wrote:

He states in the VV that he has no propositions/thesis concerning svabhāva as defined by his opponents. He does not say he has no views at all. For example, he clearly states in the MMK that he prefers the Sammitya view of karma.

Your claim is similar to the mistaken assertion made by some who claim that Candrakirti never resorts to syllogisms, which in fact he clearly does in the opening lines of the MAV. What Candra disputes is not syllogistic reasoning in its entirety, but rather, syllogistic reasoning applied to emptiness.

Likewise, he clearly asserts the view in the VV that there is no svabhāva in phenomena. Madhyamaka is not a simple minded "I have no view" proposition.

...

"Madhyamaka is not a simple minded "I have no view" proposition."

...

gad rgyangs wrote:

then why does the MMK end thusly? MMK 27.30:

I salute Gautama, who, based on compassion,

taught the true Dharma for the abandonment of all views.

Malcolm wrote:

"All views" here is summarized as two in chapter fifteen: i.e. substantial existence and nonexistence.”

“The purpose of the view is to open the mind up fully without background, duality and inherency. So that experience is fully open, direct, immediate and without boundaries. Chariot and its basis are not a cause and effect relationship, they originate in dependence.” - John Tan, 2019

“The truth of the matter is that “pacification of views” is directly related to the realization of emptiness. If you have not realized emptiness, then you have no business talking about a lack of view, because you still perceive conditioned phenomena and are therefore cognitively endowed with “views.” Those views can only be pacified through directly realizing non-arising.

For some reason you mistakenly believe that “no view” means something like withholding a view, but it has nothing at all to do with that.” – Krodha/Kyle Dixon, 2021

...

"You have a mindstream, which is a continuum of consciousness, but this mindstream is an aggregated, causal proliferation of discrete instances, much different than a fixed “soul” as an abiding entity.

The fetter of selfhood is the root of samsara, and as such, the conviction that you have a real self or soul is an obscuration. We do have a conventional identity or self that we can use in everyday life, but we suffer when we mistake this identity as something truly real.

“Right view” does involve a correct understanding of selfhood, the Ratnakūṭa Sūtra states:

Right view (samyagdṛṣti) is the abandonment of the view of that the aggregates are a self (satkāyadṛṣti).

And regarding the prospect of a self or soul apart from the aggregates, Vasubandhu states:

There is neither direct perception nor inference of a soul [ātman] independent of the aggregates [skandhas]. We know then that a real soul does not exist." - Krodha/Kyle Dixon, https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/ip5yiz/the_soul_is_it_a_deal_breaker/g4i1zy0/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3



------



[10:43 PM, 6/6/2020] John Tan: There are two folds to it.  Any view is ultimately empty... But freeing one from constructs and conceptualization has a different meaning to me. Like when see through self, we realized anatta. It is not the freeing, but must also involves the arising insight and wisdom.

 

I think I mentioned I am not into without view. The freeing from seeing through self is not a form of "not knowing", contrary it is deep wisdom that allows one to understand our nature directly.”

Soh Wei Yu: Malcolm rejects notion of unchanging awareness or turiya in sleep, says sleep is both unconscious and unaware:

https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?p=671528#p671528

 

Malcolm:

" No, when you are unconscious, for example in deep sleep, you are also unaware. "


" You are just unconscious:

https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/d ... deep-clean

When one is awake and aware, one's brain is very active."

" Yawn. Boring. Turiya is just an Advaita:imputation, "


Someone asked: " Are you denying the experience of those who claim to have a continuous sense of a 'knower' into deep sleep?"

Malcolm:

"Yes. Categorically. If they are aware when they are asleep, it isn't deep sleep. Not only that, people can claim anything. But how can one test the claim, "I am continuously aware in a state of deep sleep"? "


" I would argue it is not the case that experience and awareness are phenomenologically distinct. If we are color-blind for example, we cannot experience certain colors. so we are not aware of them. Same goes for certain kinds of deafness.

In deep sleep, our brains switch to delta waves. In this state we are not aware of the outside world nor do we "experience" it. If we are woken from deep sleep, we are generally startled awake. Experience is only conscious, never unconscious."



