The evening started off quietly, but then Ranx strolled by, and I invited him in for a cup of tea.
Pema Pera: Welcome Ranx!
Ranx Arcadia: Thanks Pema :)
Pema Pera: Hi Ranx!
Ranx Arcadia: how goes?
Pema Pera: Your first time here?
Ranx Arcadia: nope. you?
Pema Pera: I’ve been coming here every day for the last two weeks
Pema Pera: how about you?
Ranx Arcadia: nice. do you come for the 6pm meditation?
Pema Pera: when I can yes, but this week has been difficult
Ranx Arcadia: I’ve been coming sporadically for the past month or so
Pema Pera: but I have a different program here
Pema Pera: which started at seven
Pema Pera: sometimes there are five or so people
Pema Pera: sometimes more or fewer
Ranx Arcadia: nice
Pema Pera: today I happened to be by myself
Pema Pera: See http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/
Ranx Arcadia: eek! ill have to check that one out later
Ranx Arcadia: older computer
Pema Pera: np
Ranx Arcadia: doesnt seem like 3 years since I bought it, but time has a way of flying
Pema Pera: haha, yes I know
Pema Pera: if you forget, google “play as being”
Ranx Arcadia: cool. that’s your site?
Pema Pera: yes, one of them
Ranx Arcadia: I know what you mean
Ranx Arcadia: I have about 6
Pema Pera: haha
Pema Pera: the one I started for these activities
Ranx Arcadia: check out Deism.us
Pema Pera: deism, interesting
Pema Pera: I have never written a blog before
Ranx Arcadia: ah, nice… I haven’t really blogged much… good concept though, and I read a few.. mostly technology related
Ranx Arcadia: do you practice buddhism in RL?
Pema Pera: interested in Buddhism yes
Pema Pera: considering myself a Buddhist no
Ranx Arcadia: same here
Pema Pera: but sympathetic to the experimental techniques
Pema Pera: which no doubt will find a place in a future science
Pema Pera: in some form or other
Ranx Arcadia: yah… i guess I am primarily what you would call a free thinker
Ranx Arcadia: and there is a Buddhist temple near my home that I’ve been going to for meditation sessions
Pema Pera: that’s nice, to have that opportunity
Ranx Arcadia: yep… there are actually a number of sangha’s in my area
Pema Pera: I see meditation as a kind of lab
Pema Pera: using your own life as a lab
Ranx Arcadia: yes! )
I then summarized what we are doing here.
Pema Pera: so what I’m doing here is rather unusual
Ranx Arcadia: yes?
Pema Pera: I call it “trading duration for frequency” or “for continuity”
Pema Pera: normally, when we sit for, say, half an hour a day, the challenge is to integrate what we discover into the rest of our life — otherwise it would be useless
Ranx Arcadia: yes
Pema Pera: so we then practice 23.5 hours a day to not meditate . . . . .
Pema Pera: so I choose a different experiment
Ranx Arcadia: my brain is so scattered, i really need the meditation time to reset myself
Pema Pera: every quarter of an hour 9 seconds of a type of meditation
Ranx Arcadia: hah!
Ranx Arcadia: cool
Ranx Arcadia: I try to sit before bed at night…
Pema Pera: that’s a good time
Ranx Arcadia: but then, sometimes (oftentimes?) I find myself doing other things… (eg. SL, Wii, Etc)
Pema Pera: haha
Pema Pera: interesting too
Pema Pera: What I’d like to explore
Ranx Arcadia: technology vices can be so addicting
Pema Pera: is to see whether we can plant a type of virus in our daily life
Pema Pera: every 15 minutes
Pema Pera: a 1% time tax
Pema Pera: leaving the other 891 seconds open
Ranx Arcadia: something like an automatic shutdown during that time?
Pema Pera: but when we can really remind ourselves to stop for 9 sec every 15 minutes
Pema Pera: sort of yeah
Pema Pera: not complete reboot
Pema Pera: but stopping,
Pema Pera: dropping
Ranx Arcadia: would be nice..
Pema Pera: and importantly:
Pema Pera: writing a few words
Pema Pera: taking a good breath
Pema Pera: in like a lab journal
Ranx Arcadia: once you get geared up during the day, however, it’s tough to stop…. buddhist might call hit habit energy
Pema Pera: I also call it “poking holes into conventional views of reality” — one hole every 15 minutes
A little later Cid Jacobs dropped by and gave me a beautiful hand-held Tibetan prayer wheel.
Pema Pera: Hi Cid
Cid Jacobs: heya
Pema Pera: Thanks for the prayer wheel.
Cid Jacobs: np :}
Pema Pera: Something you made?
Cid Jacobs: indeed, made it a couple of hours ago, dakini mentioned wanting to get one together
Pema Pera: wow, impressive!
Cid Jacobs: ty
Pema Pera: You’re an experienced builder?
Cid Jacobs: somewhat, ive experieanced just about everything in sl
Cid Jacobs: been here almost 4 years
Pema Pera: wow!!
Pema Pera: that’s half of eternity
Pema Pera: more than half ;>)
Cid Jacobs: lol
Pema Pera: you sit here often with Dakini?
Cid Jacobs: ive just recently started coming here
Pema Pera: I’ve been coming since a month ago
Pema Pera: this week is hard, since I’m in California — dinner time
Pema Pera: I live in NYC
Pema Pera: 9 pm is easier
Cid Jacobs: ive very recently started studying the teachings of buddha, and thought my avatar should try to be enlightened as well hehe
Pema Pera: hahaha, amazing isn’t it, this sense of immersion
Pema Pera: so yes, didn’t think of it, but:
Pema Pera: one can have an atheistic avatar
Pema Pera: a devout one
Pema Pera: an enlightened one
Pema Pera: a sinner
Pema Pera: whatever
Cid Jacobs: hehe
Pema Pera: a whole coterie!
Pema Pera: wow the possibilities . . ..
Cid Jacobs: its pretty easy for your avatar to follow the 5 precepts in sl
Pema Pera: did you know that I started something here too?
Cid Jacobs: oh?
Pema Pera: every day
Pema Pera: actually three times a day
Pema Pera: perhaps too fanatic . . . .
Pema Pera: . . . but fun
Pema Pera: http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/
Pema Pera: every day at 7 am , 1 pm, 7 pm in the little tea house
Pema Pera: where I was just sitting
Pema Pera: feel free to drop by any time you like
Pema Pera: all very informal