John Tan: 👍

A continuation of Compilation of Acarya Malcolm Smith's 42157 Dharmawheel Posts

Added Table of Contents.

Also added compilation of posts by Astus, Krodha (Kyle Dixon), Geoff (Jnana), Zen Master Meido Moore, all of whom John Tan and I likes. Update: also added Geoff in Dhammawheel, my posts, Lotus_Bitch, Ven. Dhammanando and Ven. Hui-feng.


Astus Dharmawheel Posts: https://app.box.com/s/ln2rvagp8u7xx0uytci78defdawgctsm

Krodha (Kyle Dixon) Dharmawheel Posts: https://app.box.com/s/k0frsynnhxkivdsvjiqyhvt0zc8blbsl

Update: Krodha's Dharmawheel Posts are now available in audio recordings at Highly Recommended: (SoundCloud) Audio Recordings of Kyle Dixon/Krodha/Asunthatneverset's Posts on Dharmawheel

(Note: the above are Krodha's Dharmawheel Posts, do also check out Krodha's Reddit posts compilation:

A Compilation of Some of Kyle Dixon's Wonderful Postings (part 1)


A Compilation of Some of Kyle Dixon's Wonderful Postings Part 2

A Compilation of Some of Kyle Dixon's Wonderful Postings Part 3

A Compilation of Some of Kyle Dixon (Krodha)'s Wonderful Reddit Postings Part 4

A Compilation of Some of Kyle Dixon (Krodha)'s Wonderful Reddit Postings Part 5)



Geoff (Jnana) Dharmawheel Posts: https://app.box.com/s/axsh5qeue8vdy47p7enztv9oryjr5qf7

Zen Master Meido Moore Dharmawheel Posts: https://app.box.com/s/lbiudrkbiueq89y2z4xvx499d6st95y8


Also, from previous post:

Malcolm posts in 12 files (docx and pdf and table of contents provided): https://app.box.com/s/ju3gothq09bmzzpcehv045ylwegvfzaj

Malcolm posts in 3 files (docx and pdf and table of contentsprovided): https://app.box.com/s/pwn72amv07cptm1wekvc2twv3k980iiv

Malcolm posts in one file (docx and pdf and table of contents provided): https://app.box.com/s/ibii96pyxps6nlhy71pj76s5mi92qxr1


Update:

 Created an app which splits Malcolm's posts into PDFs and Word documents based on keywords and themes. 

  You can now download the compilation of Malcolm's writings split up into hundreds of themes and topics here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eAVyuxiw4xx8qIZ3-kydO_jSKCQsktqB/view?usp=share_link


Update 2:

 Here's more: 

Geoff (Nyana) Dhammawheel [The Theravada forum] Posts (This is the same Geoff as Jnana of the Mahayana Dharmawheel forum): https://app.box.com/s/pw4beip6gnnwflfrl3gq120xm01ljte2

 Xabir (myself, Soh) Dharmawheel Posts: https://app.box.com/s/j0razae3ogrif4zknkqasj7fbz26ay7t

 Xabir (myself, Soh) Dhammawheel Posts: https://app.box.com/s/3225lpmyh4b9kyhn4oh6fqnsyu71it63

 Lotus_Bitch Dharmawheel Posts: https://app.box.com/s/8sj323zd9quyr6uy0y4z6c6qplmkq3kx


Also, I have not verified whether the contents of the following authors are good, but I have found some of their contents rather interesting and so have included them here: 

Ven. Dhammanando's Dhammawheel Posts: https://app.box.com/s/ki5ns6ncs84erig2pud82hbfz2flp6ra

Ven. Hui-feng's Dharmawheel Posts: https://app.box.com/s/p9yvwnipgn2lk6m20ydxslc76pw30f5c

 

Updated my programs to GitHub which you can view and use:  https://github.com/sohweiyu2023/DharmawheelScraper



Update 3:


Update on dharmawheelscrapper:


Today, we've made substantial enhancements to the DharmawheelScraper project, a purpose-built tool for efficiently harvesting posts from the Dharmawheel platform for subsequent analysis and study. Previously, the project encountered challenges with the login functionality, hindering access to user-specific content. To tackle this, we implemented Selenium, a renowned tool for automating browsers. Selenium not only successfully resolved the login issues but also provided a more robust way of navigating through the website and interacting with its dynamic elements.


The primary focus of our enhancements was to create a resilient mechanism to traverse the site's pages and posts while preventing the scraper from stopping prematurely due to stale or changed webpage elements.


Furthermore, we acknowledged a limitation pertaining to new accounts, where they seem to be unable to scrape the most recent posts from the same day. We deduced that this might be due to account activity or age, and accordingly, provided guidance on the matter to end-users.


In essence, these improvements aim to make the DharmawheelScraper project more flexible, efficient, and resilient to the dynamic nature of web content, ensuring the accurate and reliable collection of valuable data.


——-

Programs I created:

DharmawheelScraper is designed to scrape posts from the DharmaWheel.net forum, specifically from the user specified as "Malcolm" and others. It will gather all the posts from this user and save them into text files in your computer. The program supports incremental updates, meaning it can scrape only the latest posts since the last scraping operation.

The Table of Contents Generator Program is a tool designed to process PDF documents and automatically generate a table of contents (TOC) based on the titles in each document. Each entry in the TOC includes the title and the corresponding page number(s). The TOC for each processed document is saved as a separate PDF file.

CombineTextFilesToWord is designed to combine multiple text files containing forum posts into a single Word document (.docx) and PDF file. The program can process a single folder or multiple subfolders, and you can choose to sort the files in ascending or descending order.
 
DharmawheelKeywordExtractor and KeywordsCategorisedWordPDF are two console-based applications designed to work together to streamline the process of organizing and analyzing text data.

Firstly, DharmawheelKeywordExtractor is responsible for identifying and quantifying the presence of certain keywords within a collection of text files. It takes a file with specified keywords and their possible synonyms, then examines the text files in a user-defined directory to track the frequency of these keywords and their synonyms. The result of this process is a dataset highlighting the occurrence count of each keyword.

Following this, the KeywordsCategorisedWordPDF application comes into play. This program takes the output of the DharmawheelKeywordExtractor - the keywords - and further categorizes the text data from the specified directory according to these keywords. It then compiles these categorized posts into Microsoft Word and PDF documents. By doing this, KeywordsCategorisedWordPDF enhances data organization and simplifies the task of reviewing a significant volume of text data. Each output file generated contains posts that are sorted by date and grouped according to their associated keyword or synonyms.

AutoScrapper is a powerful automation tool designed to streamline and simplify the execution of multiple console applications for scrapping the posts of Dharmawheel.net user(s). It facilitates the running of designated console programs, captures and labels their outputs for easy monitoring, and provides automated responses to their prompts. Configurable via a settings file, AutoScrapper can be set up to execute a variety of tasks based on specific requirements. Its integration with Windows Task Scheduler via batch scripts also enables routine automated operations, making it an invaluable tool for efficient system management and data processing.

AutoScrapper allows me to re-generate all the users' posts weekly based on latest updates, which I will upload to Box.com. 

 


....

Dharmawheel Post Scraper User Guide: Listening to PDFs on iPhone, Android, and Windows

This guide provides instructions for downloading and listening to PDF files from the Dharmawheel Post Scraper on iPhone, Android, and Windows devices, utilizing text-to-speech features.

For iPhone Users

Download the PDF files:

  1. Open Safari on your iPhone.
  2. Go to the provided box.com link with the zip file of PDFs.
  3. Tap the zip file to download, then tap again to extract the contents in the Files app.

Add PDF files to the Books app:

  1. Open the Files app.
  2. Find the folder with the extracted PDFs.
  3. Select the PDFs, then tap "Share."
  4. Choose "Copy to Books" to add them to your Books library.

Listen to PDFs using speech control:

  1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content.
  2. Enable "Speak Screen."
  3. Open a PDF in the Books app.
  4. Swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen to start the speech control, which will read the PDF aloud.

For Android Users

Download the PDF files:

  1. Use Chrome to visit the box.com link.
  2. Tap the zip file to download, then extract its contents using a file manager app.

Add PDF files to a PDF reader app:

  1. Open the file manager.
  2. Locate and open a PDF file with your preferred PDF reader app.

Use text-to-speech features:

  1. Download a text-to-speech app like Voice Aloud Reader or explore the latest options on Google Play Store.
  2. Open the app, grant permissions, and choose a PDF file to listen to.
  3. Alternatively, use the built-in text-to-speech feature in Accessibility settings, if available on your Android device.

For Windows Users

Listen to PDFs using Microsoft Edge or Adobe Acrobat Reader:

  1. Open Microsoft Edge or Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  2. Open the PDF file.
  3. In Edge, click the book with speaker icon; in Acrobat Reader, find the read-aloud option in the View menu.
  4. Select "Read Aloud" and use the controls to manage playback.
  5. Adjust reading speed and voice in "Voice options."
  6. Stop the reading with the "X" button in the control bar.

Note: The "Read Aloud" feature is optimized for text-based PDFs and might not work as expected with PDFs composed of scanned images.

…..



Update: I noticed in 2011, some of the early posts by Krodha (Kyle Dixon) may be prone to nihilism. That was before he was guided by Acarya Malcolm Smith. Hence do take note that everyone's understanding matures over time and their current understanding may not reflect what was spoken more than a decade ago. Nonetheless all of Kyle's postings are worth going through and incredibly insightful (and I believe he realised anatman in 2011 or even before -- Advice from Kyle Dixon) even from the beginning, besides a few of those earliest postings which may be a little misleading.

Thusness had many praises for Kyle even in 2012 and said his posts were no less insightful than great Buddhist masters, and he said commented on posts by Kyle (asunthatneversets - see early compilations in https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2012/03/a-sun-that-never-sets.html):
3/14/2012 1:16 PM: John: I went through posts by asunthatneversets, it is well written
3/14/2012 1:19 PM: Soh Wei Yu: Oic..

4/15/2012 6:05 PM: John: ASunthatNeverSets has many good pointers.  But there r still certain aspects that need deeper insight and clarity
4/15/2012 6:06 PM: Soh Wei Yu: Oic
4/15/2012 6:07 PM: John: I would prefer u to look into it instead of dwelling into other matters that will not help to deepen ur insights and understanding
4/15/2012 6:08 PM: John: For u now it is not easy to find an article that can provide good pointers...so treasure it.  Not to overlook it simply becoz it is written by some anonymous Internet forumer.


Kyle Dixon initially seemed to downplay concepts like rebirth, karma, and merits in 2011. His views shifted in 2012 after guidance from Malcolm. He shared with me,"Merit was something that I sort of passed off as a made up thing (like sin etc..) for a long time but I'm starting to see how that applies with one's intentions and that compassionate resonance.“ "Interesting.. My mentor hammers on merit so much and i used to just think he was being dogmatic but I see that it's a viable and legitimate facet of experience. I've just recently been starting to really focus on that and have been wanting to get back to doing more group practices like i used to... I noticed that when I was doing ganapujas regularly at the local practice center I was having far more peak insights and I never made that correlation til this last month. So interesting that it comes up here with you I feel that's no coincidence My mentor just said last week "Get your ass to the ganapujas I don't want you missing any more of them" ...he dedicates his merit everytime he does anything (especially before eating/drinking and after practice) and was really stressing that I do the same."

John remarked on the same day, "What Kyle said is important. Did you tell him about merit?" referencing the article "On the Importance of Merits".

Kyle spoke about this later as well, possibly in 2012, 


And to clarify, I only harp on this issue like I do because I used to carry the same view: that everything is already perfect... there's nothing to realize... there's no one here to do anything... there's no such thing as "correct" or "incorrect"... or that concepts were the enemy, and so on, and so on, and so on. All the same narratives you see being spun by most neo-nondual teachers and systems. I remember I used to argue with a friend/mentor all the time about how he doesn't get it, and he's just fooling himself with practice and so on. And I used to cite the same quotations from Longchenpa and others that were speaking from the point of view of the ultimate, and I (in my delusion) provided them as proof that I was correct etc.

Then one day that changed, and I experientially tasted what all of these masters are pointing to. And I was shown directly that I had been wrong, and that was very humbling.

That made these teachings real for me. And surprisingly, instead of continuing to reject practice, and all of these other aspects of these systems that I had previously thought to be extraneous and a waste of time... I saw their value and their place for the first time. It became clear how and why they are applied, where they fit into the scheme of things... and I saw the sheer wisdom behind the structures that I had once mistakenly rejected.

So I only speak out against those who attempt to propagate the same mistakes because I've been there. I was so certain that I was right, and that I "got it", and that others didn't understand. And I was so wrong... unbelievably wrong. 

I'm no teacher or messiah, I don't have a superiority complex or have some strange need to be "right", it's nothing like that. I simply speak out because when I see others who appear to be passionate about these teachings, making the same mistakes I made, I see myself, I can't help but to want to say "hey, it really isn't that way." And if all I accomplish is at least planting some shred of a seed of a possibility that X person may think twice and consider being open to the fact that they don't have it completely figured out, then that is good enough for me. If not, that is alright too, but at least I can say I tried......
” – Kyle Dixon

 

Kyle Dixon: Stian, Mr. J is implying that there is nothing to do, because all notions of 'anything to do', 'emptiness', 'right view', 'wrong view', 'ignorance', 'defilement' etc., are nothing more than concepts which arise and fall within the space of 'awareness' which cannot be improved upon or defiled... that is his view he is proposing. I beg to differ... to me this view is nothing more than a license for stagnation and complacency which only serves to perpetuate the issue. It is a false sense of security that one has already 'arrived' so to speak.

 

The quote applies to Mr. J, because he claims precisely what Jigme Lingpa is describing in that statement to be true, and did so directly above that quotation: Jackson's view being, nothing need be done, because all concepts (including those of the dharma such as emptiness etc.), are nothing more than thoughts which arise in what is already complete, as expressions of what is already complete. His logic therefore being, there is no need to even entertain such notions, one is already innately realized. Jigme Lingpa is stating that such a notion is an incorrect view which actually severs one from the profound dharma. Mr. J’s assertion that 'nothing needs fixin' is a view he has touted for a very long time now, it is very unskillful and misleading.

Yesterday at 1:41pm · Like

 

Mr. J: My view Kyle, is not that "nothing need be done". Bringing an end to conceptualizing is a huge task. Buddha stated "conceptualizing is a cancer". It is the sole source of samsara. If the cause of samsara ceases we only have nirvana as experience. However when that task has come to completion, then we know the space in which Nagarjuna lived along with all the masters of the Zen tradtion.

Yesterday at 1:48pm · Like

 

Kyle Dixon: Stian, Yes, right and wrong should surely be understood as a necessary and indispensable duality when it comes to the dharma. Right view is that which will lead to realization, wrong view is that which will perpetuate delusion.

 

Right and wrong are conventional as well, any conceptual structure we are implementing here is conventional.

 

'Full' can only be a conventional designation, the ultimate nature of 'full' is it's emptiness.

Yesterday at 1:51pm · Like · 1

 

Kyle Dixon: It's nothing more than a task that requires skillful recognition. At any rate though, it isn't simply a case of ending conceptualization... only conceptualization rejects conceptualization.

Yesterday at 1:53pm · Like · 1”

Also of relevance here is a passage by Longchenpa that me (Soh) and John Tan liked a lot:

Longchenpa on Nihilism

From Finding Rest in the Nature of Mind.

"Those who scorn the law of karmic cause and fruit

Are students of the nihilist view outside the Dharma.

They rely on the thought that all is void;

They fall in the extreme of nothingness

And go from higher to lower states.

They have embarked on an evil path

And from the evil destinies will have no freedom,

Casting happy states of being far away.

”The law of karmic cause and fruit,

Compassion and the gathering of merit -

All this is but provisional teaching fit for children:

Enlightenment will not be gained thereby.

Great yogis should remain without intentional action.

They should meditate upon reality that is like space.

Such is the definitive instruction.”

The view of those who speak like this

Of all views is the most nihilist:

They have embraced the lowest of all paths.

How strange is this!

They want a fruit but have annulled its cause.

If reality is but a space-like void,

What need is there to meditate?

And if it is not so, then even if one meditates

Such efforts are to no avail.

If meditation on mere voidness leads to liberation,

Even those with minds completely blank

Attain enlightenment!

But since those people have asserted meditation,

Cause and its result they thus establish!

Throw far away such faulty paths as these!

The true, authentic path asserts

The arising in dependence of both cause and fruit,

The natural union of skillful means and wisdom.

Through the causality of nonexistent but appearing acts,

Through meditation on the nonexistent but appearing path,

The fruit is gained, appearing and yet nonexistent;

And for the sake of nonexistent but appearing beings,

Enlightened acts, appearing and yet nonexistent, manifest.

Such is pure causality’s profound interdependence.

This is the essential pith

Of all the Sutra texts whose meaning is definitive

And indeed of all the tantras.

Through the joining of the two accumulations,

The generation and completion stages,

Perfect buddhahood is swiftly gained.

Thus all the causal processes

Whereby samsara is contrived should be abandoned,

And all acts that are the cause of liberation

Should be earnestly performed.

High position in samsara

And the final excellence of buddhahood

Will speedily be gained."

from Finding Rest in the Nature of Mind (Volume 1)

Also by Longchenpa:

"To reject practice by saying, ‘it is conceptual!’ is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and something to be avoided.”


- To reject practice is the path of fools - Longchenpa

......

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/AwakeningToReality/posts/9212914758749872/?__cft__[0]=AZWQEcbdzmqyXZF9wPYroQntKm6ES_Y34ziixUsI-eHUJTyJqWy5wn_BOlh_dDhyN32SGEvaS9PoHfEc5NCclbPzXLHbOohuvh2Co_Jvn7RdSPpVz3L7RXcnpjbYjXO6ylDU16Zt2LZnPIgygEy9MmnKrnvueRKqWFPIYRlfkOg890SPpbjObGTWlIruFWVAxt4&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Soh Wei Yu

Author

Admin

I will update to include table of content page later

Reply1w

Michael Bridge

It might be interesting to use OpenAI embeddings via Langchain to create a question/answer bot based on the content. Embeddings are a lot cheaper than fine tuning, but there would be costs involved.

Reply5d

Robert Dominik Tkanka

Joyful Ebbot 🧡👓

Reply3d

Soh Wei Yu

Author

Admin

Michael Bridge John Tan was doing coding for similar things and for the AtR gpt project. He just said “I have completed writing the program querying on books using opena, langchain and chroma....but needs lots of refinentment.

I wonder how to try the AI. The answers are weird...ahha” “It is like querying a book and talking to a book. The books answer back.”

Reply2dEdited

Soh Wei Yu

Author

Admin

Created the third program:

User's Guide for Dharmawheel Table of Contents Generator Program

Introduction

The Table of Contents Generator Program is a tool designed to process PDF documents and automatically generate a table of contents (TOC) based on the titles in each document. Each entry in the TOC includes the title and the corresponding page number(s). The TOC for each processed document is saved as a separate PDF file.

This guide provides instructions for using the Table of Contents Generator Program.

Prerequisites

.NET Runtime installed on your system. This program is built with .NET, and you will need the .NET Runtime to run it. You can download it here.

The program file (DharmawheelTableOfContentsCreator.exe or similar). You should have received this file separately.

Your PDF documents should follow a specific format where each title is prefixed with "Title: ".

Running the Program

To run the program, open a command prompt, navigate to the directory containing the program file, and enter the following command:

DharmawheelTableOfContentsCreator.exe

This will start the program, and you will see a prompt in the command line interface.

Using the Program

When you run the program, it will first ask you to make a choice:

Enter '1' to create table of contents for all files in a directory and its subdirectories, or '2' to create a table of contents for a specific file:

Enter 1 or 2 depending on your needs, and press Enter.

Option 1: Process All Files in a Directory and Its Subdirectories

If you chose 1, you will be prompted to enter the path of the directory containing the PDF files you want to process:

Enter the directory path:

Enter the path to the directory, and press Enter. The program will then count the PDF files in that directory and its subdirectories and ask for confirmation before proceeding:

This will process [number] files. Are you sure you want to proceed? (y/n)

Enter y to proceed or n to cancel, and press Enter. If you chose to proceed, the program will start processing the files one by one, providing progress updates as it goes.

Option 2: Process a Specific File

If you chose 2, you will be prompted to enter the path of the specific PDF file you want to process:

Enter the file path:

Enter the path to the file, and press Enter. The program will then process this single file.

Output

After processing each file, the program will generate a new PDF file containing the TOC. The TOC file will be saved in the same directory as the original document, with the same name followed by _TableOfContents. For example, if the original document is named MyDocument.pdf, the TOC file will be named MyDocument_TableOfContents.pdf.

The TOC consists of lines of text. Each line includes a title and the corresponding page number(s) in the format Title: [page numbers].

Troubleshooting

If the program encounters an error, it will display a message in the command line interface. Note the message and consult the program's documentation or support resources. If the problem persists, contact the program's support team with the details of the error message and what you were doing when the error occurred.

Reply3hEdited

Aaron Bohannon

It boggles my mind to think that those who have attained non-dual awareness can write so much. When I had attained a relatively stable, longer-term state of what we might call "non-conceptual awareness", I would always need at least an hour or so to fully find my way back to that state after writing or conversing for more than a few hours. I didn't use sitting meditation to do that, but I just needed time alone to shake off the pull away from the temptation to use language in my thinking. And on the whole, I wasn't very interested in using lauguage much back then. One of the reasons that I haven't attempted to reestablish my relationship with that state of mind is that these days I spend most of my time writing, so I feel as though it would be relatively futile for me to make any great effort. (Now my main interest is in the philosophy of language. 🙂 )

Reply2h

Soh Wei Yu

Author

Admin

Updated with Table of Contents:

Soh Wei Yu

Author

Admin

Generated output of Malcolm's forum posts in PDF, word and text files: https://app.box.com/s/ju3gothq09bmzzpcehv045ylwegvfzaj

Malcolm12PartsForumPosts.zip | Powered by Box

APP.BOX.COM

Malcolm12PartsForumPosts.zip | Powered by Box

Malcolm12PartsForumPosts.zip | Powered by Box

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Soh Wei Yu

Author

Admin

Warning: The following word and PDF documents are super huge. Save all your files before attempting to open them, as I cannot guarantee that opening the files will not crash your system.

It is recommended that you run the files in Malcolm12PartsForumPosts.zip instead from the previous post.

Malcolm posts in 3 files(docx and pdf provided): https://app.box.com/s/pwn72amv07cptm1wekvc2twv3k980iiv

Malcolm posts in one file (docx and pdf provided): https://app.box.com/s/ibii96pyxps6nlhy71pj76s5mi92qxr1

Warning: the one file contains about 10,000 pages of texts and will likely crash your system if you do not have enough RAM and processing power.

Malcolm12PartsForumPosts.zip | Powered by Box

APP.BOX.COM

Malcolm12PartsForumPosts.zip | Powered by Box

Malcolm12PartsForumPosts.zip | Powered by Box

ReplyRemove Preview2h

Soh Wei Yu

Author

Admin

Longest table of contents I've ever seen. 187 pages long table of contents. About the length of the power of now (191 pages).

Reply2h

 

 

Update:

 Created an app which splits Malcolm's posts into PDFs and Word documents based on keywords and themes. 

  You can now download the compilation of Malcolm's writings split up into hundreds of themes and topics here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eAVyuxiw4xx8qIZ3-kydO_jSKCQsktqB/view?usp=share_link